Analysis: Top 100 Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers
For the third year in a row, global tiremakers such as Bridgestone and Michelin have come out on top of the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association’s 2005 Top 100 Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers list. In fact, the first five companies ranked are all tiremakers.
Aftermarket Financial Symposium Breakout Sessions Scheduled
Four breakout sessions have been added to the agenda for the first-ever Aftermarket Financial Symposium: Leveraging for Growth, Sept. 7-8 in Chicago, Ill., sponsored by the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA). Breakout sessions will cover mergers and acquisitions, fringe benefits, eBusiness standards and tax planning on Wednesday afternoon. The two-day event is geared to aftermarket CFOs, financial service providers, investment analysts, CPA firms and others.
Executive Interview with Mort Schwartz, Chairman of the Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium
Next week, the tenth annual Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium (GAAS) will take place (May11&12) in Chicago. Celebrating this decade of annual events, the theme for this year’s GAAS is “Lessons from the Past, Perspectives on the Future.” In honor of the this tenth-annual event, we asked Mort Schwartz, chairman of GAAS, to reflect back and give us his own perspective on changes taking place in the industry in the past ten years as well as his favorite memories from past symposiums.
Tire Rack Patriarchs Announce Retirement Plans
Tire and wheel wholesaler and mail-order/Internet retailer The Tire Rack will be going through a transition. Company founders and patriarchs, Peter and Wilma Veldman, have announced their intention to retire from day-to-day operations of the Tire Rack to focus more attention on their charitable interests, according to the South Bend, Ind., company.
Metaldyne Names Thomas Amato Executive VP, Commercial Group
Thomas Amato has been appointed executive vice president of Metaldyne’s Commercial Group. Tim Leuliette, Metaldyne chairman, president and CEO, made the announcement. In this new role, Amato will oversee global sales and marketing, supply chain management and corporate development. Reporting to Amato are: Roseann Stevens, vice president of sales and marketing; Linda Theisen, vice president of supply chain management; and Terry Iwasaki, director of finance, commercial group.
Brazil, China, Former Soviet Union Are Top Emerging Global Automotive Aftermarkets
Brazil, China and the former Soviet Union have been tapped as the world’s top three emerging regions for the automotive aftermarket, according to the 2004-2005 edition of the “World Automotive Market Report.” Now in its 74th edition, “World Automotive Market Report” is one of the industry’s oldest global statistical analyses. It is published annually by the Overseas Automotive Council (OAC), the international division of the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA). The report includes global production/assembly statistics, world vehicle census summary, U.S. automotive parts trade, global trade in new vehicles and world motor vehicle markets data.
Executive Interview with Mike Schultz Executive Vice President – Federated Auto Parts
A veteran of more than 30 years in the automotive aftermarket, Mike Schultz has served as executive vice president (EVP) for Federated Auto Parts since 2003. Federated is one of the industry’s premier programmed marketing groups, with more than 3,800 Federated Auto Parts Stores and 2,400 Federated Car Care Centers nationwide. Schultz recently brought aftermarketNews (AMN) up to speed on his role at Federated, having celebrated his first year as executive vice president. He also shared with AMN his thoughts on the future of programmed distribution groups and Federated’s role in the marketplace.
Delphi CFO Alan Dawes Resigns Amid SEC Investigation
The board of directors for Delphi Corp. announced this morning that Vice Chairman and CFO Alan Dawes is leaving the company and has resigned from its board of directors and its strategy board. John Sheehan has been named acting CFO, effective immediately. Sheehan is the company’s chief accounting officer and controller and will retain those responsibilities while serving as interim CFO. He has been named to the Delphi strategy board and will report to Chairman and CEO J. T. Battenberg III.
Top Financial Execs Slated to Speak at First Aftermarket Financial Symposium
Top financial and investment executives from within and outside the automotive aftermarket are slated to address the first-ever Aftermarket Financial Symposium — “Leveraging for Growth,” Sept. 7-8, 2005 in Chicago. The event is being sponsored by the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA).
Mike Lambert and Mike Kamal Share Details on ADN
On Jan. 14, aftermarketNews.com broke the news of the merger between the Parts Plus and IAPA programmed distribution groups. This major news follows closely on the heels of the merger between Quebec’s Uni-Select and New York-based MAWDI, which seems to confirm the sea change that has been taking place over the past few years — with strong but small groups merging to form even stronger collaborations, in an effort to ensure their future in the automotive aftermarket distribution market. Mike Kamal, executive director of IAPA and Mike Lambert, president of Parts Plus, will serve as co-presidents of the new group, to be called the Automotive Distribution Network (ADN). Yesterday, Kamal and Lambert spoke at length with aftermarketNews.com about the merger – how it came together, the synergies involved and thoughts on the future of The Network.