Many are returning home after a productive week in Las Vegas for the annual Automotive Aftermarket Industry week where a number of aftermarket organizations made major announcements. Among them was Automotive Parts Associates (APA), which introduced six new members this week. APA’s newest member, Daniels Motors Inc. joined the association just earlier this week. The company is located in Colorado Springs and has been doing business as Daniels Chevyland since 1929. Daniels is currently developing a full-line WD program to service a vast area of customers in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Texas and Oklahoma. Other new members to join the association recently were Just Suspension, based in Denver, N.C.; Farwest Auto Parts Warehouse, based in San Luis Obispo, Calif., Allied Auto Stores in San Francisco; Rancho Auto Parts (T & L Distributing Inc.) and Total Automotive Imports in Yonkers, N.Y.
Also at AAPEX this week, Northwood University presented its prestigious Automotive Aftermarket Management Education Awards at a special luncheon program at the Venetian hotel. The Northwood Automotive Aftermarket Management Education Award is given to individuals in the automotive aftermarket field who have made noteworthy contributions to education, on any level, inside or outside of the industry. They are people of stature and the award is recognition of substantial dedication over a number of years to the educational process and the automotive aftermarket field. This year’s winners included Willi Alexander, regional vice president, Uni-Select USA, Roanoke, Va.; Mark Iasiello, vice president, Heavy Duty Manufacturing Association, Research Triangle Park, N.C.; Pamela Krebs, director advertising and sales promotion, Robert Bosch LLC, Broadview, Ill.; Roger McCollum, president and CEO, N.A. Williams Co., Atlanta; Gary McCoy, president, Fairway Communications, Elgin, Ill.; M. Kathryn Miller, president and group publisher, Newport Communications Group, Irvine, Calif.; James Tennant, chief executive officer and co-owner, Piston Ring Service Supply, Winnipeg, Canada; and Douglas Washbish, president, Moog Louisville Warehouse, Louisville, Ky. Congratulations to all of this year’s honorees.
In other personnel news, Remy Power Products (RPP) introduced its new world-class sales and marketing organization at the annual AAPEX trade show this week. Robert Gracey has joined Remy Power Products as vice president of sales for WD; Rafaat (Raf) Kureshi signed onto the Remy Power Products team as vice president of export; and F. David Bohr has joined Remy Power Products as director of category management. Remy executive Jack Vollbrecht Jr. will now serve as the new senior vice president of business development as well as the chairman of the newly created Remy Customer Council. And, Remy’s Tim Winkeler is now serving as the vice president of sales for retail.
In the racing segment, things are looking a bit bleak for Formula 1 (F1) as four major tiremakers distance themselves from the series. Bridgestone has opted out of supplying tires for the program for the 2010 series and three other major players in the tire business – Goodyear, Pirelli and Michelin – say they have no interest in being involved with F1 at this point. A number of other brand names have been bandied about, including Kumho, which began an F1 tire development effort five years ago, and Hankook, which has been active in GT racing.
Among the many items in our live AAPEX coverage this week, AMN readers showed a high level of interest in our photo galleries from the show. To view them, simply click on the links below.
Photo Gallery: AWDA Conference and Awards
Photo Gallery: Sights from Day One at AAPEX
Photo Gallery: Day Two at AAPEX and the Cocktail Reception Round-up
Photo Gallery: Celebrity Sightings at AAPEX
