A.P.A. Industries Inc. has hired industry veteran Robert Heap as its vice president of engineering and quality assurance for the URO Parts brand. Heap will be responsible for managing the technical process for products from development to release, and will oversee the URO Parts quality assurance and engineering facility located in Simi Valley, California.

“URO Parts is well-known among professional mechanics for its quality replacement parts, but few people realize URO is an OEM for several automakers,” said Daniel Seeman, chief operating officer. “Robert’s extensive Tier 1 experience makes him an invaluable addition to our team, where he will be an ideal liaison between automakers and our engineering and quality assurance departments as we expand our OEM and URO Premium lines of business.”

Heap received his Bachelor of Science in aerospace and mechanical engineering technology from California State Polytechnic University-Pomona, including master’s course work at University of Southern California for systems management. He has worked in the automotive parts industry for more than 21 years, most recently as the vice president of engineering and quality assurance at Westin Automotive Products Inc. in San Dimas, California.

“The chance to join A.P.A Industries is an exciting opportunity to augment the growth of the URO Parts brand,” said Heap. “From the ownership down through the whole of the company, I am impressed with the commitment to provide products that offer the highest possible value to the market. My initial strategy will be to thoroughly review URO Parts’ product performance data to identify strengths and weaknesses from design and manufacturing perspectives, and implement our most successful processes across the entire product line.”