A number of personnel announcements lead off our top stories of the week. First, Beck/Arnley announced the expansion of its sales force. According to Paul Farwick, vice president of sales for Beck/Arnley, an experienced group of automotive aftermarket professionals have been appointed to spearhead the company’s newly reorganized sales territories. Four veteran aftermarket salespersons have joined the Beck/Arnley sales force as regional account executives, including Timothy Golema, who will cover the Southeast; Dan Casey, who will lead the Texas corridor; Bob Timoney, who will lead the Mid-Atlantic region; and Matt Lundh, who will lead the Midwest. “We have put together a great team that will continue Beck/Arnley’s tradition of providing first-class customer service,” said Farwick. “Not only does this group possess outstanding sales skills, but their knowledge and insight of the aftermarket will provide great dividends not only to Beck/Arnley, but most importantly, to our traditional customers.” To read more about these and other new sales positions announced as part of the sales force expansion at Beck/Arnley, click here.

Also in personnel news this week, former Babcox group publisher Jon Owens, MAAP, has been named the new vice president of sales and market development for Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance. Owens brings extensive industry experience with him to this newly created position. In addition to previously serving as publisher of aftermarketNews, Counterman and BodyShop Business while at Babcox, Owens was most recently with Auto 7. He began his career at The Timken Corp. in 1985 and during his tenure there held a host of sales and marketing management positions. “Jon Owens is the perfect addition to our Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper team," said John Washbish, president and CEO of Alliance. "His previous experience will be of tremendous benefit as we continue to grow our footprint at the certified service center level. Additionally, his contacts at all levels of the supply chain will assist us with new member recruitment and establishing a presence with national and regional accounts.”

Also among our top stories of the week was a report from the U.S. Department of Justice announcing that Pep Boys will pay $5 million in civil penalties and also will take corrective measures to settle claims that it violated the Clean Air Act by importing and selling motorcycles, recreational vehicles and generators manufactured in China that do not comply with environmental requirements. Baja Inc., which supplied the non-compliant vehicles to Pep Boys, is also settling with the U.S. The complaint alleges that at least 45 vehicle and generator models imported and sold by Pep Boys and Baja were not certified to meet federal emission standards. The complaint also alleges that Pep Boys failed to provide purchasers with the full emission-system warranty required by the Clean Air Act, and that the company imported and sold vehicles and engines without the proper emission control information labels. According to the U.S. Justice Department, this is the largest vehicle and engine importation case brought by the United States to date under the Clean Air Act, both in number of vehicles and engines imported and penalty paid.

In other news, the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA) has announced that Robert Egan has been elected chairman of the association for the 2010-2011 term. Egan is vice president, North America – Global Aftermarket of Federal-Mogul, headquartered in Southfield, Mich. Before joining Federal-Mogul in 1980, Egan spent 12 years at Chrysler Corp. in a number of sales and marketing management positions. For the past three years, he has been heavily involved with AAIA and served on the Show Committee, Board of Directors and Executive Committee. In 2008, Egan was honored with the Leader of the Year Award from the Automotive Warehouse Distributors Association (AWDA). Egan and the 2010-2011 slate of board directors, officers and members were announced at AAIA’s Spring Leadership Days held last week in Hollywood, Fla.

Federal-Mogul gets a second mention in our round-up of the week’s top news, this time for the launch of phase two in its “Smart Choice” campaign. Introduced earlier this year, the Federal-Mogul Smart Choice campaign reinforces the message that longer-lasting, better-performing premium replacement products are the best option for consumers who are retaining their vehicles rather than buying new ones. For this next phase of the initiative, special offers will be available on Wagner ThermoQuiet brake pads and shoes, Champion spark plugs, ANCO wipers and Wagner lighting products, with programs extending throughout the summer and fall.