MEMA Holds First Automotive Suppliers’ Legislative and Public Policy Summit
Automotive suppliers, members of Congress and federal agency heads met to discuss automotive safety, energy and the environment, international trade and soaring health care and pension costs during the “MEMA Legislative and Public Policy Summit: Advancing American Manufacturing,” held May 5-6 in Washington, D.C.
MEMA Creates Brand Protection Council to Address Counterfeiting, Non-Compliant Products, Intellectual Property Rights
MEMA and its market segment associations have established a new Brand Protection Council to help address and set the association’s priorities in the areas of counterfeiting, diversion, non-compliant products and intellectual property rights. The council will meet four times a year and will help dictate MEMA’s (and the industry’s) collective actions on various intellectual property issues. The council will also share best practices and dialogue on this growing industry challenge.
Firms Eye Cooper, Dana Auto Part Units-Sources
A handful of large private equity firms are considering bids for two key automotive parts businesses on the auction block, sources close to the situation said. Both Dana Corp. and Cooper Tire and Rubber Co. have announced they may divest their auto parts businesses. Each unit may separately fetch $1 billion or more, analysts estimate.
Florida Automotive Industry Association Celebrates 50 Years
The Florida Automotive Industry Association will celebrate its 50th annual convention this year. The 2004 event will be held at the Renaissance Orlando Resort at SeaWorld on July 23 and 24. The Florida Automotive Industry Association was established in 1954 by a small group of dedicated jobbers. Over the years the Association grew to include more than 700 members statewide.
Panel to Address China’s Effect on U.S. Manufacturing
A panel of industry and trade representatives will address China’s effect on U.S. manufacturing during the MEMA Legislative and Public Policy Summit: Advancing American Manufacturing, which will be held on Thursday, May 5-6 in Washington, D.C.
Pep Boys Prices Common Stock Offering
Pep Boys has announced a public offering of 4,250,000 shares of common stock at a price of $24.75 per share. All of these shares will be sold by the company. Goldman, Sachs & Co., Morgan Stanley, Wachovia Securities and Advest, Inc. acted as representatives of the underwriters. The underwriters have a 30-day option to purchase an additional 396,464 shares of common stock from the company to cover over-allotments.
Collins & Aikman Reveals Insider Deals
Collins & Aikman Corp. revealed Wednesday that it paid a board member $300,000 to serve as vice chairman for six months in 2002 and did millions of dollars of business with another board member. The company had failed to fully disclose details on those transactions to shareholders.
NHTSA’s Runge, Continental Teves’ Kozyra to Speak at Automotive Suppliers’ Legislative and Public Policy Summit
Dr. Jeffrey Runge, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), will be joined by William Kozyra, president and CEO of Continental Teves North America, on Thursday, May 6, for a discussion on automotive safety, at the MEMA Legislative and Public Policy Summit: Advancing American Manufacturing, in Washington, D.C. Runge and Kozyra will discuss such topics as NHTSA’s and Congress’ views toward encouraging voluntary industry guidelines vs. mandates and how industry and government should address innovation and technology out-pacing regulation.
Defining The Process Enterprise
In this week’s article we’ll deal with a fundamental question: What is a “process enterprise” and how does it differ from the kind of enterprise most of us are living in today?
Campaign to Bring Back the “Midas Touch”
Midas wants to return to its core value of trust with the resurrection of a marketing campaign first used in Midas advertising in the 1980s. The company’s new national advertising agency DDB Chicago is collaborating with Ogilvy & Mather Toronto on the “Trust the Midas Touch” campaign. The campaign will include commercials that take place in a Midas shop and show a humorous dialog between a customer of Midas and a Midas service employee, who is hooked up to a polygraph machine. The commercials are the first in a long-term campaign to grow Midas’ category-leading shares in brakes and exhaust and to support the expansion of its services, including oil changes and other routine maintenance services.