ZF Names Ed Frutig Vice President of Customer Strategy for North America
ZF, a global automotive supplier of driveline and chassis technology, has named Ed Frutig vice president of customer strategy for ZF Group’s North American Operations (NAO). Frutig previously held the position of global customer director for Ford and General Motors, responsible for axle systems business acquisitions. He will continue these duties in his new role, while planning ZF Group NAO strategy with OEMs in North America.
Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda to Receive SAE Foundation’s 2005 Manufacturing Leadership Award
Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda, honorary chairman of the Toyota Motor Corp., has been selected as the recipient of the 2005 Manufacturing Leadership Award issued by the SAE Foundation. Dr. Toyoda will travel from Japan to receive the award at the Annual SAE Foundation Banquet on Tuesday, May 24, at the Renaissance Center Wintergarden in Detroit.
Performance Friction Corp. Creates New Sales Position
Performance Friction Corp. this week announced the creation of a new staff position — vice president of special accounts. Carroll Warner has been appointed to this new post, which was created to have a more focused offensive strategy to grow and expand the Performance Friction Corp. brands in key markets. Warner has served as the company’s vice president of sales and marketing since January 2002.
An Era to End at Ford: William Clay Ford Plans to Retire from Company Board
William Clay Ford, the last surviving grandson of Henry Ford, plans to retire from the Ford Motor Co. Board of Directors after nearly 57 years, the company announced Wednesday. Ford, who turns 80 Monday, is the father of chairman and CEO Bill Ford and has been on the board for more than half of the company’s history, elected before he even graduated from Yale University.
Ford, Delphi Go Up Against Big Steel
Ford Motor Co, the second-largest U.S. automaker, and Delphi Corp, the world’s largest auto-parts company, asked the U.S. International Trade Commission yesterday to lift duties on steel imports from Brazil, Japan and Russia. Executives from the two companies joined their automotive industry peers at a hearing in Washington, saying the five-year-old U.S. tariffs on hot flat-rolled steel from those nations have led to record steel prices, which are squeezing their profits.
MEMA Names New Director of Communications
Margaret Beck has been promoted to director of communications for the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA). She formerly served as the association’s manager of communications. In her new position, Beck will be responsible for production of member communications for MEMA and its market segment associations: the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA), the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association (HDMA) and the Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA).
Richard Anderson Joins MEMA as Senior Market Research Analyst
Richard Anderson has joined the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) as senior market research analyst. Before joining MEMA, Anderson worked for CARQUEST at its Raleigh, N.C., headquarters as the lead product analyst. Anderson is an ASE certified parts expert, and is a high performance driving school instructor.
Lear Eliminates Poison Pill
The board of directors at Lear Corp. has voted to amend its shareholder rights plan, commonly known as a poison pill. As a result of this amendment, the rights plan will automatically expire at the close of business on December 15. It was originally scheduled to expire in March 2010.
AFFINIA Exec Discusses State of Acquisition
One of the biggest news stories of the year was the sale of the Dana Automotive Aftermarket Group (AAG) to New York-based buyout firm Cypress Group, which agreed to purchase the AAG unit for approximately $1 billion. That deal was announced in early July of this year, and two months later, on Sept. 8, it was announced that Dana AAG would have a new name under its new owners – AFFINIA. aftermarketNews.com sat down with AFFINIA’s John Washbish in Las Vegas just prior to the start of the AAPEX show to update show attendees on the state of the transition. Washbish is AFFINIA president of Customer Relationship Management (CRM), a position he has held since 2003. Recently, his duties were expanded to include serving as vice president and general manager of the AFFINIA Undercar Group, which includes the Raybestos, Spicer, Aimco and McQuay-Norris brands.
Live from AAPEX: Scott Meyer Presented MEMA’s Prestigious Triangle Award
Scott Meyer, retired president of Ken-Tool in Akron, Ohio, and past chairman of the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association’s (MEMA) , was presented the Triangle Award, MEMA’s highest honor, last night during the association’s Executive Reception in Las Vegas.