Who Makes ATK Engines & Is The Company Owned By Someone Else?

From cars to trucks to motorcycles, the world is full of different modes of transportation. While they might serve different purposes and come in a range of shapes and sizes, the constant among most is the presence of the engine. This component and the elements within are responsible for getting things moving on the road, making the most reliable gasoline engines ever made in quite high demand. Thankfully for those in need, there are numerous engine and engine part suppliers in the automotive marketplace today, such as the longtime staple of the scene, ATK.

ATK's lineage dates to the mid-1930s, with the founding of its sister company, VEGE Motoren.  ATK has sold over 5 million powertrain components globally and has become synonymous with innovation. The company not only has a history of selling once-defective engines that it repaired, but it also deals in custom engines, crate engines, and extensive reverse engineering to deliver the best performance possible. ATK is also responsible for making its own engines, backed by its warranty, as it has been for the past 80-plus years. 

Be that as it may, there's more to the story of ATK and how it conducts business. ATK may handle its own engine work, but it doesn't quite stand alone, as another entity indeed owns it.

For the bulk of its nearly a century-long history, ATK stood alone as its own company. However, within the past decade, this has changed. It may still handle engine and engine part production and remanufacturing, but it now does so with oversight from another company. Since 2011, ATK has operated under the ownership of LKQ Corporation. That same year, the company purchased Yamato, and in the previous year, it acquired PROformance. As a result, LKQ became the United States' largest alternative engine distributor.

For those unfamiliar with LKQ, the company was founded in 1998 by Donald Flynn and acquired Triplett Auto Recyclers, Damron Auto Parts, and Star Auto Parts before gaining traction in the field of recycled parts. With the start of the new millennium, LKQ moved into aftermarket parts, self-service, and more, expanding its enterprise with purchases of several other companies before and after its acquisition of ATK. It most recently purchased Elite Electronics in 2019.

Evidently, LKQ has absorbed several smaller companies throughout the years, but it hasn't done so blindly. It had a pretty clear goal for them, including ATK, from the start.

Engine remanufacturing and refurbishing is nothing new. As mentioned, VEGE Motoren made a name for itself by doing so in the 1930s. Still, it was something of a new frontier for LKQ Corporation when it purchased PROformance in 2010 and tried its hand at remanufacturing for the first time. With ATK and other entities at its disposal, LKQ made it a point to make the remanufacturing industry far more accessible to the average person than it had been before. Peter Butterfield, regional vice president of LKQ Remanufacturing, explained as much during a chat with Engine Builder Magazine.

"Over time -– and I'm talking 5, 10, or 15 years –- I think both used engines (meaning salvage engines) and remanufactured engines will begin to have a more distinct and better image in the marketplace because of the consolidation of manufacturers in the business," he said, claiming that multiple companies all operating under LKQ's roof would streamline things for customers and manufacturers alike. Manufacturers could be held to similar quality standards, and customers could be assured that they were receiving consistently strong products regardless of where they get them from.

Seeing as ATK has stuck around well over a decade into its time as a portion of LKQ's operation, it's fair to say that Butterfield wasn't too off-base. Engine remanufacturing remains a viable business (though there are some things you should know before buying a remanufactured engine) that is projected to grow into the future, and one has to imagine that ATK and LKQ will very much be a part of that growth.