The announcement that Johnson Controls is bringing an AGM battery to the North American market takes the top spot in our recap of the week’s top industry news. Johnson Controls has been manufacturing AGM batteries in Europe since 2002, where it produces more than 3 million VARTA Start-Stop Plus AGM batteries annually. The company is planning for capacity of 6 million in the U.S. Late last week, JCI’s Mike Carr, Lisa Franklin and Allen Martin sat down with aftermarketNews to share a few details about this new product introduction in the U.S. Click here to learn more.
In other top industry news this week, Automotive Parts Associates (APA) President and CEO Dan Freeman announced plans to retire. Freeman joined APA as national sales manager in January of 1989 and has served as president and CEO since May of 1999. While no date has been set for the appointment of a successor, APA’s board of directors has established a search committee, which will be headed by APA Chairman Robert Duxler. APA says the selection process will begin immediately and Freeman will continue to serve as APA’s leader until the transition is complete.
Also this week in the distribution segment, fourth-generation, family owned Standard Auto Parts announced the opening of its new warehouse in the Reisterstown/Owings Mills area of Baltimore County. The new 11,000-square-foot warehouse is staffed by a manager/dispatcher, a stock keeper and a host of drivers. In addition, the company is able to offer a fast delivery and high inventory model thanks to the customer service capabilities of a central call center located at the company’s headquarters and main warehouse, only 20 minutes away in Baltimore city.
In other top news this week, Deeza Chassis Parts announced that it signed on with an additional three manufacturer’s reps, bringing the total number of agency firms representing Deeza Chassis Parts in North America to 10. The new reps for Deeza include Marathon Sales in all provinces of Canada; Eighner Associates, covering Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Tennessee; and Arrowhead Marketing in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Last in our look back at the week’s top news, Dayco reports the sad passing of colleague and friend, Dayco North Eastern Regional Sales Manager Jerry Bugenhagen. Bugenhagen died July 11 at the age of 62, after a battle with cancer. Gerald “Bug” Bugenhagen began his automotive career with Dayco in 1977 as a district sales representative in Syracuse, N.Y. Bugenhagen was promoted a year later to district manager and relocated to Boston, Mass. In 1980, he moved to Philadelphia and assumed his current role as north eastern regional sales manager. Bugenhagen attended University of Buffalo and was a Vietnam War veteran, serving honorably in the U.S. Army from 1969 through 1971. A GAAS memorial scholarship fund has been established in his memory.
