COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — American Powertrain, a tier one Elite distributor of TREMEC transmissions and manufacturer of the innovative ProFit transmission installation systems, has announced the hire of Matt Graves in the position of marketing and commercial sales manager. 
Graves began his automotive career with Maremont, maker of Cherry Bomb, in 1994 working in the manufacturing plant. In 1996, he became an engineering design tech and eventually was promoted to a position in product development.
Graves was responsible for designing the premier Cherry Bomb Vortex muffler, Maremont’s highest performance muffler in the lineup. When previous company owners were ready to allow Cherry Bomb’s patent and copyright to lapse, Graves was directly responsible for convincing them to renew what he knew was one of the industry’s most cherished iconic brands. In 2005, Ken and Paul Banks, owners of IMCO Exhaust, acquired Cherry Bomb and put Graves in charge of the re-launch, including all aspects of consumer events, trade shows and product brand development and marketing.
Graves now makes the transition from exhaust to transmissions as the marketing and commercial sales manager for American Powertrain. He brings 17 years of experience to the position.
“Working for American Powertrain is a great opportunity, their business has been very successful," said Graves. "I am excited to see where we can take it going forward.”
Gray Fredrick, co-owner and CEO at American Powertrain, added, “We feel lucky to have added Matt to our team. His marketing, networking and commercial sales skills are well-known throughout the industry. Matt will surely play a vital role in taking this company to the next level.”
