The Week in Review (July 7-11, 2008)

By Amy Antenora

The Week in Review offers a snapshot of the most highly read stories of the week as seen on aftermarketNews. To access the complete stories, simply click on the highlighted links. If you missed reading one of our daily news emails, just click on the link that says "News Archives" at the bottom of the page to begin catching up on the latest industry news.

Two tire-related reports lead our most-viewed news stories this week. The first announces that both Goodyear and American Pacific Industries are recalling limited numbers of consumer tires, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The tires are being recalled over concerns regarding a thin area of rubber on a portion of the tire bead, which could lead to a poor bead seat and air loss.

The second most viewed article this week details some changes in the executive line-up at Akron, Ohio-based Myers Tire Supply. In addition to several new hires, Richard Nunez was promoted to director of Myers Tire Supply Domestic and will be responsible for all domestic branches, branch operations and business development; and Lance Meyer was promoted to manager of business development, with a focus on key account and government sales.

And speaking of new appointments, the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) has completed the election of the 2008-2009 SEMA Board of Directors. Five new individuals join the leadership group for the new term. The new members in the manufacturer category are Ron Funfar, Hedman Hedders/Trans-Dapt; BJ Leanse, Big Country Truck Accessories; and Tim Watts, Superlift Suspension Systems. The new members in the distributor/retailer category are Luanne Brown of eTool Developers and Ed Orzetti of Keystone Automotive Operations Inc.

Personnel changes were of high interest to AMN readers this week, and made up most of our top five most viewed news items. Among them, 20-year industry veteran Tim Clarey has been named director of sales, traditional aftermarket for Champion Laboratories. Prior to joining Champ Labs two years ago, Clarey was national sales manager and director of traditional aftermarket sales for Perfection Clutch.

Also big news this week was Tim Wheeler’s new appointment at Delphi. Joining Delphi in 2001 as an independent aftermarket sales manager, Wheeler was appointed as Delphi Product & Service Solutions’ (DPSS) Independent Aftermarket (IAM) North American sales director, effective July 1. He replaces Norm Young, who left the company for a new position within the aftermarket.

To view all of the news from the past week, simply click here to view our News Archives.

Despite a tough commercial tire market in 2023 due to overstock and the effects of a rubber-banding supply chain, some tire manufacturers are expressing a cautious optimism for stabilization and gradual recovery through the rest of 2024 and into 2025.

"The economy is not showing signs that it’s going to slow down, but I don’t think the situation’s going to improve dramatically by the end of this year. It’s more likely next year," said Pierluigi Cumo, Vice President of B2B products, at Michelin North America. "We can see the light because the beginning of 2023 was very bad. I think now we’ve found the bottom, and I don’t think we’re going to get much further from the bottom in 2024."