Bandag Inc. has accepted an offer from ASA Tire Systems Inc. of Nashua, N.H., to acquire the assets of the western operation of Quality Design Systems Inc. (QDS), a Bandag subsidiary.
Bandag has retained the eastern operations of QDS as a wholly-owned subsidiary and will operate it under the name Open Road Technologies Inc. No details of the transaction were disclosed.
The acquired assets consist primarily of the TireMaster Software for tire and auto service dealerships. Since early 2004, ASA had been the exclusive licensee of QDS to sell TireMaster software.
This acquisition benefits both companies by allowing them to focus on their key strengths in the marketplace, the companies say.
For ASA, the TireMaster product fills a need for an entry-level product that smaller businesses often request. ASA will also benefit from additional options the TireMaster product can offer to existing customers who would benefit from the inherent features and architectural design.
With the divestiture, Bandag will achieve independence from all accounting/POS vendors. Bandag’s goal is to bring functionality to serve the tire dealers’ needs by providing options for them to choose, says Bandag. With the introduction of a recent vendor evaluation program, called BASys Point Of Sale Program, Bandag has developed a process to build relationships with key vendors to serve the specific needs of the Bandag dealers.
