ASA Offers New Electronic Service Information Course for Collision Repair Professionals
The Automotive Service Association (ASA) has created a new educational seminar to address information availability issues for collision repair professionals. The new three-hour seminar, “Electronic Service Information in a Collision Repair Facility,” presents automobile manufacturers’ collision repair information now available on the Internet. The course will be taught at several events this year, including the International Autobody Congress and Exposition (NACE) on Nov. 5 in Las Vegas.
Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum Unveils New Interactive Web Site
The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum has launched a new interactive Web site — http://museum.nhra.com — designed to give visitors a history of motorsports as well as information on museum programs and events.
UTI to Open New PA Campus
The Pennsylvania Department of Education has granted a license to Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (UTI) to operate a new campus in southeastern Pennsylvania.
Transportation Secretary Mineta Launches Traffic Safety Partnership with NASCAR
U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta and NASCAR President Mike Helton have joined forces in launching a new traffic safety alliance with the racing league aimed at saving the lives of everyday drivers on America’s roads. Secretary Mineta made the announcement while in Richmond, Va., appearing as the grand marshall of NASCAR’s running of the Chevy American Revolution 400.
Suppliers Feel Pinch from Auto Industry
Workers at the Timken Co. can spin magic with bearings, crafting superb tapered bits of metal tinier than grains of sand and 9-ton sculptured steel behemoths. The friction-reducing bearings let cars, sport utility vehicles, railroad engines, space satellites, computer disk drives and even missile guidance systems function. But for all that specialized engineering, the $3.8 billion Canton manufacturer is caught in the same pythonlike economic squeeze as businesses large and small across the world: how to cut costs and do more with less, because if they don’t, someone else eventually will.
EPA Issues Final Emissions Rule for Automotive Surface Coating Operations
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a final rule on National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAP) for automobile and light-duty surface coating operations. The EPA says the new rule will protect air quality and promote public health by reducing emissions of hazardous air pollutants. The rule applies to major sources such as automobile and light-duty truck assembly plants and producers of automobile and light-duty truck bodies.
Rep. Knollenberg Introduces Bill To Fight Counterfeit Goods
U.S. Representative Joe Knollenberg (R-Mich. 9th District) yesterday introduced legislation to strengthen the federal law used to prosecute counterfeiters whose products threaten public health, harm American manufacturers and cost jobs in the U.S. The Stop Counterfeiting in Manufactured Goods Act would require the mandatory destruction of equipment used to manufacture and package counterfeit goods. In addition, the proposed legislation addresses methods that counterfeiters have used to evade prosecution, such as the selling of patch sets or medallions that can later be attached to generic merchandise and given the appearance of a genuine product, as well as placing a counterfeit mark on goods not specifically listed in the trademark registration.
Job Without Glitter May Be Gold — Skilled ‘Blue-Collar’ Workers Get Top Dollar
Think you have to earn a college degree to collect a hefty paycheck? Think again. A work-force shortage is driving up demand – and salaries – for skilled workers in “blue-collar” trades within the construction, automotive, health-care and service industries.
ROL Manufacturing Passes ISO/TS 16949 Certification
ROL Manufacturing’s Marwil facility in Fort Loramie, Ohio, has passed a quality audit completing the requirements for ISO/TS 6949:2002 quality rating and on March 19, 2004 received ISO/TS16949: 2002 certification. The Ohio facility previously received ISO 14001: 1996 certification in February of 2003 and QS9000: 1998 certification in September of 1997.
Growing Auto Parts Market in China is an Opening for New Business Models
Last year was a remarkable year for the automobile market in China. Car production grew 80 percent and domestic car sales soared nearly 70 percent over the year before. During 2003 the total import to China of cars and car parts grew 86 percent over 2002. China now ranks fourth in automobile production and third in automobile sales in the world. According to PRCDirect — a consulting firm which specializes in the Chinese market — this sales growth is creating a corresponding demand at the aftermarket and OE levels.