Hedahls Auto Plus

Since 1906, Hedahls has served communities throughout the Dakotas, Minnesota and Montana with quality parts, supplies and service. In 2017, the Hedahls name transitioned to the Auto Value banner. Today, there are more than 160 Auto Value parts stores across the Upper Midwest.

Our 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.

In 2017, Automotive Parts Headquarters Inc. (APH), a Minnesota-based aftermarket auto parts distributor and store group acquired the 22 Hedahls store locations, as well as NEMAC Warehouse and BENCO Equipment Co.

In some markets, APH still uses the Hedahls name, in conjunction with Auto Value, the common identity of all APH locations. APH joined the Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance in 1986. As a member, APH uses the Auto Value brand, and draws strength from this coalition of independent aftermarket companies throughout the world. Today, with its network of more than 160 company stores and independent store customers, APH is consistently ranked in Babcox Media’s Top 20 Super Stores.