As of Tuesday, Aug. 13, Cullman County’s sole Ford dealership, Eckenrod Ford, has joined the statewide Long-Lewis Automotive Group.

Long-Lewis Automotive announced Tuesday that it had finalized its acquisition of Eckenrod Ford along with the company’s assets and real estate. Moving forward, the official name of the Cullman dealership will be Long-Lewis Ford Lincoln of Cullman.

The purchase brings the automotive group’s dealership up to 11 in eight different cities across the state.

Long-Lewis also plans to bring the nearly 50 current Eckenrod employees into the fold of its now nearly 900 employee count.

“We are very excited about this opportunity,” Wade Bentley, Dealer Principal, Long-Lewis Ford Lincoln of Cullman said in a press release sent to The Times.

“Rest assured that it will be anything but business as usual. Long-Lewis is by far the largest automotive retailer in the state, and has a deep history of customer and employee satisfaction. I am most impressed with our exceptionally strong dedication to the community … We fully expect this location to immediately double its current volume by employing the Long-Lewis way of doing business.”