The following is a December 8, 2020 press release from Ace Manufacturing & Parts announcing their company’s acquisition of Van-K Wheels. Brian and Natalie Bass have successfully owned and operated Van-K since the early 2000s, first in Denver, N.C., and more recently at a new facility they built in Troutman, N.C.

Van-K Wheels started as VanK Engineering in the late 1970’s in Southern California. The Bass’s purchased the company from it’s founding ownership and for years the company has been a leading manufacturer for aluminum wheels for dirt, sprint and road race karting, quarter-midgets and other smaller-scale racing machines.

We send our best wishes to Brian and Natalie on wherever the future brings them, and thank them for their service to the kart racing industry.

See the Industry forum page for a few more bits of info on this story.

For Immediate Release
Kevin M Ijames Jr
Ace Manufacturing & Parts Co.
300 Rumsey St; Sullivan, MO 63080
573-468-4181

Ace Manufacturing & Parts Co. is proud to announce the acquisition of Van-K Wheels. Ace has been a leader in clutch design and manufacturing for over 50 years specializing in over the road clutches for class 7 & 8 trucks. Ace is a family-owned business, located in the heart of the country in Sullivan, Missouri, 60 miles Southwest of St. Louis.

Of the acquisition, Ace’s President Kevin Ijames stated, “We are looking forward to carrying on the Van-K brand and legacy that Brian and Natalie Bass have built over the last 10 years. We are excited to continue to offer the existing products while expanding into new markets”.

In addition to their heavy-duty products, Ace has a racing division that focuses on racing and high performance street clutches. Ace’s racing division – Ace Racing Clutches – produces clutches, flywheels and friction for several facets of the racing world. Ace’s name has been known in the NHRA and drag racing community for over 25 years, producing top of the line clutches and friction material for hundreds of valued racing customers.

Being a 3rd generation family business, Ace is extremely dedicated to its customers and its employees. We pride ourselves in our customer service and our ability to add value for our customers. Below are the core values in which we guide our business.

Safe – Dependable – Customer Focused – Aligned – Great Teammates –
Constantly Improving – Responsible

We are excited to incorporate these same core values into our management of Van-K. We look forward to this new adventure, building customer relations and providing top tier products and services to all of the valued Van-K customers. We thank you in advance for your patience as we make this transition. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to us at any time. Thank you for your business and your continued support. We look forward to working with you!

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