Have You Heard?

“I don’t have a passport. No, thank you.”

– WSU’s Susan Huxman’s first reply before being named president of Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario

WICHITA — Overland Park-based Inland Truck Parts has purchased Wichita-based U.S. Machinery.

Gene Rich owned and operated U.S. Machinery for the last three decades.

Inland Truck Parts has operated in Wichita for about the same time.

U.S. Machinery repairs trucks. Until now, Inland sold truck parts but didn’t provide service.

In 1995, Inland started adding service shops to its 26 stores, which are in nine states.

The Wichita Inland shop is the 20th store in the chain to add truck service.

Inland still has its site at 1313 S. Young St. along with the former U.S. Machinery site at 1775 S. West St., which is now called Inland Truck Parts and Service.

“We will build a new facility and merge both stores together,” says general manager Dennis Bowers. “We’ll try to stay around where this customer base is to make it convenient for them.”

The former U.S. Machinery shop has 11 bays. The new shop will have at least that many, and they’ll be full bays that can hold a truck and trailer.

“It’s going to be a pretty big facility,” Bowers says.

Inland hired all 14 of Rich’s employees.

Rich, his wife and son aren’t staying on with Inland, though.

Bowers says Inland is looking for new property now, but he expects the process of finding a new location and building it to take about a year and a half.