Goudy Named Vice President PPG Automotive Aftermarket
Garry Goudy has been appointed vice president of PPG Industries’ automotive aftermarket, comprising automotive refinish coatings, automotive replacement glass and insurance and services. While continuing to lead PPG’s refinish coatings business, in this new role Goudy will assume broader responsibility for all of PPG’s automotive aftermarket business initiatives.
American Axle UAW Contract Expires at Midnight, Accord Expected
The 4-year UAW contract covering 7,500 workers at Detroit-based American Axle & Manufacturing Inc. will expire at midnight tonight. Negotiations between the two sides began in December but have yet to produce an agreement. Two UAW officials, who asked not be named, said a tentative agreement should be reached today.
Early Bird Registration Discount Extended For GAAS
There is still time to hear the aftermarket’s leading experts discuss how the industry can work “Leaner, Faster, Better,” at the ninth annual Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium (GAAS) program – set for Tuesday and Wednesday, May 18-19, at the Hyatt Regency, Chicago, Ill. – at a substantial savings.
DST Asks: Do You Get Everything You Need from Your Current Computer System?
The database engine is the foundation of a computerized business system, used to abstract very specific sorts of information about your business and organize it in a way that will prove useful. The database should ultimately be viewed as a representation or model of the business.
AAIA Executives Make Presentation to Wall Street Investors
Kathleen Schmatz, AAIA president and CEO, and Al Gaspar, president emeritus, addressed a group of 30 Wall Street investors at a luncheon meeting at the Yale Club in New York City last week. The latest statistics and trends on the size, shape and structure of the aftermarket were addressed, as well as profiles of AAIA’s market-growing initiatives: Product Information Exchange Standard (PIES), category management, Right to Repair Act and the “Be Car Care Aware” campaign.
Goodyear Completes $650 Million Loan
Goodyear Tire & Rubber has completed a new $650 million secured term loan that was arranged by JPMorgan and Citigroup. The company said it intends to use approximately $335 million of the proceeds of the loan to partially repay its existing $583 million U.S. term loan. Proceeds will also be used to repay other indebtedness and for general corporate purposes.
TRW Trims Losses
Livonia-based TRW Automotive Holdings Corp., the world’s No. 2 maker of automotive air bags, said its fourth-quarter loss narrowed to $1 million, or 1 cent a share, as currency-exchange gains and auto-parts demand boosted sales. TRW has a year-earlier loss of $33 million. Sales climbed 12 percent to $2.98 billion from $2.67 billion, the company said in a statement. A year ago, TRW was part of defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp.
WIX Filters and Joe Gibbs Racing Create New Cabin Filtration System
WIX Filters has teamed up with the engineers and staff at Joe Gibbs Racing to create a new cabin air filtration system designed to protects drivers’ respiratory systems from particulate matter, like dust, soot and rubber; noxious fumes, gas and oil vapors, and most importantly, carbon monoxide. WIX Filters currently holds the U.S. patent application for the filtration system on file with the U.S. Patent Office. WIX has entered an agreement with Joe Gibbs Racing to manufacture and sell these U.S. Patent Pending air filtration system units to other race teams, making this technology and protection available to the entire racing community.
Tower Automotive Retirees Will See Health Premiums Soar
About 1,200 retirees of Milwaukee’s Tower Automotive plant who opt to keep their current medical coverage will see their monthly health insurance premiums quadruple, or more. Premiums for some of the retirees have increased to more than $1,000 a month. Company officials say skyrocketing healthcare costs have given them no choice but to raise the premiums.
Federal-Mogul Reports Loss
Federal-Mogul lost $120.7 million in the final three months of 2003, 7 percent more than it lost in the same quarter of 2002. For the year, the Southfield-based automotive supplier, which makes such products as Champion spark plugs, Anco wipers and Wagner lights, lost $189.5 million. That’s far below 2002’s net loss of $1.6 billion, which included a $1.4-billion accounting charge.