Don and Wayne Keller, formers owners of Keller Truck Parts, were honored as Hall of Fame inductees. Photo Credit: Ben Zimmerman, ben@swphotovegas.com.

Don and Wayne Keller, formers owners of Keller Truck Parts, Baltimore, Md., were presented with the 2011 Heavy Duty Aftermarket Industry Hall of Fame Award in recognition of their contributions to the industry. Presented by R.L. Polk & Co. at the HDAW 2011 industry awards luncheon, the award recognizes an individual’s length of service, impact on and commitment to the industry, as well as thought leadership.

The Kellers started their business in 1971 and grew it to 11 locations in Maryland and Delaware, before selling to FleetPride in 2008. What set the Kellers apart was their dedication to customer service.

In accepting the award, Don Keller said, “This is more than I could imagine for myself. This is the final ace in the industry for me.” He reflected back on the first day he and Wayne opened their business. “We had one thought. And that was to be successful.” He credits Keller Truck Parts’ employees for the businesses success, saying, “Without good employees you can only go so far.”

Wayne went on the thank industry suppliers. “We could not have done anything without the suppliers who gave support to us.”

Betts Spring Company and VIPAR Heavy Duty, Inc. have announced a supply agreement for the heavy-duty aftermarket. The new agreement will allow Betts to distribute its mud flaps through VIPAR’s 115 distributors and 500 locations in North America.

Mike Betts, president of Betts Spring Company, says, “We are honored by the opportunity to serve VIPAR Heavy Duty and their valued fleet customers.  Regional and national fleets can now secure the entire portfolio of Betts heavy-duty products through the extensive VIPAR Heavy Duty distributor network – a true win for the heavy-duty supply chain.”

VIPAR Heavy Duty President and CEO Stephen R. Crowley adds, “VIPAR Heavy Duty prides itself on offering leading brands of recognized quality, innovation and value.  Betts and Life-Time Fenders branded spray suppression products certainly meet that profile.”

Navistar International Corp. announced Tuesday, Jan. 25, that it expects substantial gains in fiscal 2011 earnings as the result of the successful implementation of its three-pillar growth strategy and improving economic conditions. The company said it believes that net income attributable to Navistar for fiscal year ending Oct. 31, 2011, is expected to be between $388 million and $466 million, excluding transition costs associated with the integration of the truck and engine engineering operation and the potential positive impact of income tax valuation adjustments.

“As evidenced by our guidance, our strategy continues to drive value for our shareholders,” says Daniel C. Ustian, Navistar chairman, president and chief executive officer. “Coming out of the recession, we have developed today’s earning guidance around a stronger economy, further expansion of our aftermarket service parts business and continued benefit from great products, a competitive cost structure and profitable growth.”

The Warrenville, Ill.-based company raised its guidance for industry volume and now anticipates that total truck industry retail sales volume for Class 6-8 trucks and school buses in the United States and Canada for its fiscal year will be in the range of 240,000 to 260,000 units. Truck industry volume in fiscal 2010 was 191,300 units.

Navistar says growth strategy transition costs associated with the integration of the truck and engine engineering operation into a single facility could be between $75 million and $80 million. Including the integration costs, net income attributable to Navistar for its fiscal year is expected to be between $311 million and $388 million. Navistar earned $223 million in fiscal 2010.

Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC has once again expanded in Mexico. The company opened its third plant in Acuña, Mexico this week, an actuator manufacturing facility that also will produce spring brakes and service chambers. The Acuña III site is located near Bendix’s Acuña I and II sites, and was leased by the company last May.

The 67,000 square foot building has been refurbished to the company’s needs, and Bendix says the building meets all quality standards for facilities, equipment and production layout.

“We’re very pleased to announce that the state-of-the-art Acuña III facility began production in December and has added 112 jobs to the local Acuña economy,” says John Cairo, Mexico country manager for Bendix. “Expanding our existing Acuña operations through the latest manufacturing site addition has enabled Bendix to further leverage corporate shared services, while maintaining lean and cost-effective manufacturing processes to allow us to remain competitive in the markets we serve.”

Bendix expects the Acuña III facility to produce one million actuators per year for Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake LLC.

Accuride Corp. has announced sales personnel appointments. John Younger, who formerly served as Accuride’s director of aftermarket sales, has been promoted to vice president of aftermarket sales, responsible for the strategic global leadership of Accuride’s Aftermarket sales initiatives. As such, he will work closely with Accuride’s customers, its business units and the respective sales personnel.

Prior to joining Accuride, Younger served as national sales manager for Webb Wheel Products and also held a range of related positions with Carlisle Corp., ArvinMeritor and Euclid.

In addition, Michael Keyes has joined Accuride as its account executive for Paccar. Most recently Keyes was a regional manager for Webb Wheel. He also served as a district sales manager for Paccar.

“With extensive industry experience in sales, marketing and operations, we look for John and Michael to continue to drive success throughout our OES and Aftermarket programs,” says Rick Schomer, Accuride’s senior vice president of marketing and sales. “Our commitment to customer satisfaction, through continued enhancements to the products, services and solutions we provide our customers, will continue to be an integral part of our strategic plan and will be an overriding focus for both John and Michael.”

Commercial Vehicle Group announced that Herb Brown has joined the company as sales manager for the company’s Industrial Markets and Parts division.

Brown will be responsible for all sales activities related to fleets, original equipment service dealers, distributors and small original equipment manufacturers in the Western region. Brown previously worked as sales and marketing manager for Filtran, LLC, a former division of SPX. Brown brings more than 20 years of heavy-truck aftermarket experience to CVG, having worked in multiple sales capacities managing independent representatives and also working as a manufacturer’s representative.

Matt Resch has been appointed the new Program and Market Manager for Haldex Friction & Remanufactured Products. Resch will be responsible for the combined marketing efforts of sales support, business development and the enhancement of product programs. Resch is a 10-year employee at Haldex, and has held a variety of positions in the product management industry.

Pressure Systems International (P.S.I.) is now offering a full set of Volume IV (Jan.-Nov./Dec. 2010) Commercial Fleet Tire Digest issues, as a printed spiral bound book.

The Commercial Fleet Tire Digest (www.psitiredigest.com) is said to be an authoritative guide to reducing tire expenditures, launched in 2007 and published 11 times a year. In each issue Al Cohn, director of new market development and engineering support for P.S.I., discusses a subject of particular interest to fleet operators and others concerned with tire safety, wear and cost as well as how to enhance fuel economy through tire technology and use.

Separate books for each previous year 2007 (Volume I), 2008 (Volume II) and 2009 (Volume III) also are available by request.  Books can be ordered and past issues of the Commercial Fleet Tire Digest can be viewed and downloaded at http://www.psitiredigest.com/archive.

To sign up for free monthly e-mail issues, complete the subscription form at

http://www.psitiredigest.com/subscribe.htmlwww.psitiredigest/subscribe.

The January issue of Qwik Tech Tips discusses measuring techniques to determine the proper coiled electrical cable length for tractor/trailer combinations.

Length is said to be the most important factor for a coiled electrical cable, according to Phillips Industries. According to Qwik Tech Tips, a short cable can come loose during a turn while a long cable can drag on the deckplate. Qwik Tech Tips offers four steps to make sure truck owners purchase and use the best length cables for their operation.

Qwik Tech Tips is a monthly newsletter published by Phillips Industries and offers solutions to electrical maintenance issues. Each issue of Qwik Tech Tips can be found at www.phillipsqwiktechtips.com.

TMD Friction Products, a global manufacturer of brake friction materials, has announced a new agreement with Global Parts Network, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vipar Heavy Duty, which will make TMD’s Don and Textar brands exclusively available through Vipar Heavy Duty distributors in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico. TMD Friction will supply the majority of friction products to GPN from its factory in Queretaro, Mexico, and the products will ship from GPN’s CoMan Centers (Cooperative Manufacturing Centers) in the United States.

TMD Friction manufactures brake friction materials in the original equipment market and aftermarket for passenger cars as well as commercial vehicles. Under the agreement with GPN, TMD Friction will make available a full line of OE premium friction products in economy, standard, premium severe-duty, long-life and vocational grades of friction for all vehicle applications. TMD Friction has locations in Germany and four other European countries, as well as in the United States, Brazil, Mexico, China and Japan.

“During my career in the heavy-duty industry, I’ve developed a great respect for the Vipar Heavy Duty organization and their distributors,” says Russell L. Armer, North America business development manager for TMD Friction. “TMD Friction looks forward to working with our new partner in this exclusive distribution agreement.”

Established as an independent company, GPN provides service and support exclusively to the Vipar Heavy Duty network of distributors and suppliers. “This new relationship with TMD Friction and the ability to exclusively offer the Don and Textar products alongside our other highly recognized brands will position the Vipar Heavy Duty stockholder with a strong brand portfolio,” says Gene Damron, GPN’s general manager. “This will not only enhance the value proposition for our distributors, it will increase opportunities for all the business partners who work through our CoMan Centers.”

TMD Textar brand was established in 1913 and is a premium quality OE friction product line. TMD Don is a standard friction brand with friction formulas available in economy, standard and premium grade.

“TMD Friction is driven by its goal of providing engineered solutions to brake and friction problems, while Vipar Heavy Duty is driven by its desire to provide excellent value and service to its customers,” says Tom Green, managing director, NAFTA, TMD Friction. “At TMD Friction, we look forward to combining the business passions of our organizations into a winning formula for success in the commercial vehicle market.”

“TMD Friction will provide dedicated technical sales support to all Vipar Heavy Duty distributors, as required, to support business development and growth,” says Mario Gudiño, TMD Friction’s aftermarket sales director, NAFTA.