Durakon Receives Frost & Sullivan Award For Best Aftermarket Brand Of Drop-In Bedliners
Durakon Industries, a provider of thermoformed products and paint film technology to the automotive industry, was recognized by Frost & Sullivan as the best aftermarket brand of bedliners. Frost & Sullivan is a premier growth consulting company, which each year presents awards in various categories based on consumer research.
Auto Supplier Profits Dwindle
Although new car and truck sales rose more than 2 percent during the first 10 months of 2004, many of the companies that supply parts to big automakers have little to celebrate. Their profits are shrinking as raw-material costs rise and production falls at General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. Already the nation’s two largest suppliers, Delphi Corp. and Visteon Corp., which had combined sales of $45.7 billion in 2003, have warned of lower-than-anticipated earnings this year. They cite higher materials expenses, particularly for steel, and plans by top U.S. automakers GM and Ford to turn out fewer vehicles.
Executive Interview with Ken Schafer, Vice President, and Henry Hippert, Sales Director, for Eastern Manufacturing
Every other week, aftermarketNews.com offers an interview with high-profile individuals in the automotive aftermarket. We give executives free rein to express their views on anything from the state of their corporations to recent legislative news to future trends in their niche markets. Here you see what matters to the newsmakers themselves. Our latest edition of “Executive Interview” features Ken Schafer, vice president, and Henry Hippert, executive sales director, for Eastern Manufacturing.
Workers Sue Oxford on Benefits
Former employees of a closed Indiana auto parts plant are suing a Michigan company and its top executives, accusing them of lying to the government and holding up benefits provided under the North American Free Trade Agreement. More than 300 former employees of Oxford Automotive Inc. are named as plaintiffs in a complaint alleging the Troy, Mich.-based company and nine former and current company officials engaged in fraud and criminal conversion. The case was filed Friday in Marshall Circuit Court.
MEMA Asks Congress to Audit Effectiveness of Current Process Between Automakers and Independent Aftermarket
In a letter delivered to Congressman Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) urged Congress to request a study from the General Accounting Office assessing the effectiveness of the current non-legislative voluntary system between the automakers and the independent repair industry on non-emissions related diagnostic, service and repair information. Rep. Stearns is chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. In addition to this news, MEMA yesterday announced that it has developed a position regarding the aftermarket industry’s “Right to Repair” issue, which was heard before a Congress subcommittee yesterday.
Charting Your Supply Chain DNA — The DNA Building Blocks
What is the genetic structure of a successful supply chain? This week we want to dig a little deeper into the major elements that make a supply chain competitive.
Executive Interview with Paul Foley, Vice President, Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA)
Our latest edition of “Executive Interview” features Paul Foley, vice president of the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA), a market segment of the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA). Join us as Foley brings us up to speed on the rapid growth of AASA since its creation two years ago, as well as several industry initiatives AASA is currently focusing on.
NC3R Co-Sponsors the 2004 International Big R Show
The National Center for Remanufacturing and Resource Recovery (NC3R) has again agreed to co-sponsor the 2004 International Big R Show, which takes place Oct. 29-Nov. 1 in Las Vegas. In the past, NC3R has provided training sessions and partnered on many projects with the Automotive Parts Rebuilders Association (APRA), which hosts the Big R Show. This year, NC3R will be conducting two half-day training sessions focused on avoiding the costs associated with work related illnesses and injuries and improving competitiveness. These training sessions will focus on ergonomics and warranty return cost analysis.
MEMA’s Information Services Council Publishes RFID White Paper
The Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) Information Services Council (MIS Council) has written and published a white paper on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID).
Activant’s Ross to Offer New Perspectives on Supply Chain Technology
What do mountain climbing and supply chain technology have in common? More than you’d imagine, according to Terry Ross, vice president of product development for Activant Solutions. Automotive parts distributors striving for operational excellence through supply chain technology can learn a trick or two from adventurers who have conquered the world’s most treacherous mountains, says Ross, who will present the opening address at next week’s Aftermarket eForum. The Aftermarket eForum takes place Aug. 2-5 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Chicago.