Appearance Accessories Capture More of Market
Over the past eight years, appearance/body accessory products have shown the largest growth of any product group in the industry, increasing 96.4 percent. Following closely is custom wheels, with performance chemicals in third place.
Lord Corp. Opens New Michigan Facility
Lord Corp. — which makes specialty adhesives, polyurethane coatings as well as electronic, vibration and noise control solutions for the automotive market — has expanded its Detroit area facility in an effort to better serve the automotive market. Located on 4.8 acres in Wixom, Mich., the newly constructed 19,020-square-foot facility houses the company’s automotive sales office and includes a 7,736-square-foot high-technology formulation and testing laboratory, automotive aftermarket training classroom, and a garage for hands-on automotive application training.
Edelbrock 2004 Catalog Now Available
The new 2004 Edelbrock Catalog for American Cars & Trucks is now available. Sporting a historic cover shot of Vic Edelbrock Jr. with his father’s just-restored ’32 Ford Roadster, the new catalog has 244 pages of automotive parts including manifolds, shocks, cylinder heads, fuel pumps, carburetors, camshafts, headers, crate engines, etc. It is also the company’s largest catalog to date.
AutoZone Enhances Top Management Team, NAPA’s Steve Handschuh Named Senior VP
AutoZone (AZ) has announced new responsibilities and additions to the company’s senior management team. Steve Handschuh, current president of NAPA Auto Parts, has been named senior vice president of AZ commercial. Handschuh spent the last seventeen years at NAPA building its wholesale business. Mike Longo, currently senior vice president of store operations for AZ commercial and ALLDATA, has been named senior vice president for growth initiatives. Additionally, Brad Bacon, vice president and general manager of store operations, will become senior vice president of store operations.
Bridgestone Americas’ Lampe To Retire
John Lampe, chairman, CEO and president of Bridgestone Americas Holding, who led the company’s remarkable recovery after devastating tire recalls in late 2000 and early 2001, announced today that he is retiring effective Mar. 31. He will be succeeded as chairman and CEO of BAH by Mark Emkes, currently chairman, CEO and president of Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire (BFNAT). Lampe announced his retirement this afternoon during a company-wide live Web cast and conference call. In addition, Lampe and Emkes granted Tire Review an exclusive in-depth interview about the retirement and the company’s future plans earlier this morning.