Penray’s Brian Strach Awarded Technology & Maintenance Council’s Highest Honor
Brian Strach, OEM sales and account manager for the Power Fleet Division at Penray, recently received the Silver Spark Plug Award from the Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) of the American Trucking Associations. Strach was presented the award during TMC’s recent fall meeting in Nashville, TN. The award is the highest honor given by TMC, North America’s premier technical society for truck equipment, information technology and logistics professionals.
Affinia Acquires Brake Pro, Ltd.; Expands Presence in Medium, Heavy Duty Friction Market
Affinia Group has acquired certain assets of Brake Pro, Ltd., under the Companies’ Creditors Agreement Act of Canada. Among other items, the purchase includes manufacturing equipment, friction formulations and unrestricted rights to the brand name. Affinia is in the process of relocating the physical assets of Brake Pro from its original location in Ontario, Canada, to its own North American manufacturing facilities, and will resume production of the Brake Pro product line.
International Truck and Engine First Company to Enter Hybrid Commercial Truck Production
WARRENVILLE, IL — International Truck and Engine Corporation, a Navistar company, has announced plans to enter line production of hybrid commercial trucks. As diesel fuel prices continue their volatility and engine emissions requirements tighten, International Truck and Engine is now producing the International DuraStar Hybrid, a diesel hybrid electric medium-duty truck that provides customers with
Gary Phillips Named APRA Treasurer
Gary Phillips was installed as the new treasurer of the Automotive Parts Remanufacturers Association (APRA) during the association’s recent “International BIG R Show” held in Oct. 27-29 Las Vegas. Phillips has been working with Allison Transmissions since he was 19 years old. He served in a variety of roles, including technician, service manager and dealer development manager for a Detroit Diesel Allison distributor.
Rich Pershell Joins ETI as Technical Manager
The Equipment and Tool Institute (ETI) has announced the addition of Rich Pershell in the role of technical manager. Pershell will be responsible for all of the Institute’s technical programs and activities including managing and planning all technical aspects of ETI’s Tech Weeks, the Tek-Net Library and technical content for ETI’s website and publications. Pershell will also oversee the activities of ETI’s Vertical Groups and the Technical Committee, as well as develop their annual goals and objectives. He will act as ETI’s liaison with other organizations that affect tool and equipment design and manufacturing.
Zurich Hosts Fifth Annual Industry Conference at AAPEX
LAS VEGAS — Zurich, one of the world’s largest property-casualty insurance companies, held its Fifth Annual Aftermarket Industry Conference Nov. 2 at the Four Seasons in Las Vegas during Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week. Each year, Zurich brings industry leaders together and offers attendees the opportunity to network, learn from each other and address key industry
From Counterman.com: Fuel Surcharges – How Much Will Customers Pay?
Since the Arab oil embargo of the 1970s, sharp increases in fuel prices have become a fact of life for most Americans. Like it or not, rising fuel prices affect every sector of American business, including automotive parts distribution. Most of us who fix cars for a living understand that even a minor increase in the cost of oil diffuses throughout our economic structure and increases the cost of every function of modern society, from fueling our automobiles to manufacturing plastics used in shopping bags and other articles of everyday life. Of course, that doesn’t mean we’re happy about it.
Jerry O’Pry Named President of Blue Magic
From AAIA Auto Facts Blue Magic, Inc. recently announced the appointment of Jerry O’Pry as its new president. Before joining Blue Magic in 2006, O’Pry was director of sales of the automotive products division of Georgia-Pacific Corporation. Prior to joining Georgia-Pacific, he served as executive vice president for Harold Schnair Sales Company, which is one
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.
Brembo Buys Hayes Lemmerz’ Automotive Brake Components Division
Late last week it was announced that Hayes Lemmerz International entered into an agreement to sell its Automotive Brake Components division for $58 million, debt-free. It was Brembo S.p.A. that purchased the company’s brake parts operations. Under the agreement, Brembo North America, Inc., a subsidiary of Brembo S.p.A., has acquired all of the stock of two Hayes Lemmerz subsidiary companies that own the brake manufacturing operations in Homer and Apodaca and certain assets used in connection with the division’s sales, marketing and engineering group located in Hayes Lemmerz’ headquarters in Northville, MI.