People Archives - Page 135 of 143 - aftermarketNews
R. L. Polk & Co’s Ask the Industry Gets Feedback from GAAS Attendees

Following a day full of insightful presentations at this year’s Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium (GAAS), an evening cocktail reception gave GAAS attendees the perfect opportunity to network and discuss the day’s events. The reception, sponsored by Industrial Marketing & Research and Universal Underwriters with transportation provided by BB&T Capital Markets, took place Wednesday, May 18 at the Automotive Hall of Fame. Counterman Managing editor Michael Freeze interviewed a number of industry execs at the event, and asked: What GAAS presentation has been most valuable to you and why?

R. L. Polk & Co’s Ask the Industry: Synching Up Customer and Provider Expectations When it Comes to Pricing

As an industry, what can we do to get all service providers on the same page, in terms of getting a fair price for service and repair expertise, and being able to charge accordingly, without consumers feeling like they are being gouged?

R. L. Polk & Co’s Ask the Industry Looks at the Rising Need for ‘Premium’ Products

For this week’s Ask the Industry, we asked top executives at three leading aftermarket parts manufacturers: Do you foresee more suppliers expanding their aftermarket product offerings to include additional ‘premium’ products, since the demand today for OE and OE-equivalent parts, with their precise fit, form and function, is so strong?

Executive Interview with Peter Culley, Vice President Aftermarket for PBR International Limited

Peter Culley, vice president aftermarket for PBR International Limited, has devoted his entire working life to the automotive brakes industry. With a background in mechanical engineering and extensive experience in global automotive markets, including a 25 year association with the North American market, Culley has been instrumental in orchestrating PBR’s global aftermarket expansion.

R. L. Polk & Co’s Ask the Industry Talks About Consumer Awareness of Reman Parts

Drastic changes have taken place in the automotive industry over the past few years. Increased offshoring of production capabilities, increased quality of imported product and a slate of bankruptcies have completely altered the U.S. automotive landscape. But perhaps one segment in particular faces the most challenges today: reman. For this week’s Ask the Industry, we asked three executives from U.S. remanufacturing companies to give us their thoughts on marketing remanufactured parts to consumers.

R. L. Polk & Co.’s Ask the Industry: What Impact Does Globalization Have on Brands?

Whether it’s a well-known U.S.-based aftermarket manufacturer opening facilities in Asia, or a strong new foreign player entering the U.S. market, today’s market place is a virtual melting pot. For this week’s Ask the Industry, we asked three knowledgeable industry executives for their thoughts on whether globalization has any impact on brand in the aftermarket. Here’s our question: How does the increasing presence of global competitors in the aftermarket impact the importance of brand?

Executive Interview with Ric Alameddine, VP of Marketing and Engineering, North American Aftermarket, Tenneco

This week we talk with Richard Alameddine, vice president of marketing and engineering, North American Aftermarket, for Tenneco Inc., manufacturer of Monroe shocks and struts, Monroe premium brakes, Walker exhaust products, DynoMax performance exhaust, Rancho performance suspensions and shocks, and DuPont Car Care appearance and performance chemicals.

R. L. Polk & Co.’s Ask the Industry Talks to Shop Owners about National Car Care Month

With National Car Care Month (NCCM) just a couple of weeks away, we thought this would be the perfect opportunity to find out what a few shops have planned. Using the Carcare.org website, we randomly called shop owners across the country and asked: What are you planning for this year’s NCCM? Is this the first time you’ve hosted a NCCM event? If not, do you think drivers are recalling the campaign and improving their vehicle maintenance habits?

Executive Interview with Alexei Gurin, CEO of Amtel-Vredestein NV

Alexei Gurin is certainly putting his experience to work as CEO of Amtel-Vredestein NV and chairman of its management board. An engineer by training, Gurin earned his MBA from the University of Toronto, worked as an investment manager in Canada and other countries, was marketing director for Bennetton in Moscow, served as general director of MOST-TORG and founded Rostrade Co., a retail chain in Russia. In 2001, he joined the Amtel Group as vice president of finance, then became finance director in 2002 and general director in 2004. That year, Gurin was the point man in Amtel’s acquisition of Vredestein Banden and, most recently helped Amtel-Vredestein’s successful initial public offering of stock. In this exclusive interview, conducted as the company announced the formal entry of the Vredestein brand into the Russian tire market, Gurin discusses the acquisition and Amtel-Vredestein’s future.

R. L. Polk & Co.’s Ask the Industry Looks at the Impact of Hybrid Vehicles

Last week, as part of a speech on his Advanced Energy Initiative, President Bush called for increased spending on scientific R&D and incentives for makers and consumers of alternative sources of energy in order to reduce the United States’ dependency on foreign sources of energy. The most promising breakthrough in alternative energy, the president said, is the hybrid vehicle. As interest in hybrid vehicles grows, it also raises many questions both for consumers and the technicians who must eventually repair these cars.

Executive Interview with Greg Gyllstrom, Vice President and General Manager of Visteon’s North American Aftermarket Operations

As vice president and general manager of Visteon’s North American aftermarket operations, Gregory Gyllstrom is responsible for expanding the organization’s aftermarket business by coordinating and directing the company’s sales, product development and marketing activities. Recently, Gyllstrom shared with aftermarketNews a few insights into the underhood category as well as Visteon’s evolution from a Ford spin-off into an ‘all-makes/all-models’ supplier.

R. L. Polk & Co.’s Ask the Industry: Readers Respond

Two weeks ago, in our last “Ask the Industry” column, we talked about the impending tech shortage that seems to be making waves around this industry as of late. As we’ve highlighted several times before in these pages, the article intended to point out that perhaps it’s not all about the numbers, but about helping technicians and shop owners do their jobs better. We asked you, our readers, to share with us any aftermarket-specific technician recruitment or training initiatives that you know of.