ADRIAN, Mich. – Lou Merz, noted figure in the North American automotive aftermarket for more than 40 years, has been named president of Venchurs Global. Venchurs Global was founded in 2003 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Venchurs Inc., a privately held logistics provider founded in 1973. Venchurs Global assists U.S. auto parts companies find and partner with cost-competitive manufacturers worldwide. Merz assumes the role immediately. 
In this new capacity, Merz will direct all activities related to helping small-to-medium size U.S. auto parts companies identify reliable and competitive manufacturers around the globe and negotiate contracts for the manufacture and supply of quality replacement parts for the North American aftermarket.
Venchurs Global provides the connections that can be challenging for small and mid-size auto parts companies to attain. Specifically, Venchurs Global is able to match foreign manufacturers with U.S. auto parts companies to meet customers’ exact standards and QC requirements, on time and on budget. Venchurs Global has existing knowledge of, and relationships with, companies that can make such diverse products as brake parts, C-V half shafts, chassis parts, radiators and more.
The company has employees and regular agents in countries such as China, India, Thailand, El Salvador, Guatemala and elsewhere around the world. Venchurs Global staffers include nationals from a number of the countries mentioned, as well as a Ph.D. metallurgical engineer and also a former interpreter for Henry Kissinger during his tenure as U.S. Ambassador to China. These skilled personnel are able to cut through language and cultural barriers that can prove challenging in international commerce.
Merz is uniquely qualified for his new role. In his more than four decades in the North American automotive aftermarket, Merz has held top-level management positions with such prestigious companies as Delphi, MascoTech, Moog and BWD/Borg-Warner. In addition, he has been a consultant to many automotive manufacturing and distribution companies and organizations. And he has also held positions with the Capstone Financial Group and BBK International, directing financial and operating services for those companies’ automotive clients.
Merz holds an industrial engineering degree and an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis. He is a former chairman of the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA), and has been involved in a variety of other industry organizations including serving as president of the Automotive Sales Council.
Venchurs Global is based in Adrian, Mich., outside of Ann Arbor.
