The Week in Review (Aug. 6-10, 2007)
By Arianne Anderson The Week in Review offers a snapshot of the most read stories of the week as seen on aftermarketNews. To access the complete stories, simply click on the highlighted links. If you missed reading one of our daily news emails, click on any of the dates listed at the bottom of the
R. L. Polk & Co.’s Ask the Industry Looks at Budgeting for Education and Training
In a recent five-part series written exclusively for Counterman, industry consultant Tom Easton said, “Business impact and ROI are the only reasons for training and employee education programs.” For automotive aftermarket suppliers, knowing that your end-user has a good working knowledge and understanding of your product is vital. It not only ensures that your product will be used or installed correctly and safely, but is also yet another way to reinforce your brand’s image and reputation of quality – something all aftermarket suppliers strive for today.
R. L. Polk & Co’s Ask the Industry Looks at the Increased Selling and Buying of Outsourced Products
The words “offshoring” and “outsourcing” are loaded terms that can touch a nerve with some in the automotive aftermarket. The idea of manufacturing or importing product from overseas brings up questions about quality, safety and intellectual property, not to mention concerns over the loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs. However, for many in the aftermarket, outsourcing is starting to lose its stigma; not everyone in the aftermarket still sees outsourcing as a dirty word.
R. L. Polk & Co.’s Ask the Industry Looks at Business Solutions for Rising Healthcare Costs
For this week’s Ask the Industry, we look at an issue that is on nearly everyone’s mind these days – healthcare. It has become such a critical concern, both for business owners and employees, that the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) recently developed the Health Care Working Group, to assist its members in addressing the issue. Based on the model of MEMA’s successful Brand Protection Council, the Health Care Working Group began meeting this past year, under the direction of Ann McCullough, MEMA’s director of external affairs.
R. L. Polk & Co.’s Ask the Industry Talks to
Many aftermarket companies today are jumping on the “green” bandwagon and taking steps to reduce their companys’ overall impact on the environment — from office recycling programs to complete product redesigns. Consumers are showing a growing interest in vehicles and automotive products that are environmentally conscious as well. According to 2006 sales data from R. L. Polk & Co., there are 10.5 million alternative fuel vehicles on the roads today.
R. L. Polk & Co.’s Ask the Industry Looks at Predictions for Raw Materials in 2007
The U.S. automotive industry is one of the top consumers of a number of raw materials – steel, petroleum, aluminum, plastic resins, to name a few. The fluctuating cost of raw materials over the past few years has caused major problems for the automotive aftermarket, impacting nearly every sector of the industry.
Vange Proimos of AP Exhaust Elected Chairman of AASA
Vange Proimos, president of AP Exhaust in Goldsboro, NC, has been elected chairman of the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA) Board of Governors. Proimos and his brothers founded the USA Muffler Shop chain in the 1970s. The business grew to more than 20 shops throughout northeast Indiana and included a distribution center to service the muffler shops. In 1994, he and his family started Catco Catalytic Converters, known today as one of the largest aftermarket converter manufacturers in the country. Catco specializes in universal, direct fit and OBDII technology converters. In 1998, Proimos acquired the AP Exhaust Aftermarket Division with manufacturing facilities in Goldsboro, NC. Manufacturing exhaust products for the past several years under the Goerlich’s, Merit, TruckEx and Xlerator brands, the company will begin to market their products as AP Exhaust in 2007.
The Week in Review (Sept. 25-29,2006)
By Amy Antenora, Editor The top news story on aftermarketNews this week reported on the upper management shake-up at CSK Corp., following an internal investigation into accounting errors that have resulted in about $92 million in overstatements in vendor allowances and surplus inventory before 2005. The company’s president and COO Martin Fraser, CFO Don Watson,
R. L. Polk & Co.’s Ask the Industry: Countdown to AAPEX
It’s hard to believe, but the moment we’ve all been waiting for is now less than seven weeks away. And no, we’re not talking about Christmas. It’s the countdown to the annual Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo in Las Vegas , and we’ve asked a few aftermarket companies about their plans and preparations for the industry’s biggest event.
Week in Review
THE WEEK IN REVIEW (August 14-18, 2006) _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ ASSOCIATION & LEGISLATIVE NEWS: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Updates Made to NASTF OEM Service Information Website NASTF recently added updated information to its OEM Service Websites page. According to NASTF, three notable changes have occurred within the listings: Acura and Honda have significantly reduced their annual subscription rates;