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.
2005 Automotive News Pace Award Finalists Named
More than 30 automotive suppliers have been named finalists in the 11th annual Automotive News PACE Award competition. Open to suppliers that contribute products, processes, materials or services directly to the manufacture of cars or trucks, the PACE (Premier Automotive Suppliers’ Contribution to Excellence) Award is presented by Automotive News, Capgemini and Transportation Research Center Inc. (TRC Inc.). Judges selected 23 finalists and 10 honorable mention awardees based on extensive written responses to the 2005 PACE Award application. Finalists will now host site visits by industry, academic and business leaders to select the winners, which will be announced in April during the Society of Automotive Engineers conference in Detroit. Judges will evaluate each company’s innovation as well as its management team.
Modine Common Stock Begins Trading Today on The New York Stock Exchange
The common stock of Modine Manufacturing Co. begins trading today on The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the new ticker symbol “MOD.” The company announced on September 28 that it would list its common stock on the NYSE after trading on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “MODI” since 1984.
Joe Felicelli To Be AASA’s New Chairman
Joe Felicelli, executive vice president, worldwide aftermarket operations, for Federal-Mogul Corp. in Southfield, Mich., will take the reins as the new chairman of the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA) on Monday, Nov. 1, at the group’s board meeting in Las Vegas. Felicelli is the second aftermarket executive to serve as leader of the association, established in 2002. Current Chairman Charley Johnson, president and CEO of TransPro Inc., in New Haven, Conn., will step down as the group’s first chairman at the November meeting.
TIA Announces 2004 Tire Industry Hall of Fame Inductees
The Tire Industry Association (TIA) has announced the names of those who will be inducted into the Tire Industry Hall of Fame for 2004. John Lampe, retired chairman, CEO and president of Bridgestone Americas, and Mario Marangoni, chairman, CEO and president of the Marangoni Group were chosen by a selection committee for their achievements and leadership that have helped shaped the tire industry.
Manufacturers Discuss How to Face Foreign Competition
About 10 years ago, Lombard, Ill.-based Olson International Ltd. had four manufacturing plants making components for seat belts, airbags and other parts for the automotive industry. Besides Lombard, plants were at their peak in Chicago, Texas and Mexico with as many as 1,000 workers at one time. But that time has passed.
Retailers Hope Customers Will Tune in to Ads As They Shop
Customers rushed in and out of a Roanoke, Va., Advance Auto Parts store on a rainy afternoon this week. Most walked without pausing past two televisions flashing above the cash registers and three sets hanging in the middle of the store. Televisions advertising the latest car gadgets, Advance promotions and daily sports and weather updates aren’t new for the Roanoke, Va.-based automotive parts chain. They first were installed in some Advance stores five years ago. Now they’re in all its stores.
Precision Tune Auto Care Signs Agreement With Hong Kong Company to Open 330 Centers in China
Precision Auto Care, Inc. (PACI) on Tuesday signed a master franchise agreement with Hung Yue Holdings (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. giving that firm’s affiliate, Precision Tune Auto Care (China) Co. Ltd., a license to open and operate at least 330 Precision Tune Auto Care (PTAC) car care centers in China over the next seven years. The first PTAC center is scheduled to open early next year.
Wescast To Exit Chassis Business
Wescast Industries Inc., one of the world’s largest suppliers of exhaust manifolds for passenger cars and light trucks, has announced it is exiting the chassis business, which it currently operates out of a facility in Cordele, Ga. Wescast recently undertook a new global strategy focusing on its core competencies in making powertrain components. The company sees potential to expand this segment of the business by following its customers into the European and Asian marketplaces, according to Ed Frackowiak, Chairman and CEO.
DST Asks: How Do You Plan to Stay Competitive?
Daniel H. Burnham, the 19th century architect and city planner who designed the first skyscraper and conceived the master plans for Chicago and other great cities was quoted as once saying, “Make no little plans, for they have no magic to stir men’s blood. Make big plans, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die.” Trying to follow Mr. Burnham’s advice to make big plans can easily be precluded by the focus needed for just handling day-to-day activities, as described in another saying that goes something like, “When you’re up to your neck in alligators, it’s hard to remember that your original objective was to drain the swamp.”