After more than 50 years, WD-40 has decided to spread its wings beyond its namesake product first introduced in 1958. This week, the company of the same name introduced its first-ever product line extension with a series of products for trade specialists. The new WD-40 Specialist line consists of five products: Rust Release Penetrant Spray, Water Resistant Silicone Lubricant, Protective White Lithium Grease, Long-Term Corrosion Inhibitor and Rust Remover Soak. All of the new WD-40 Specialist products are 50-state VOC compliant, the company says.
In other top news this week, it was reported that SKF will acquire General Bearing Corp. (GBC), based in West Nyack, N.Y. SKF is buying GBC and its subsidiaries, including the interests in its four manufacturing sites in China, for approximately $125 million. The company will continue to operate as an independent subsidiary within the SKF Group, providing customers with products under the existing General and Hyatt brands.
Fourth quarter results from Advance Auto Parts also ranked among the most-viewed items on AMN this week. Total sales for the fourth quarter increased 4.5 percent to $1.33 billion, compared with total sales of $1.27 billion during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010. Advance said the 4.5 percent sales increase reflects the net addition of 99 new stores during the past 12 months and a comparable store sales gain of 2.9 percent compared to an 8.9 percent comparable store sales gain during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010. Fiscal 2011 comparable store sales increased 2.2 percent on top of an 8 percent increase in fiscal 2010.
Top program group Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance announced that John Bartlett, Jr., CEO of Automotive Parts Headquarters (APH) in Saint Cloud, Minn., will serve a two-year term as chairman of the Alliance board of directors. Bartlett was installed as chairman at the group’s recent meeting in Miami. Bartlett has been at the helm of APH since 1976, and the company has been an active member of the Alliance since 1986. During his two-year term, Bartlett will work closely with the board, Alliance headquarters staff and other Alliance shareholders to shape strategy and set priorities for the group.
Last in our look back at the week’s most popular news on AMN, Delphi introduced remanufactured instrument clusters for a variety of GM applications from 1996 to the present. As the OE supplier, Delphi holds intellectual property knowledge for the applications and vehicle systems engineering, which means all clusters are remanufactured to OE standards to ensure they operate properly and reliably, the company says. In addition, Delphi says, offering a reliable remanufactured aftermarket product helps support the environment by effectively reusing existing product instead of throwing it away.
