Memphis, Tenn. (October 05, 2017) – AutoZone, Inc., (NYSE: AZO), the leading retailer and a leading distributor of automotive parts and accessories, has signed on as a national corporate sponsor of TechForce Foundation’s FutureTech Success™ campaign, an industry-wide initiative to fuel the future pipeline of transportation technicians by repositioning the image of the profession and providing middle- and high-school students and their parents with the resources and opportunities to foster hands-on, tactile intelligence.

Since its creation, the initiative has rallied the support of many corporate and association partners, the latest being AutoZone, which, in addition to its retail operation, has an extensive commercial sales program that provides commercial credit and prompt delivery of parts and other products to local, regional and national repair garages, dealers, service stations, and public sector accounts.

“We are proud and eager to build the FutureTech Success campaign with the TechForce Foundation and fellow sponsors,” explains Mitch Major, Vice President, Commercial Support, AutoZone and President, ALLDATA.” “We appreciate their vision and strategic leadership in engaging young people in communities across the U.S. in the automotive industry.”

Since 2011, AutoZone has been a generous benefactor of the Foundation, funding scholarships and grants for students pursuing a technical education. The investment in FutureTech Success demonstrates the long-term commitment to students’ development and careers.

FutureTech Success seeks to inform and inspire young people who have the aptitude to thrive in the field of transportation tech, empowering them to pursue greatness in a career they may have never before considered. There are many individuals with the talent and passion perfectly tailored to careers as technicians, and the industry is in need of every last one of them it can get.

“We so strongly believe this initiative has the potential to revolutionize the industry, but it can only do so with the right tools and support,” expresses Jennifer Maher, CEO, TechForce Foundation. “By signing on as a sponsor of FutureTech Success, AutoZone is providing a vital component of that support to ensure the success of the initiative, as well as declaring a commitment to the industry’s future.”

TechForce Foundation and AutoZone look forward to the impact this partnership will have on both the industry itself, and the lives of the FutureTechs who will help it thrive.

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About TechForce Foundation

TechForce Foundation is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3), with the mission to champion students to and through their technical education and into careers as professional technicians for the transportation industry. TechForce Foundation awards more than $1 million in scholarships and grants annually to students facing financial hardship so they may obtain their post-secondary technical education. Additionally, TechForce leads the FutureTech Success campaign, an industry-wide initiative to drive tomorrow’s workforce of technicians by inspiring, supporting and connecting middle- and high-school students and their influencers with the resources to support their technical education and career development. For more information, visit www.techforce.org.

About AutoZone (NYSE:AZO)
As of August 26, 2017 AutoZone sells auto and light truck parts, chemicals and accessories through 5,465 AutoZone stores in 50 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico in the U.S., and 524 stores in Mexico, 26 IMC branches and 14 stores in Brazil for a total count of 6,029.

AutoZone is the leading retailer and a leading distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories in the United States. Each AutoZone store carries an extensive product line for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans and light trucks, including new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products.  Many stores also have a commercial sales program that provides commercial credit and prompt delivery of parts and other products to local, regional and national repair garages, dealers, service stations, and public sector accounts.  IMC branches carry an extensive line of original equipment quality import replacement parts.  AutoZone also sells the ALLDATA brand diagnostic and repair software through www.alldata.com. Additionally, we sell automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products through www.autozone.com, and accessories, performance and replacement parts through www.autoanything.com, and our commercial customers can make purchases through www.autozonepro.com and www.imcparts.net.  AutoZone does not derive revenue from automotive repair or installation.

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AutoZone Contact Information:
Media:  Ray Pohlman

866.966.3017

ray.pohlman@autozone.com

Financial: Brian Campbell

901.495.7005

brian.campbell@autozone.com

As the transportation and heavy equipment industry faces a severe shortfall of qualified automotive and diesel technicians, Sunstate Equipment, a leading Arizona-based equipment rental company with a long history of supporting local communities through charitable giving, is taking action by awarding $15,000 in combined grants to TechForce Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, that will help students demonstrating financial hardship get to and through their technical education and into careers as qualified, professional technicians.

With a widespread deficit of skilled technicians, the industry faces a labor force shortage that could reach increasingly critical levels in the coming years. By supporting TechForce Foundation, Sunstate is not only helping ensure a new generation of skilled technicians enter the industry, but it is also helping provide positive impact on the lives of a deserving group of individuals—our military veterans.

As a company that values people—in fact, 20 percent of Sunstate’s employees have been with them for 20 years or more—Sunstate believes it’s important to take care of people, especially those who’ve sacrificed so much to take care of us. By giving a $5,000 grant to TechForce Foundation’s Veterans at Work: Military Transition Fund, Sunstate is helping cover necessary costs of technical training, such as tuition, relocation and startup, along with advanced training and unforeseen emergency expenses so newly separated veterans can get the training they need to transition their military skills into civilian careers in the transportation industry.

Consequently, by helping incoming veteran students attain their technical education, the industry benefits with a new generation of well-trained, highly-skilled technicians ready to step in and fill the void left by retiring Baby Boomers.  

“It’s undeniable how much of an effect the technician shortage is having on the transportation industry as a whole,” explains Jennifer Maher, CEO of TechForce Foundation. “Whether you are talking techs trained in automotive, diesel trucking and heavy equipment, motorcycles, boats…it’s the same across the board—there’s simply not enough qualified graduates to meet the demand.”

Knowing how much the shortage will negatively impact the future of the industry, Sunstate has also contributed $10,000 in support of TechForce Foundation’s drive to fuel the future pipeline of transportation technicians, FutureTech Success^sm.

Through FutureTech Success^sm, TechForce Foundation seeks to eliminate antiquated, negative stereotypes, to give middle- and high-school students, parents and influencers the tools to recognize and foster tactile intelligence, and to create a central industry hub of information, resources and best practices.

Sunstate’s support of the initiative goes beyond just monetary aid; its commitment to the mission of FutureTech Success^sm is an inclusive, company-wide effort. Sunstate employees have pledged to be a part of the FutureTech Success^sm initiative by volunteering for mentoring and participating in video testimonials, which is an especially viable tool for reaching today’s youth that have been raised in a media-driven world.

TechForce Foundation has a big vision but a limited budget for the initiative’s content. To further support this important mission, Sunstate has generously provided the resources needed to produce high quality video content for the FutureTech Success^sm microsite. By using real-life examples to demonstrate the many exciting and prosperous career paths available in the transportation industry, young people and their parents and influencers are introduced to the world of transportation technology as a viable, stable, innovative career path. This knowledge is essential for encouraging and raising up the future workforce the industry.

With the technician shortage at an all-time high, it will take the backing of the entire industry to really move the needle on the deficit. “Industry partners like Sunstate are a vital component in this initiative,” explains Maher. “Support of FutureTech Success^sm is about declaring a commitment to the future of the industry and a promise to look out for its members. It’s powerful, and it has the potential to really revolutionize the transportation industry if we all remain united on that front.”

With the support of its corporate and association sponsors, TechForce Foundation seeks to enact great change, unifying the transportation industry in one call to encourage young, tactile-minded individuals to consider the industry for what it truly is: innovative, exciting and filled with opportunity.

“The transportation industry is incredibly misunderstood from the outside,” explains Larry Cox, Vice President of Culture at Sunstate Equipment. “Being a technician is a great, high-tech, stable career choice, but that doesn’t have to be a final destination. The industry is sprawling and offers so many different career paths, all built on innovation and starving for talent. That is the message FutureTech Success^sm is aiming to convey and why Sunstate’s decision to support the initiative was such an easy one.”

TechForce Foundation and Sunstate Equipment are proud to partner in their commitment to future technicians and the industry, and they look forward to promoting progress and prosperity within the industry through scholarships, grants for veterans, and the FutureTech Success^sm initiative.

About TechForce Foundation

TechForce Foundation is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3), with the mission to champion students to and through their technical education and into careers as professional technicians for the transportation industry. TechForce Foundation awards more than $1 million in scholarships and grants annually to students facing financial hardship so they may obtain their post-secondary technical education. Additionally, TechForce leads the FutureTech Success^sm campaign, an industry-wide initiative to drive tomorrow’s workforce of technicians by inspiring, supporting and connecting middle- and high-school students and their influencers with the resources to support their technical education and career development. For more information visit www.techforce.org.

About Sunstate Equipment Co.

Sunstate Equipment has provided construction, industrial and special event companies with top-quality rental equipment and tools since 1977, helping customers safely and efficiently complete projects on-time and on-budget with reliable service and dependable people. Sunstate currently has equipment rental locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. Visit www.SunstateEquip.com for more information.