Twenty-five years of leading one of the aftermarket’s most successful program groups has given Federated CEO Rusty Bishop some excellent insights on the industry, so it’s no surprise that his recent AMN Executive Interview was the most-viewed article of the week. In the exclusive interview, Bishop reflects on Federated’s 25th anniversary and the changes he has witnessed in the distribution sector during that time. He also shares his expectations for the future of the industry. To read the complete interview, click here.
In other top news from the week, Federal-Mogul filed a Form 8-K on May 14 to report that Senior VP and CFO Jeff Kaminksi is resigning from the company to pursue another opportunity. A member of the Federal-Mogul Strategy Board, Kaminski was appointed senior vice president and CFO in early 2008. Previously, he was senior vice president, global purchasing. Prior to joining Federal-Mogul in 1989, Kaminski was manager of financial reporting at R.P. Scherer Corp. He began his career in public accounting at Deloitte and Touche. In 2001, Kaminski served briefly as vice president, finance, GDX Automotive. Kaminksi steps down from his roles at Federal-Mogul on June 4.
SOPUS Products, better known to most as Pennzoil Quaker State Corp., revealed this week that it is undertaking a strategic review for the potential sale of its Car Care Business. Shell’s Car Care business is a comprehensive portfolio of leading car care brands including Rain-X, Auto Expressions, Fix-a-Flat, Black Magic, Blue Coral and Westley’s brand appearance products and Gumout, Slick 50 and The Outlaw brand of automotive chemicals. The first action as a result of this review is a Letter of Intent and advanced discussions to sell Auto Expressions, Shell’s auto accessories and air care business to Kraco Enterprises LLC, an affiliate of private investment firm Sun Capital Partners. Kraco Enterprises is a leading distributor of automotive aftermarket floor mats, including cargo floor mats for vehicle, home and shop use.
Also in the distribution sector this week, prominent Pronto member Eugene Service Parts announced its acquisition of Fortuna Distributing, an ACDelco and Ford Motorcraft distributor located in Eugene, Ore. The purchase was effective May 1. Eugene Service Parts is a two-step distributor of automotive and medium-duty truck parts. According to Gary Davis, vice president of Eugene Service Parts, the company has plans to expand Fortuna’s Albany and Medford, Ore., warehouses and inventories, which will leverage Eugene Service Parts for growth in the markets they serve.
Rounding out our recap of the week’s top news is our coverage of the 15th annual Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium, which took place earlier this week in Chicago. Counterman Editor Mark Phillips was in attendance and reported back on some of the key presentations and highlights from the day-and-a-half event. To check out our coverage from GAAS 2010, click on any of the links below.
Fifteenth Annual GAAS Looks at the Next Generation of Customers and Employees
