Morris Rose Auto Parts (originally called Morris Rose Auto Accessories) was founded in 1940 Morris Rose. Morris was a man with a dream and no money, but with the support of people that believed in him was able to turn his dream into a reality.

Morris started his auto parts business in a one stall garage on Vine Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with just himself and is wife, Rose, as the bookkeeper. Shortly after that, in 1943, he bought a depressed Motorcycle and Auto Salvage Yard on East Michigan Avenue or as it was called back then, a junk yard! In the early years his business was primarily retail sales of used auto parts.

During World War II automobile parts became difficult to buy, but Morris made some great Chicago connections and was able to purchase large quantities of surplus parts. He then had the parts shipped to Kalamazoo or brokered the parts on to other buyer's.

Morris's son, Larry, worked part-time at the business while going through school and then in 1956 after graduating from Michigan State University began his career at Morris Rose Auto Parts. He began as bookkeeper and soon advanced into management and inventory.

In the mid 60's the teletype was first introduced into the industry and with this new parts locating system Larry recognized the need to know what inventory we had so we could sell more efficiently on the teletype. Larry realized that using an inventory system was a very effective way to run the business, so we began to inventory all the vehicles as they were purchased and stored in the yard. In the early 70's Larry took the next step in developing the inventory system by dismantling vehicles before parts were sold, identifying the parts with Hollander interchange numbers and storage of the parts on racks in the warehouse.

In the early 70's Larry's two sons, Mark and Brad, both teenagers at the time, began working on weekends and summer vacations at the business. In 1975 Mark came to work full time, soon to be joined by Brad in 1978; adding the third generation to family's business. Larry's wife Sandy also started her career in the business in the 70's. She began assisting with the bookkeeping functions and progresses to one of the top sales position.

Morris Rose Auto Parts have been pioneers in the industry in many ways over the years. We were one of the first to:

• Join the National and State Automotive Recyclers Associations
• Have a parts locating service via telephone
• Have a female counter sales person
• Have an inventory exchange which evolved into the Eden parts locator network

In a continual effort to improve on the most effective way to do business we made the decision to purchase the ADP Hollander computer system. The system was installed in 1987. This technology has enabled us to have all our inventory at our fingertips, providing us with the information to make wiser inventory purchasing decisions, and have improved control of receivables. We also currently have the ability to view seven other Hollander yard inventories from our computer system. This cooperative effort equips us with access to a much larger inventory base to sell from. In addition to the Hollander system we have joined other parts locating services to best service our customers including the Eden parts locator network, the Automotive Recyclers of Michigan voice line and the Orion parts locator network.

Following are some other current examples of our progressive outlook and commitment to best service our customers:

• Development of a website and use of a digital camera to do imaging of vehicles to sell rebuildables as well as parts on the internet
• Installation of a phone system with voice mail and auto attendant feature utilization of a portable computer for input of vehicle inventory
• Purchase of ADP Hollander computer system with Windows NT technology
• Beta testing new ADP Hollander software
• Recent member of the Automotive Recyclers Association. Certified Automotive Recyclers - Gold Seal Program

Since Morris Rose Auto Parts has been located at East Michigan Avenue there have been two major showroom renovations. The first took place in 1965 and included updates to the showroom and storefront. Then in 1997 we moved into our new showroom and offices. This building was previously a parts warehouse.

One of the primary objectives for building a new showroom was based on the major shift in our customer market. The demands for both wholesale and repairable sales have grown while the retail market was decreased. Therefore, the new operation was designed based on these market changes to facilitate doing business with customers in a more efficient manner. The new operation includes a wholesale department to service the needs of our wholesale customers.

At present time we currently have 20 employees.

Annually we dismantle more than 500 vehicles and sell over 200 rebuildables. Over the last several years our rebuildable vehicle sales have grown and with the recent move to the new showroom we have also added a designated vehicle lot for rebuildables. We have 12 telephone lines, over 25,000 square feet of indoor warehousing and a 7 acre yard for vehicle storage.

In addition to our responsibilities to the business we have served and supported the auto Recyclers in many ways. Both Mark and Brad have held key positions for the Automotive Recyclers of Michigan. Brad as president for two years and Mark as a board member. Mark currently serves on the ADP Hollander Client Advisory Council. Mark has also been instrumental in the development and implementation of the Automotive Recyclers of Michigan self insurance fund for workers compensation. Michigan is one of the first states in the nation to develop such a program for the automotive Recyclers industry. Brad worked together with other Michigan Recyclers to establish one of the first recycler owned salvage pools in the United States called the Michigan Auto Salvage Coop. We are also active members of the Automotive Recyclers Association and the local Chamber of Commerce.

Morris Rose Auto Parts started with Morris Rose's dream 58 years ago and has become successful over those years through the dedication, hard work and progressive business insight of Larry, Sandy, Mark and Brad Rose.