The auto parts distribution segment dominated nearly all the top news spots this week on AMN. Leading things off is Federated Auto Parts, which honored USA Industries as its Vendor of the Year for 2009. The award was presented to USA Industries at Federated’s annual meeting held recently in Phoenix, Ariz. Each year, Federated honors one company as Outstanding Vendor of the Year in appreciation of their exceptional dedication to excellence in all areas, including leadership, marketing, training and sales support. The award was accepted on behalf of USA Industries by Frank Doria, senior vice president of sales and marketing; Matt McGuire, vice president of program group sales; and Terry Hill, regional sales manager. Also at the meeting, Federated kicked off its 25th anniversary celebration.
 
Within the manufacturing segment, Delphi this week announced the appointment of Jim Ryan as its new NAPA sales director in North America. Ryan’s appointment became effective Monday, April 19. He comes to Delphi with 28 years of aftermarket experience, most recently with Multi Parts Supply, where he had been vice president of sales, North America since 2008. Ryan also worked for Visteon as director of aftermarket sales. Ryan spent the first 21 years of his career in the aftermarket with Dana Corp., where he progressed though the ranks to become a senior sales leader. During this time, he worked extensively with the NAPA organization.

Back again in the distribution world, it was a big week for Miami, Fla.-based National Performance Warehouse, which announced its acquisition of Speed Warehouse in Hayward, Calif. Founded by Jerry Light in 1949, Speed Warehouse sells high-performance parts out of three distribution points in Hayward, San Jose and Tustin, Calif. The business today is run by Light’s grandson, Gary Light. Gary is currently president of the business, which operates both Speed Warehouse, the WD portion of the business, and Vic Hubbard Auto Supply, the retail and technician segment of the original business. Vic Hubbard Auto Supply is being retained by Light and is not part of this acquisition.

Also this week, American Tire Distributors (ATD) was acquired by a private equity firm in a $1.3 billion deal. ATD owns and operates 83 distribution centers and service dealers in 37 states. The sale effectively ended ATD’s previously announced plan to go public with a stock sale. The sale to TPG Capital will end ATD’s ownership by a consortium of Investcorp, Berkshire Partners and Greenbriar Equity Group, which bought ATD in 2005 for an estimated $500 million. The sale of ATD to TPG Capital is expected to close by mid-2010.

The final item in our roundup of the week’s top news comes from Four Seasons, which was recently presented with AutoZone’s “Extra Miler” award. The Extra Miler award is presented annually to a select group of AutoZone’s several hundred suppliers that go the "extra mile" in terms of service, products and programs. Four Seasons received the honor at AutoZone’s Vendor Summit meeting, held March 31 to April 1 in Memphis, Tenn. Phil Daniele, AutoZone vice president of merchandising, customer satisfaction, noted that in the spring of 2009 AutoZone decided to change vendors to Four Seasons based upon its ability to support a complete product line with vastly improved coverage, superior cataloging and data content capabilities and its strong production and manufacturing record. Daniele went on to say that Four Seasons’ ability to quickly turn around their seasonal stock-up order was critical in making sure that AutoZone did not miss out on the peak air conditioning summer selling season. He also noted Four Seasons’ active role in sales support and A/C training classes that are now being conducted across the U.S. and that “Four Seasons understands how to drive sales in the category.”