Illinois Tool Works (ITW) took the top spot in our recap of the week’s top news after announcing it has acquired Accessories Marketing Inc. (AMI), creator and manufacturer of the Slime brand of tire sealant products. Slime-branded products can be found in more than 60,000 retail outlets in more than 36 countries. AMI will become part of ITW’s Performance Polymers and Fluids Group and continue to operate as a separate entity.
In the retail sector this week, Advance Auto Parts announced the return of Mike Fogerty to its management ranks. Fogerty rejoins Advance from CARQUEST Auto Parts, where he served as vice president, store operations and sales since 2009. In his new role at Advance, Fogarty will be responsible for the leadership of all store operations in parts of North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina. He will report to Kurt Schumacher, senior vice president, store operations and will be based in Raleigh, N.C.
AMN readers were also interested this week in a new study from the Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies at the Rochester Institute of Technology that indicates vehicles running on a fuel containing 20 percent ethanol showed "significant" reduction in carbon dioxide and other tailpipe emissions over vehicles using gasoline. AAIA reported this week that the study, which was conducted over a one-year period, examined the emissions from 10 vehicles and showed a 23 percent decrease in carbon monoxide emissions, a 12.7 percent decrease in total hydrocarbon emissions, a 3.6 percent decrease in carbon dioxide emissions and a 2.4 percent decrease in nitrogen dioxide emissions for vehicles running on E20 versus gasoline.
Also this week, new challenges have emerged in Visteon’s bankruptcy case. The Detroit Free Press has reported that a group of Visteon shareholders have asked the bankruptcy judge in charge of Visteon’s Chapter 11 case to appoint an examiner to review whether shareholders could be paid in conjunction with the company’s bankruptcy case. As it stands now, Visteon’s plan does not include any compensation for shareholders, which is common in bankruptcy cases, the Free Press noted. The court is scheduled to hold a hearing April 13 on the auto parts supplier’s Amended Plan of Reorganization, which includes recoveries to unsecured creditors, including bondholders and trade creditors. The shareholders’ request also will be considered at the April 13 hearing. In addition, the UAW filed an objection this week to Visteon’s “going concern” sale of two plants to Johnson Controls as part of its reorganization plan, according to BankruptcyData.com. While the UAW says it normally would support such a sale, it opposes this particular sale due to the fact that the deal was agreed upon without the assumption of the UAW’s collective bargaining agreement, which is part of a “successorship” clause at one of the plants, according to the UAW.
Fourth quarter and fiscal year 2009 numbers from Pep Boys round out our recap of this week’s top news stories. The company reported that sales for the fourth quarter decreased by $12.6 million, or 2.7 percent, to $452.9 million from $465.5 million for the fourth quarter ended Jan. 31, 2009. Sales for the fiscal year ended Jan. 30 decreased by $16.9 million, or 0.9 percent, to $1,910.9 million from $1,927.8 million for the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2009. Pep Boys’ net earnings for fiscal 2009 increased to $23 million (44 cents per share) from a loss of $30.4 million (58 cents per share) recorded in the same period last year.
