WORLDPAC leads off our recap of the week’s top news, after announcing on Tuesday that it is now offering its parts catalog through the Activant eCatalog, and its electronic ordering capabilities through a variety of leading shop management and service estimating systems. Users of shop management and store point of sale systems featuring Activant Solutions’ parts eCatalog and AConneX gateway connectivity solution can now look up, price and order WORLDPAC products directly from their existing systems.
Our Executive Interview with Ferde Sanders, aftermarket manager for Brembo North America, was also among the most-read items on AMN this week. Sanders joined Brembo in 2007 as part of the Hayes Lemmerz brake division acquisition. Prior to his current position, Sanders worked in OEM sales and product engineering. He has been in the automotive industry for 20 years and the brake industry for the past 13 years. In the interview, he talks about Brembo North America’s new Michigan facilities and its commitment to the North American market.
In the distribution segment this week, the Automotive Distribution Network announced the election of its new chairman. Danny Ward, president of Atlanta-based Southeastern Automotive Warehouse (SAW), was introduced to Network members during the group’s recent fall membership meeting held at the Vinoy Renaissance Resort in St. Petersburg, Fla. More than 300 attendees at the meeting, including 175 vendor partners representing 91 companies and 82 members from 33 Network WDs, according to Mike Lambert, president of the Network. Addressing the membership for the first time as chairman, Ward introduced his son Blake, who recently joined SAW, the company started by Danny’s father, Bill, in 1965. “Blake and I are proud to be associated with such a fine group like the Network,” Ward said. “Along with our vendor partners, I’m confident the Network will continue to be leaders — not followers — in the automotive aftermarket.”
Also this week, AMN readers were interested to learn more about Lori Washington, who has been named director of emerging technologies for Transtar Industries. In this position, Washington will lead efforts to research, gather data and develop recommended strategies regarding future driveline technologies and trends. She joined Transtar in August, following an 18-year career that included positions with International Truck and Engine Corp. (Navistar) and General Motors, in a variety of product development and engineering roles, such as designing release engineer and controls development engineer. She also served as adjunct faculty at the ITT Technical Institute while at International Truck and Engine Corp.
Lastly in upcoming events, Shawn Zwicker, leader of new business development at Cummins Inc. in Columbus, Ind., will speak on “Embracing the Future” at the Opening Session of the International BIG R Show, which takes place Oct. 31 at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel. Zwicker has more than 18 years of plant manufacturing experience. He has been on the OE side of the business as well as the reman business and has spent the past eight years working in remanufacturing with the Cummins ReCon organization. Prior to re-joining Cummins in the ReCon organization, he worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers as a principal consultant in the cost management and operations strategy practice.
