The SpeeDee Story

No invention has been more uniquely American, or had greater impact on our lives than the automobile. Today, hundreds of millions of cars and trucks travel our streets and highways. And with higher priced cars and longer pay off periods, the trend is to keep our vehicles longer. For virtually all Americans, the car has become not a luxury but an integral necessity of daily living.

The SpeeDee story begins in December 1980 when the first SpeeDee Oil Change location was opened in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. At that time, the number of automotive service stations was declining as more and more corner gas stations went the way of self-serve mini marts. SpeeDee's goal was to answer the increasing need for oil change services during a decline in service locations.

For the next two years, the SpeeDee concept was refined and developed by its founders, Gary Copp and Kevin Bennett. In 1982, more services were added and the company became SpeeDee Oil Change & Tune-Up.

Shortly thereafter, they began offering franchises. Sophisticated advances in automotive engineering continued to make dealing with the technology increasingly difficult for the do-it-yourselfer. In 1994, SpeeDee added complete brake service and now has grown to a full-service auto maintenance and repair facility with a full menu of fluid services, mechanical work, scheduled maintenance and repair.

In April of 2008, the SpeeDee Oil Change & Tune-Up franchise became a subsidiary of Midas International.

"We intend to operate the Midas and SpeeDee franchise systems separately and will continue stand-alone outlets for each brand," said Midas Chairman and CEO Alan Feldman. "However, we will take advantage of the growth potential that will result from adding Midas-branded services to SpeeDee shops, where practical. We also intend to test adding SpeeDee-branded quick-lube services to Midas shops in areas where there are not shop overlaps."

"Becoming part of Midas helps ensure the future growth of the SpeeDee business, as stand-alone SpeeDee shops, as well as co-branded SpeeDee shops adding Midas services," said Kevin Bennett, SpeeDee's executive vice president. "The SpeeDee system will benefit significantly from being part of the larger Midas operation."