Jeffery Johnson and Kelly Snyder, who own Spokane engine remanufacturer S&S Engine Remanufacturing Co., have bought Jones Automotive Engines Inc., a similar, longtime business here, from Robert Jones for an undisclosed sum, and Jones has retired.


The two companies, each of which employs about 30 people here, will continue to operate as separate businesses, Johnson says.


S&S and Jones Automotive do the same type of workbuying used engines, taking them apart, cleaning them, remachining some parts and replacing others, and putting everything back together againbut sell their products mostly to different customers, he says. S&S, located at 1023 N. Monroe, will take a customers engine and remanufacture it or exchange it for one it has in stock. S&S sells its engines mostly to retail customers via the Internet, while Jones Automotive, located at 1302 W. Second, sells its engines wholesale to car-repair businesses and auto-parts stores in Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon, he says.


It was a good fit, Johnson says. We can pick up the wholesale (business) on the Jones side.


S&S occupies a 14,300-square-foot building that Johnson owns, and Jones Automotive is in a 22,600-square-foot facility that Johnson and Snyder are leasing from Jones. Jones Automotive also leases warehouses in Seattle and Portland that together employ five people. Between them, the two companies currently remanufacture between 600 and 800 engines a month, Johnson says.


He says he expects them to generate about $12 million in combined sales this year. Johnson says he and Snyder dont have immediate plans to add employees or eliminate positions at Jones Automotive Engines.


S&S was founded here about 36 years ago, and Jones Automotive was founded about 33 years ago, and the two companies used to compete against each other directly, Johnson says. About eight years ago, though, S&S began selling its products online, and it now sells about 70 percent of its engines directly to consumers via the Internet, he says. The company does have some wholesale accounts, but most of those are in other countries, such as Canada, Spain, and Sweden, he says.


With the dollar dropping in value worldwide, it makes us attractive overseas, Johnson adds.


He says both companies remanufacture engines built in the U.S., Japan, and Korea, but not those built in Europe because replacement parts for those engines are too expensive.


Johnson says S&S formerly operated a warehouse and installation center here and one in Seattle, but closed both of them a number of years ago. Neither business currently does engine installation work, and both store engines at their respective plants.


Johnson says that if S&S lands a couple of big accounts it currently is negotiating with Internet distributors, some of the production needed to meet the anticipated rise in demand could be shifted to Jones Automotive. Otherwise, he says, the two companies will continue to operate separately.


He says he and Snyder currently are reviewing Jones Automotives inventory and records, and eventually will add some new equipment to the operation. Johnson, who has operated S&S Engine for more than 30 years, says he and Snyder, who has been his partner for 10 years, will operate both companies together.


I didnt want to do it on my own, so Kelly and I took it on together, Johnson says.


Contact Jeanne Gustafson at (509) 344-1264 or via e-mail at [email protected].