Behr Hella Service to Provide Comprehensive Range of Aftermarket AC and Engine Cooling Parts
Behr Hella Service, a North American joint venture for thermal management between Behr (vehicle air conditioning and engine cooling) and Hella (lighting technology and electronics) is now able to provide the U.S. aftermarket. The joint venture offers a single source of supply for a comprehensive range of air conditioning and engine cooling parts for European cars and heavy duty trucks, as well as select parts for Japanese and Korean passenger cars.
Delphi Plans to Sell Brake Business
Delphi Corp. has retained W.Y. Campbell & Company to assist the company in exploring sale opportunities for its brake business. Delphi’s Brake business provides fully integrated brake system solutions to customers as well as engineered components tailored to customer requirements. The unit has estimated 2008 revenue of $295 million and more than 1,000 employees globally throughout three manufacturing and assembly facilities located in Juarez, Mexico and Shanghai, China.
Executive Interview with Jesse Jones, Director of Marketing, MAHLE Clevite
Jesse Jones, a 25 year veteran of the aftermarket, was appointed in 2006 to the role of manager – marketing for Clevite Engine Parts, now MAHLE Clevite Inc. Jones is responsible for the company’s overall strategic marketing efforts, which include communication, customer program management, tradeshows, motor sports, brand management and customer training. In this exclusive Executive Interview, Jones brings us up to speed on MAHLE Clevite as the company celebrates nearly one and a half years under the ownership of Stuttgart, Germany-based MAHLE Group.
Scott Swaldo Named Senior VP of Operations at ASC
Scott Swaldo was recently appointed to the newly formed position of senior vice president of operations for water pump manufacturer ASC Industries, Inc. In his new role, Swaldo will be responsible for oversight of all ASC’s global operations including North Canton, Mexico, Spain and China. He has been with ASC since 2001 and has been executive vice president and general manager of the North Canton facility since 2005. Previously, Swaldo was the vice president of procurement and human resources for ASC.
Jasper Opens West Coast DC in Kingman, Ariz.
Jasper Engines & Transmissions has opened a new distribution center in Kingman, Ariz., to better serve its branches and customers out west. In its present configuration, the Kingman distribution center receives up to six shipments from Jasper each week to keep fully stocked with 2,400 remanufactured products. In turn, Kingman sends out up to six trucks each week to service the company’s Southern California, Phoenix, Northern California and Las Vegas branches.
Delphi to Sell Global Exhaust Business
Delphi on Friday announced that it is seeking buyers for its global exhaust business as part of the company’s transformation plan. The business to be sold relates to the design and manufacture of the exhaust system front exhaust module ("hot end") including catalytic converters and exhaust manifolds. Additionally, Delphi’s non-equity based alliance with Belgium-based Bosal Group to offer complete exhaust systems will be terminated by mutual agreement.
Meridian’s Plans to Acquire Automotive Components Holdings’ Sandusky, Ohio Facility Terminated
Meridian Automotive Systems has announced the termination the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) it signed last year with Automotive Components Holdings (ACH) and Ford Motor Co. to acquire ACH’s Sandusky, Ohio, lighting facility. ACH and Ford notified Meridian that, because of the significant changes in the overall business environment, including recent reductions in projected industry volumes, it will not be possible to sell ACH’s lighting business on the terms that Meridian, Ford and ACH originally reached in the MOU.
Brembo Expands in Michigan
Brembo will consolidate its corporate and technical groups from Northville, Mich.; Farmington Hills, Mich.; and Costa Mesa, Calif.; into new headquarters to be built in Novi, Mich. The subsidiary of Bergamo, Italy-based Brembo S.p.A. will also expand capacity at its manufacturing facility in Homer (Calhoun County). The combined project is expected to retain and create 325 jobs for a total of 1,049 Michigan jobs for Brembo.
ASA Hosts Free Service Information Workshops in Six Cities
The Automotive Service Association (ASA) recently hosted its Service Information Workshop series in Massachusetts and New Jersey. Workshops were held in six cities May 27, 28 and 29 to educate shop owners and technicians about the availability of service information to automotive repair shops. Donny Seyfer, AAM, co-owner of Seyfer Automotive, Wheatridge, Colo., led three Massachusetts workshops in West Springfield, North Adams and Middleton on behalf of the association; John Francis III, co-owner of Francis Automotive Services, West Chester, Pa., led three New Jersey workshops in Newark, Trenton and Mount Laurel. Representatives from Ford Motor Co. and Subaru were also present to assist with the workshops.
Hayes Lemmerz Reports Improved Sales and Operating Results
Hayes Lemmerz International has reported substantially higher sales, adjusted EBITDA, core operating earnings and liquidity for the first fiscal quarter ended April 30. For the first fiscal quarter, Hayes Lemmerz reported sales of $573.8 million, up 15 percent from $498.6 million in the year earlier quarter. Adjusted EBITDA improved 9 percent to $54.6 million from $50.1 million a year earlier.