Snap-on Inc to acquire Car-O-Liner

The Wisconsin-headquartered Snap-on Inc, a leading global innovator, manufacturer and marketer of tools, equipment, diagnostics, repair information and systems solutions, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Car-O-Liner.

Car-O-Liner offers complete solutions for passenger cars and commercial vehicles, including components, support and knowledge through the Car-O-Liner, Josam and TruckCam brands. Its main customers are bodyshops throughout the world and over 70,000 systems are currently installed. While the Car-O-Liner Group is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, its subsidiaries are located in Sweden, Norway, the USA, the UK, France, Italy, Germany, UAE, India, Thailand and China, and sells through local distributors in more than 70 countries.

Car-O-Liner was acquired by Polaris Private Equity in 2012. The company has increased its dominance in offering colli­sion repair and wheel alignment/frame straightening solutions to the passenger and commercial vehicle aftermarket.

According to Nick Pinchuk, Snap-on chairman and CEO, “Car-O-Liner's product offering and special expertise are important additions to our Repair Systems & Information Group, bringing greater capabilities in collision repair and strengthening Snap-on's position in the heavy duty segment. Given trends in the collision space, including the need for greater precision, the requirement to accommodate new materials and the higher emphasis on shop efficiency, we believe this acquisition will further Snap-on's progress along its strategic and coherent growth runway of expanding with repair shop owners and managers. We look forward to welcoming Car-O-Liner associates to the Snap-on family.

Commenting on the acquisition, Mikael Jonson, CEO of Car-O-Liner, said: “Car-O-Liner, under ownership of Polaris, is pleased to have reached many of its strategic and development goals. Our global expansion and strategic shift from being not only a provider of hardware to the collision repair industry but also a provider of information and knowledge has exceeded our expectations. Now, under the leadership of Snap-on Incorporated, we look forward to continued expansion and increased dedication to developing innovative collision repair solutions that lead to safer repairs.”