Executive Interview: Jacques Landreville and Jim Buzzard Talk About the Recent Merger of Uni-Select and MAWDI
Our latest Executive Interview features Jacques Landrevillenand Jim Buzzard. On November 1, Landreville and the Buzzard family completed the merger of Uni-Select and MAWDI. The merger significantly expands Uni-Select’s reach into the U.S., where it will generate revenues of approximately $470 million. As part of the agreement, all current MAWDI and Uni-Select locations will remain under their original names, but at the corporate level MAWDI will operate as a subsidiary of Uni-Select USA. All of the various companies within Uni-Select USA, including MAWDI, will be referred to as Automotive Group USA. Landreville and Buzzard recently spoke with aftermarketNews.com and shared some of the finer details about the future for Uni-Select USA.
A Suppliers’ Guide to Innovation
As automotive suppliers continue to get hammered by price cuts, material cost increases, and competitors in low-cost countries, renewed attention is being focused on product and process innovation as a way to improve competitive positioning and profitability. So here we’ll look at the systems automotive suppliers need to implement if they want to consistently deliver on the innovation imperative.
ArvinMeritor Sells Coil Coating Business to Private Equity Firm
ArvinMeritor has sold its wholly owned subsidiary, Roll Coater, Inc., to an affiliate of private equity firm Willis Stein & Partners. The cash purchase price of the stock transaction is approximately $162.5 million.
Canadian Auto Parts Industry Keeps Gaining Market Share, Study Finds
The Canadian auto parts industry is gaining market share in North America despite a soaring Canadian dollar, Scotia Economics says in its latest auto report. Canadian parts shipments rose seven per cent, year-over-year, through September, about double the increase posted by U.S. suppliers. Large Tier 1 parts makers are leading the advance, with sales at Canada’s two biggest publicly traded parts companies advancing by 28 per cent so far this year.
Value of IRL Sponsorships Grow, According to Report
According to a year-end Sponsors Report conducted by Joyce Julius and Associates, IRL IndyCar Series sponsors saw a 33 percent increase in the comparable value of their sponsorships during the 2004 IndyCar Series season. The report, which tracks exposures for all event telecasts during the season, found that the overall exposure value during the season was $303,536,815, up $76 million over 2003. It also found that overall television time increased by 7 hours, 13 minutes and 55 seconds, a 15 percent increase, while overall sponsor mentions were up 413, a 17 percent increase.
Tire Kingdom to Open Three New Stores in Houston Area
Tire Kingdom Inc. announced that it plans to expand its retail operations in the Houston area by opening three new stores during the month of December. New stores in Houston and in Humble and Kemah, Texas, will open around Dec. 20, according to a statement released by the national tire retailer.
West End Tread System Opens New Canadian Retread Plant
West End Tread System, a new joint venture between Canadian retreaders RTS (Montreal) and West End Tire (Winnipeg), recently held a grand opening for its new retread plant in Mississauga, Ontario. The new plant will use Marangoni Ringtread technology exclusively. Ringtread is a splice-free retreading system that provides longer tread life, increased traction and reliability compared to traditional spliced systems, according to Marangoni, the originator of the technology.
MACS ACtion Magazine Staff Honored with Writing Awards
MACS ACtion magazine has been honored with four writing awards by the International Society for Vehicle Preservation. The writing honors were announced at the 2004 International Automotive Media Awards held on November 16 at Sardi’s Restaurant in New York City.
Fine-tuning the Midas Touch
Alan Feldman, president and CEO of Midas Inc., may not share the ability of his company’s fabled literary counterpart, King Midas, to turn whatever he touches to gold, but much of what Feldman has touched in his 21-month tenure at the automotive aftermarket giant has had a golden effect on the company.
Chinese Auto Parts Delegation to Visit the U.S.
A delegation of five senior representatives from the government of Shenzen, the fastest growing city in China, will be in the U.S. from Nov. 26 through Dec. 26 to explore opportunities to collaborate with U.S. car manufacturers, parts suppliers, service organizations and other automotive companies to develop and establish an auto parts center in Shenzhen.
NAPA Chassis Announces Winner of the Extreme Drive Sweepstakes
Larry DeMar specifically wore his lucky red shirt in hopes that it would bring him one last bit of luck. And, it did. DeMar, owner of Superior Auto & Fleet Repair in Phoenix, Ariz., outlasted six other regional winners to drive away with the NAPA CHASSIS Extreme “Drive” Sweepstakes’ grand prize – a new Ford F150 truck, Jeep Wrangler, a Bass Boat and a $1,000 Cabela’s gift certificate. The drawing was held Nov. 20 at the Grand Hyatt Washington Hotel in Washington, D.C.
DuPont to Build Auto Paint Lab in Japan
DuPont said it will spend $10 million to build an automotive paint laboratory in Japan to facilitate approval for sales of coatings to the domestic factories of Japanese carmakers. The laboratory, to be built in Aichi Prefecture where Toyota Motor Corp is headquartered, will open in the third quarter of 2005 and employ about 30 people, the U.S. chemical giant said.