Pahrump Valley Batteries opens local store

After seeing success in the Las Vegas Valley over the past 40 years, an automotive battery dealer saw the need to expand its services to Pahrump.

Pahrump Valley Battery, located 370 S. Emery Street, began operating their store in town just under a month ago, after dealing with the city for the past several years from afar.

Operating as Interstate Battery in Las Vegas, owner Jeffrey Rands said his company, which offers wholesale and retail services, saw the need to grow the operation in the Pahrump Valley.

"We've always been looking at ways to expand our business and Pahrump is a growing city and we see it as an opportunity to better serve our customer base up there as well as expand our business."

From large companies to the average person coming off the street needing to replace their battery, Rands said his company is there for anyone needing a charge.

"Pretty much anyone needing an automotive battery," Rands said of his clientele. "We predominantly take care of automotive shops in town, but for anyone that has a specialty need, we have the ability to get that pretty quickly.

"We have a weekly service up to Pahrump now, where it used to be bi-weekly, so with the expansion we have been able to add a higher level of customer service in the area."

Rands said Pahrump Valley Battery works with around 20 shops in town, including Pete's Auto Clinic, Big-O Tires, the car dealerships and RV shops. Dan Ellis is the store's only employee at the shop at this time, but a delivery driver comes in every other week to assist in wholesale needs.

The business has been independently run for the past four decades as Rand's father started the franchise in Las Vegas.

"Interstate Batteries has been family owned in the Nevada area for the past 40 years and my father started the franchise out here 40 years ago," he said. "We have been able to grow it to one of the largest battery wholesalers in the country.

"I've been part of the family business for the past eight years."

The Pahrump location marks the second store opening Rands has been a part of and he said he can take what he's learned from the previous location and translate it to town.

"I have another store in Lake Havasu City, Arizona that I opened," Rands said. "There's not any boating in Pahrump, but they're both definitely seasonal and when I was looking at the demographics it matched up really well with our Havasu location."

The RV sector is somewhere that Rands thinks the company can tap into more with their location now open in town, which is what was comparable to the boating market in Lake Havasu.

"I think it's a chunk of the market we could be better in," Rands said. "We want to capitalize on the RV market and be able to serve them better. Historically it's just been automotive, I think that the demographics match really closely to Lake Havasu, although it's a different type of tourist that flows through Pahrump."

Although they're just getting started in town, the companies that they have been dealing with in the past have began to use them more frequently knowing they're onsite in town.

Rands said there is a four-year plan in place and if business goes as planned the business can grow as large as needed.

"The infrastructure we have set up is really designed for growth that wouldn't necessarily look like we are doing anything more," Rands said. "The warehouse is large enough so that we would be able to handle a massive amount of growth without having to get more infrastructure.

"It sort of sets us up for success that way. If we are able to get it to where we have three-to-five guys full time in Pahrump and running hot shots and potential future services that would require them on customer sites, that would be amazing."