By Amy Antenora
The Week in Review offers a snapshot of the most highly read stories of the week as seen on aftermarketNews. To access the complete stories, simply click on the highlighted links. If you missed reading one of our daily news emails, just click on the link that says "News Archives" at the bottom of the page to begin catching up on the latest industry news.
Editor’s Note: Last week’s issue of The Week in Review is being distributed today as a result of the recent Independence Day holiday. We will resume our normal Friday afternoon delivery schedule on Friday, July 11.
Affinia Group announced some big news last week with its plans to acquire 85 percent of HBM Investment Limited, owner of one of the world’s largest drum and rotor manufacturing companies, Longkou Haimeng Machining Co. Ltd. The company said the acquisition will significantly expand its worldwide manufacturing capacity for high-quality brake components and also provides Affinia with a strategic opportunity for continued market expansion through Haimeng’s current OEM and aftermarket customer base in Asia and Europe.
Another major news story that held readers’ interest last week was the announcement that Canadian supplier Progressive Molded Products Inc. filed for Chapter 11 protection on June 20, listing debts in excess of $500 million and assets of no more that $50 million. Unfortunately, the move was too little, too late. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Progressive Molded Products has shut down operations. Owned mostly by Boston private-equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners, Progressive blamed a retreat by its biggest customers, General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC, for closure, the paper said.
Also last week, WORLDPAC unveiled its new educational Customer Marketing Solutions brochure designed to supplement independent service center’s marketing knowledge and assist them with effectively marketing their businesses. The brochure reviews several types of marketing strategies as well as measuring success.
And speaking of marketing, Cooper Tire has named Hal Gardner as its new vice president of marketing for the Findlay, Ohio-based company’s North American Tire Division. Gardner most recently served as vice president of marketing and a corporate officer for Therma-Tru Corp. in Maumee, Ohio.
In other personnel news, Jim Ryan, former VP of sales for Visteon, has joined Multi Parts Supply USA Inc. (MPS), a multinational auto parts supplier and supply chain management organization, as vice president sales North America. With more than 26 years in the automotive parts field, Ryan’s extensive sales experience will complement MPS’ role as a one-stop shop for automotive aftermarket customers, offering a total value added package providing everything from product design and development through raw material and factory sourcing, production planning and management, quality assurance and export documentation to shipping consolidation.
To view all of the news from the past week, simply click here to view our News Archives.
