Spokane-based automotive parts retailer and wholesaler Parts Wholesalers Inc., doing business as Motion Auto Supply, has opened a store in Post Falls, its ninth overall.

The Post Falls outlet is located in a leased 5,000-square-foot building at 206 E. Seltice Way that previously was occupied by Carquest Auto Parts, says Tim Trudnowski, president of Parts Wholesalers Inc.

Trudnowski says Parts Wholesalers, which is employee owned, spent about $25,000 on a building remodel that included flooring, wall, signage, lighting, plumbing, and electrical upgrades. The company last added new stores in 2006, when it opened outlets in Omak, Wash., and Twisp, Wash.

Other Motion Auto Supply stores are located at 120 S. Cedar, in downtown Spokane; 1217 E. Francis, on Spokane's North Side; 13124 E Sprague, in Spokane Valley;12722 W. Sunset Highway, in Airway Heights; at 1225 E. Best, in Coeur d'Alene, and at 621 Bryden, in Lewiston, Idaho.

The Post Falls store has six full-time employees, Trudnowski says, and overall, the company now has 108 employees, all of whom work full time.

In addition to auto parts, the stores sell vehicle accessories, equipment, and supplies to consumers who do their own repairs, as well as to professional mechanics and service technicians.

Trudnowski says that opening a Post Falls store became attractive when the building opened up for lease after the Carquest store closed.

"We did a fair amount of business in Post Falls already," he says. "We believe we can expand our customer base there, and it's doing very well."

He says the company doesn't have immediate plans to open any other stores, but adds, "We're always looking for opportunity."

Motion Auto Supply is a member of Federated Auto Parts Corp., a Staunton, Va.-based auto parts distribution and marketing network. Trudnowski says that although Motion Auto Supply stores are independently owned, they carry products that have the Federated name.