China Agrees to Remove Certain Export Subsidies
Bowing to American pressure on the eve of high-level talks to reduce economic tensions, China agreed Thursday to terminate a dozen different subsidies and tax rebates that promote its own exports and discourage imports of steel, wood products, information technology and other goods.
Judge OKs Sale of Delphi Brake Plant: TRW Deal Gives Saginaw Facility New Life
Delphi Corp. won a judge’s approval Thursday to sell its chassis business to a division of TRW Automotive Holdings Corp., breathing new life into a Delphi brake parts plant in Saginaw, MI, that this time last year faced the prospect of closure. The sale makes good on a promise made in June, in Delphi’s contract with the UAW, to keep that plant running by teaming up with Delphi’s former owner General Motors Corp. to find a buyer. It also brings the Saginaw plant, with 670 hourly workers, into a company that has kept its head above water during the industry’s challenging times.
James Eady Joins Pioneer as Vice President, General Manager
Pioneer Inc. has announced the appointment of James “Jim” Eady as vice president/general manager. He will have complete responsibility for day to day operations along with new market and product development. Pioneer is an international supplier of automotive aftermarket cables, engine parts, flywheels, mounts, ring gears, transmission parts, harmonic balancers, shop supplies and performance parts.
Mitchell 1 Makes Fourth Quarter Updates to OnDemand5 Manager/ManagerPlus Software
Mitchell 1 has made fourth quarter updates to its popular OnDemand5 Manager/Manager Plus, Version 5.9 software. The software now features more functionality and enhancements, which have been added to the integrated NAPA catalog, including an upgrade to display the NAPA stores’ quantity on-hand, cost and distribution center quantities.
Judge Approves $6.8 Billion in Delphi Loans
A judge approved on Friday a $6.8 billion financing plan for Delphi Corp.’s exit from bankruptcy. But the judge also admonished potential equity investors who he said had drained away hundreds of millions of dollars as the auto parts supplier disclosed new terms earlier this week for investing in the company. Delphi, which is based in Troy, MI, had originally sought $8.7 billion in loans, but had reduced that amount and delayed voting on its reorganization plan as it struggled to secure the financing in a tighter credit market.
Uni-Select Net Earnings Increase by 9.1 Percent in the Third Quarter of 2007
Uni-Select has reported a 9.1 percent increase in net earnings for the third quarter of 2007, reaching $10,258,000 or 52 cents per share compared to $9,402,000 or 48 cents per share last year. Sales reached $298,756,000 in the third quarter of 2007, an increase of 1.8 percent over sales of $293,421,000 in 2006. The company said this increase in sales is largely due to the various acquisitions completed during the course of the last quarters, partially offset by the unfavorable U.S. exchange rate compared to the Canadian dollar. Excluding the impact of the exchange rate, sales for the company would have increased by 5.2 percent and earnings would have been 54 cents per share for the quarter.
Richard Roy to Succeed Jacques Landreville as Uni-Select CEO
Jean-Louis Dulac, chair of Uni-Selects board of directors, announced that Richard Roy has been appointed president and chief executive officer of Uni-Select, effective Jan. 1, 2008. He will succeed Jacques Landreville, who will remain a member of the board and will act as a special advisor to the president. Roy, who will be invited to join the board, is currently Uni-Select’s chief operating officer. He has been a member of Uni-Select’s management team since 1991 and held the offices of vice president and chief financial officer from 1999 to 2006.
The Week in Review (Nov. 12-16, 2007)
By Amy Antenora The Week in Review offers a snapshot of the most highly read stories of the week as seen on aftermarketNews. To access the complete stories, simply click on the highlighted links. If you missed reading one of our daily news emails, click on any of the dates listed at the bottom of
R. L. Polk & Co.’s Ask the Industry: Aftermarket Executives Offer Their Predictions
In the trade press, we often say that we have a “30,000 foot view” of the aftermarket, a view that many others do not get to have. From our vantage point, we get perspectives on all segments of the industry. When interviewing industry executives, we like to ask a common question about where they see the industry headed in the next five to 10 years. For this week’s edition of “Ask the Industry,” we thought it would be interesting to put side by side several of the responses to that common question and see what commonalities and what differences there are in their predictions.
Executive Interview with Bill Thompson, President of IMR
Bill Thompson is the president of IMR. He joined the company in 2003 and immediately recognized the extraordinary potential in both the amount of research the company does, and the volume of data it collects. As a result, he has led the way into innovative new research venues, and developed new ways of using the data for a variety of automotive customers. Among the places IMR data can be seen is the weekly research article “The Pulse,” published every Friday on aftermarketNews. Under his leadership, the company continues to grow its portfolio of aftermarket research products and services. Bill is currently a member of the AASA, AAIA and SEMA and currently sits on the AAIA market research committee. In this exclusive Executive Interview, Thompson explains the role of IMR in the aftermarket and how market research data can provide companies with the competitive edge.