Executive Interview with Chris Northup, VP, Keystone Automotive
Christopher Northup joined Keystone Automotive in 1983, working in the corporate office as the marketing manager. Today, as vice president, he continues to have various nationwide operation, sales and marketing responsibilities. He continues to function as the primary industry spokesperson for the company and currently serves on the I-CAR Education Foundation Board and various other collision industry committees and boards.Join us as Northup brings us up to speed on the latest details regarding Keystone’s recent merger with LKQ and what the future holds for the two newly combined companies.
Executive Interview with Nancy McLean, Director of Marketing for ACDelco GM Service and Parts Operations
Nancy McLean is director of ACDelco Marketing for GM Service and Parts Operations (SPO). Read on as McLean shares with aftermarketNews the details of the new ACDelco 360 initiative and other marketing initiatives and plans for the new year.
R. L. Polk & Co.’s Ask the Industry Looks at the Fluctuating Dollar’s Impact on Manufacturing
This edition of “Ask the Industry” looks at the affect changes in U.S. currency is having on the automotive aftermarket industry, particularly the manufacturing sector. Helping us sort through this complex issue is Frank Hampshire, senior director of market research for the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA) and the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA). In this exclusive “Ask the Industry” discussion, Hampshire says the fluctuating value of the dollar isn’t all bad for aftermarket manufacturers.
Executive Interview with Michael Tate, General Manager, MAHLE Clevite Inc.
In September, Michael Tate joined MAHLE Clevite as general manager. He brings 26 years of aftermarket experience to MAHLE Clevite, most recently with SPX Service Solutions. In addition to SPX, Tate held a variety of sales management positions with such companies as Parker Automotive, Dorman Products and Phillips & Temro Industries. As GM of MAHLE Clevite, Tate has management responsibility for all North American Aftermarket activities for the MAHLE Group, which includes MAHLE Clevite Inc., MAHLE Clevite Canada, ULC and the Aftermarket division of MAHLE Componentes de Motores S.A. de C.V.
Executive Interview with Jose Maria Alapont, Chairman, President and CEO of Federal-Mogul
Last month in Las Vegas, aftermarketNews Publisher Jon Owens and Editor Amy Antenora sat down with Federal-Mogul Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Jose Maria Alapont to continue a conversation that began at last year’s AAPEX show. In November, Federal-Mogul received approval for its Final Plan of Reorganization and hopes to emerge from Chapter 11 by the end of the year. Read on to learn more Alapont’s ‘fresh start’ vision for the new Federal-Mogul as well as how the company is wrapping up nearly six years of operating under Chapter 11.
R. L. Polk & Co.’s Ask the Industry: Aftermarket Executives Offer Their Predictions
In the trade press, we often say that we have a “30,000 foot view” of the aftermarket, a view that many others do not get to have. From our vantage point, we get perspectives on all segments of the industry. When interviewing industry executives, we like to ask a common question about where they see the industry headed in the next five to 10 years. For this week’s edition of “Ask the Industry,” we thought it would be interesting to put side by side several of the responses to that common question and see what commonalities and what differences there are in their predictions.
GUEST COMMENTARY: How to Go Beyond Customer Service and Deliver Customer Value
The following guest commentary comes from Joe Mejaly, vice president and general manager of ArvinMeritor’s Commercial Vehicle Aftermarket (CVA) business. His comments are excerpted from remarks made in October to a national meeting of warehouse distributors and independent service garage operators. ArvinMeritor provides its parts and services to and through authorized parts outlets, including warehouse distributors and OE dealers.
Executive Interview with Jay Pittas, President, Remy Electrical Aftermarket
This week’s Executive Interview features Jay Pittas, president for the Electrical Aftermarket business of Remy International. Pittas joined Remy in 2006 from Eagle-Picher Automotive where he served as president of the Wolverine Specialty Materials business. Prior to joining EaglePicher, Pittas held progressive positions with Honeywell, ARI Technologies and UOP. Pittas has nearly 30 years of manufacturing experience, holding management positions in customer service, sales, technical support and process engineering. He has been responsible for leading business expansion through new customer and international market development, implemented Six Sigma and other productivity programs and organized teams to meet competitive challenges. Pittas completed the chemical engineering program at the University of Notre Dame and the engineering management program at Hamilton University. Join us as Pittas shares with aftermarketNews the latest details on Remy’s Prepackaged Plan of Reorginzation as well as the company’s plans
Federal-Mogul Prepares for a Fresh Start
Yesterday during the AAPEX Show, Counterman/aftermarketNews Publisher Jon Owens and aftermarketNews Editor Amy Antenora had the chance to sit down with Federal-Mogul Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Jose Maria Alapont for an exclusive interview. Continuing a conversation that began at last year’s AAPEX show, Alapont shared the latest news about Federal-Mogul’s impending emergence from bankruptcy protection and talked about future plans for the company. This exclusive interview will be published in its entirety next month on aftermarketNews .
Executive Interview with Bill Thompson, President of IMR
Bill Thompson is the president of IMR. He joined the company in 2003 and immediately recognized the extraordinary potential in both the amount of research the company does, and the volume of data it collects. As a result, he has led the way into innovative new research venues, and developed new ways of using the data for a variety of automotive customers. Among the places IMR data can be seen is the weekly research article “The Pulse,” published every Friday on aftermarketNews. Under his leadership, the company continues to grow its portfolio of aftermarket research products and services. Bill is currently a member of the AASA, AAIA and SEMA and currently sits on the AAIA market research committee. In this exclusive Executive Interview, Thompson explains the role of IMR in the aftermarket and how market research data can provide companies with the competitive edge.
R. L. Polk & Co.’s Ask the Industry: You Ask, We Deliver!
For more than four years now, aftermarketNews has provided an industry dialogue on issues of interest to you, our readers. Through our bi-weekly feature, Ask the Industry, sponsored by R. L. Polk & Co., we have asked hundreds of seasoned industry executives to chime in on every industry ‘hot topic’ — from parts proliferation and promotional ideas to globalization and offshoring. So, as we prepare for another year of bringing you the most timely and relevant industry news, we also look to find out what current industry issues you are most interested in.
Executive Interview with Steve Seabourne, President of AIM
Steve Seabourne is president and CEO of AIM. Seabourne has more than 30 years of experience with AIM. For the past five years, he has had overall responsibility for the company as president. Seabourne has hands-on manufacturing expertise with active participation in all aspects of the business from teardown and assembly to purchasing, marketing, cataloging and sales. He is a double major graduate of the University of California at Davis with a B.S. in biological sciences and a B.A. in economics. In this week’s Executive Interview, Seabourne brings us up to speed on the latest initiatives at AIM, as the company celebrates its 40th anniversary.