#1 Cochran buys Kenny Ross in Zelie
ZELIENOPLE — A Zelienople car dealership is under new ownership.
On Wednesday, #1 Cochran announced it purchased Kenny Ross Chevrolet and Kenny Ross Nissan in Zelienople. It also acquired the campus collision center, which will become the auto group's eighth regional Body by Cochran Collision/Customization location.
The new #1 Cochran facilities are all on Perry Highway near the border of Cranberry Township and Zelienople.
“That's a big business for us,” said Rob Cochran, president and CEO of #1 Cochran. “It will continue to add to our ability to serve more of our insurance partners within the body shop and become certified with more of the vehicle manufacturers, which is a growing trend.”
The dealerships began operating under their new names, #1 Cochran Chevrolet and #1 Cochran Nissan Cranberry, on Wednesday. The majority of the stores' 100 employees are transitioning to #1 Cochran team members, increasing the company's employee base to more than 1,250.
This is the company's fourth Nissan store, but its first for Chevrolet, of which Cochran emphasized the importance.
“We are thrilled to now represent Chevrolet in this market,” he said. “I am delighted that this is now a reality.”
Kenny Ross Chevrolet and Nissan had been operating under the umbrella of a New York-based private equity firm since July 2017 after the firm purchased majority interest in the Ross dealerships.
Cochran said the companies are “extremely proud that the Kenny Ross North businesses are back in local hands.”
With these acquisitions, #1 Cochran also added five stores in 10 months to its lineup.
“We'll be doing celebrations and events over the coming weeks and coming months,” Cochran said. “It's a big operation, so it deserves more than just a couple days of entry into the marketplace.”
Cochran said the company is excited and the community has been welcoming thus far.
“That's one of the really important things to us as an organization — to feel that we're being a good local steward of, in this case, Cranberry, Zelienople and all the surrounding areas,” he said.
