LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y. – Standard Motor Products (SMP) has announced that BWD and Murray Temperature Control were named the O’Reilly Auto Parts 2011 Vendor of the Year for Training and Technical Support during the O’Reilly managers’ conference held recently at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tenn.
 
Tim Plank, account executive for SMP, accepted the award from Tom Seboldt, vice president of merchandise for O’Reilly Auto Parts.
 
The award was presented to BWD and Murray Temperature Control for fostering excellence in training and technical support, which includes hands-on clinics available in both English and Spanish, technical hotline support and training materials. There were more than 500 engine management and temperature control clinics conducted in 2011, which trained nearly 20,000 professional service technicians. Clinic attendance was up more than 40 percent from 2010, according to SMP.
 
“I would like to sincerely thank O’Reilly Auto Parts for recognizing our ongoing commitment to providing outstanding training and technical support for professional service technicians,” said Mike Fitzgerald, SMP’s vice president of marketing. “Receiving this prestigious honor is a testament to the fact that technicians are interested in learning more about our product categories. Year after year, automotive technicians can count on us to provide the most cutting-edge service and repair information available in the industry.”