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In 2017, APH acquired the 22 Hedahls store locations, as well as NEMAC Warehouse and BENCO Equipment Co. In some markets, APH still uses the Hedahls name.
Hedahls History
Hedahls became an auto parts wholesaling company by accident. The company’s founder, Ed Hedahl, started by selling new Fords in Mercer and Durants in Bismarck, North Dakota. When Durant went bankrupt, Ed was left with spare parts and used cars. He sold what he could, restocked, expanded his lines and continued through the 30s. Ed’s death in 1942 forced his daughter, Beulah, to run the company until her brothers, Erling and Neil, returned from World War II.
In 1950, Hedahls opened their first branch store in Linton, North Dakota. It was during this time the auto parts company joined with other local jobbers and formed Automotive Northern Warehouse Inc.
By 1960, a second branch store was opened in Hettinger, North Dakota, and a machine shop was added to the Bismarck store. The business expanded further in 1967, when Hedahls purchased QB&R Inc., their biggest competitor and oldest automotive supply firm in North Dakota.
The 70s saw more growth and expansion, with the creation of NEMAC Warehouse, BENCO Equipment, Equipment Leasing Ent., Main Street Tire Co. and several more parts stores.
In 1984, Hedahls acquired stores in Detroit Lake and Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Two years later, the auto parts industry was stunned by the untimely death of Neil Hedahl. Neil’s son, Dick Hedahl, was named president and ran the company until 2017. During his tenure, Hedahls added five stores in South Dakota and six stores in North Dakota, bringing the total store count to 22.
