Exide Corp. this week announced the resignation of President and COO E.J. O’Leary. O’Leary, 54, has a career spanning more than 30 years in the automotive and industrial sectors. He joined Exide Technologies in July 2005 as president — Transportation Americas. When O’Leary was named Exide’s COO, he assumed responsibility for the company’s four operating divisions: Transportation — Americas, Transportation — Europe, Industrial Energy — Americas and Industrial Energy — Europe. The presidents of these divisions have reported to him since that time. O’Leary, who will step down June 16, is credited with assisting the company in successfully building closer relationships with its customers and suppliers for transportation products and services. The company said he also strengthened the Exide brand within domestic markets; implemented successful programs across the operating division that drove profitability and quality; and enhanced the levels of pride and loyalty among Exide employees.
In other news from the supplier sector, Affinia Group is expanding its manufacturing operations in China. The company has begun construction on a new filtration manufacturing facility in China, expanding its existing business partnership with Mr. Zhang Haibo, which includes Haimeng, one of the world’s largest drum and rotor manufacturers. Affinia and Mr. Zhang entered into an 85 percent Affinia-owned joint venture agreement in 2008 through which Haimeng provides drum and rotor components for Affinia customers worldwide. The new filtration center also will be 85 percent-owned by Affinia and will be located near Haimeng’s existing 1-million-square-foot manufacturing facilities in Longkou City, Shandong, China. The new facility will manufacture products for light- and heavy-duty vehicles. Its primary focus will be to service Asian markets, which are experiencing rapid growth in consumer vehicle ownership.
Yesterday, the Automotive Distribution Network announced that Maui, Hawaii, parts warehouse Coimatic Auto Parts and Industrial Supply has joined the Network as a Parts Plus member. Tom DeCoite, owner of Coimatic, has a long history in the auto parts business in Hawaii, formerly as a majority shareholder in another group of stores. This venture will assume the control of the Parts Plus outlets on Maui that were serviced by a previous Network member. Commenting on the news, DeCoite noted, “We pride ourselves on providing personal service, and the Parts Plus programs will enable us to take that approach one step further to establishing mutually beneficial partnerships. I have fast-track growth plans, and Parts Plus is going to be a part of that growth.” Network President Mike Lambert called the addition “a beneficial situation for everyone involved.”
The final item in our round-up of the week’s top news comes from Amazon.com, which just launched its new Wheels store. The new Amazon.com Wheels Store, which caters to all types of automotive customers, showcases a vast selection of top brands such as American Racing, Dip, Dale Earnhardt Jr., KMC, Mickey Thompson, Sacchi, Konig and Veloche. Just as they can within the Amazon.com Automotive Store, customers looking for wheels can use the Automotive Part Finder search tool to quickly find the wheels guaranteed to fit their specific year, make and model. Since its launch in 2006, the Amazon.com Automotive Store has offered customers access to nearly 4 million automotive parts and accessories, including replacement and performance parts, automotive tools and equipment, automotive accessories (interior and exterior), car electronics, motorcycle and ATV parts and accessories, RV parts and accessories, car care and now, wheels. Amazon is offering special deals to celebrate the debut of the store: Customers who purchase a set of four wheels using the Amazon.com Store Card will pay no interest on their purchase if paid in full within 12 months. In addition, customers who purchase a set of four wheels will receive $25 worth of Amazon MP3 downloads.
