What Interstate Batteries makes

Interstate Batteries is a battery marketing, distribution, and recycling company, not a cell manufacturer. It designs, brands, and sells a broad line of batteries built to its specifications by partner manufacturers, then moves them through one of the largest independent replacement-battery networks in North America. The core product is the automotive starting, lighting, and ignition (SLI) battery, sold under the Interstate name and long a fixture in repair shops and parts counters. The company reports being the technician's choice for nine years running.

The catalog reaches well past cars and trucks. Interstate sells batteries for marine, RV, powersports, agriculture, heavy-duty, industrial, lawn and garden, and golf-cart applications, spanning conventional flooded lead-acid, absorbed glass mat (AGM), and, more recently, lithium chemistries. In April 2026 the company expanded its lithium deep-cycle line across marine, RV, golf, and powersports, citing up to ten times the lifespan and three times faster recharge than traditional lead-acid, and paired the launch with a retail partnership with Love's Travel Stops. As a brand owner rather than a fabricator, Interstate sits closer to the demand side of the supply chain than a Tier 1 or Tier 2 component maker does, which shapes both its sourcing and its role as a channel for automotive OEMs and the aftermarket.

Recycling is a second, defining line of business. Through Interstate Batteries Recycling, the company recovers lead from spent batteries at large scale: it reports recycling 10 billion pounds of lead to date as of 2019 and 1 billion pounds in a single year in 2020. For a lead-acid product, closed-loop recovery is both an environmental program and a raw-material strategy.

Distribution network

Interstate's competitive footprint is its route-to-market. The company sells through roughly 300 wholesale distributor warehouses, more than 200 All Battery Center franchise retail stores, and a network of more than 150,000 dealers worldwide. The first All Battery Center franchise opened in 2000 to serve consumer and local-business demand for everything from hearing-aid cells to industrial equipment batteries. A co-branded retail program with Costco is run on a dedicated storefront, and the brand's long-running sponsorship of Joe Gibbs Racing, beginning in 1991, has kept the name visible in NASCAR since a Daytona 500 win in 1993.

Since 2023 the company has been building a company-operated fulfillment layer on top of that distributor base. It opened its first fulfillment center in Dallas in 2023 and announced plans for eight more across the United States, including a Columbus, Ohio facility developed by Neyer Properties. The build-out signals a shift toward faster, more centralized replenishment of a network historically served through independent distributors.

Ownership and history

John Searcy founded Interstate Battery System in 1952, shipping batteries to accounts in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The IBS shield logo arrived in 1963, and the company crossed one million batteries sold in a single year by 1976. Norm Miller became President in 1978 when Searcy retired, and the Miller family has led the company since. Scott Miller became President and CEO in 2013 and now serves as Executive Chairman of the Board; Norm Miller is Chairman Emeritus.

The company remains privately held and describes itself as having grown into a billion-dollar corporation over more than seventy years. Independent estimates place annual revenue in the range of $1.5 to $1.7 billion, with a workforce the company puts at more than 1,500 team members and outside estimates near 1,800 to 2,100. Interstate registered its "Outrageously Dependable" tagline as a trademark in 2008 and sold its 500 millionth battery to date in 2021. Day-to-day leadership sits with Lain Hancock, President and CEO since 2023 and previously the company's Chief Operating Officer, and Scott Albright, Chief Operating Officer since 2024 and formerly Chief Information Officer. Hancock's background before Interstate spans McKinsey, the US Army, and consumer-brand roles at Keurig Dr Pepper and Bai Brands.

Sourcing evidence

Interstate's US import record reads the way a brand owner's should. It has 6,141 US import shipments on record, with the most recent logged on September 20, 2026, an actively refreshed inbound flow rather than a dormant history. The named suppliers on those bills of lading point to established battery makers: Sebang Global Battery of South Korea and Hankook appear among the top shippers, alongside logistics intermediaries such as Century Distribution Systems. That mix, finished batteries arriving from large manufacturers through freight forwarders, is consistent with a marketer and distributor that specs and brands product rather than casting plates itself.

For direct-materials buyers, that structure is the point. A company that sources finished goods at Interstate's volume carries tariff exposure and country-of-origin risk on imported cells, and hedges some of it through domestic recycling that recovers lead at scale. Coverage caveats apply: these are US ocean-freight records only, some entries name freight intermediaries rather than the true manufacturer, and product categories come from declared manifest codes, which are noisy. Absence of a record is not evidence of absence, and deeper origin and product breakdowns sit behind data that was not pulled for this profile.

Frequently asked questions

What does Interstate Batteries make?

Interstate Batteries is a battery marketing, distribution, and recycling company rather than a cell manufacturer. It brands and sells automotive (SLI), marine, RV, powersports, industrial, lawn and garden, and golf-cart batteries in flooded lead-acid, AGM, and lithium chemistries, built to its specifications by partner manufacturers, and it recycles lead from spent batteries at large scale.

Who owns Interstate Batteries?

Interstate Batteries is a privately held company that has been led by the Miller family since 1978. It was founded in 1952 by John Searcy. Scott Miller is Executive Chairman of the Board and Norm Miller is Chairman Emeritus, with Lain Hancock serving as President and CEO since 2023.

Where is Interstate Batteries headquartered?

Interstate Batteries is headquartered at 12770 Merit Drive in Dallas, Texas. The company operates roughly 300 wholesale distributor warehouses and more than 200 All Battery Center franchise stores across North America, and it began adding company-operated fulfillment centers in 2023.

What is Interstate Batteries' revenue?

Interstate Batteries is privately held and does not publish audited financials. The company describes itself as a billion-dollar corporation, and independent estimates place annual revenue in the range of $1.5 to $1.7 billion. Employee estimates run from the company's stated 1,500-plus team members to about 1,800 to 2,100.

Who are Interstate Batteries' customers?

Interstate sells through a channel rather than to a single named account: more than 150,000 dealers worldwide, over 200 All Battery Center franchise stores, auto-repair professionals, and fleets, plus retail programs including a co-branded Costco battery line. Its All Battery Center franchises also serve consumers and local businesses directly.

Where does Interstate Batteries source its batteries?

US customs records show 6,141 import shipments on record, most recently in September 2026, with named suppliers including established battery makers such as Sebang Global Battery of South Korea and Hankook, shipped through logistics intermediaries. As a brand owner, Interstate specifies and brands batteries built by partner manufacturers and recovers lead through its own recycling operation.

Last verified September 27, 2026. Is this your company? Request a correction.