By Truck Parts & Service Staff
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
Following are personnel changes and announcements in the trucking industry:
•Firestone Industrial Products Co. named Michael Sigillito its new sales and marketing director; Emily Poladian its heavy-duty distributor sales manager; and Mark Hilburger its heavy-duty OE sales manager.
•Thermo King Corporation named Anup Shetty its aftermarket marketing manager; Tom Kampf its trailer product manager; and Scott Bates its truck product manager.
•New Life Transport Parts Center appointed Bruce Black its vice president of sales.
•Minimizer named Patrick Hoover its sales manager for the Southwest region; Jill Hagedorn its sales manager for the South Central region; Kyle Ackerman its sales manager for the Southeast region; and Steve Hansen was promoted to national accounts manager.
Right to Repair tech session at TMC fall meeting
The American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council will hold a technical session titled “Access to Repair Information” on Thursday, Sept. 17, during its fall meeting in Raleigh, N.C.
According to the group, “This tech session will examine the issue that has been in the news and even has made its way to the state houses and U.S. Congress. A panel of industry leaders will debate unlocking access to technical and product information to fleets shops and independent service providers.”
Prior to the tech session, TMC’s Fleet Management Study Group will vote on making the topic the focus of a new task force.
The tech session will be moderated by Heavy Duty America’s Business Development Manager Lew Flowers. Panelists include:
- David Scheer, president of Inland Truck Parts, Kansas City, Mo.;
- Marc Karon, president of Total Truck Parts, West Palm Beach, Fla.;
- Gerald Chunn, partner with Lone Star Truck Group, Ft. Worth, Texas; and
- Joe Stianche, vice president of Operations with KLLM, Jackson, Miss.
Top Speakers Announced for Aftermarket Distribution Summit
General session speakers for the first annual Aftermarket Distribution Summit include a best-selling author and business growth expert, an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and a distribution technology and strategic planning specialist.
“The speaker lineup for the inaugural Aftermarket Distribution Summit delivers attendees needed content from high-profile speakers that will address the pressing issues faced today by aftermarket professionals,” says Ken Duval, CVSN president and president of Canadian Wheel Industries. “These speakers set the stage for a must-attend event with valuable takeaway knowledge and strategies.”
The Aftermarket Distribution Summit is expected to draw hundreds of truck industry aftermarket professionals to its debut Sept. 12-16 on Amelia Island, Fla. The new event combines the annual Commercial Vehicle Solutions Network meeting, the HDX Technology Conference and Truck Parts & Service magazine’s Truck Parts Seminar. Details for distributors and suppliers, including registration information, is available at www.AftermarketDistributionSummit.org.
The general session speakers are:
Steven S. Little: A much sought after expert on the subject of business growth and the future of opportunity. His style has been described as “real world,” “highly credible” and “uniquely engaging.” He is the author of the best-selling books The 7 Irrefutable Rules of Small Business Growth and The Milkshake Moment: Overcoming Stupid Systems, Pointless Policies and Muddled Management to Realize Real Growth.
Michael Bryan: A vice president and senior economist in the research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He is responsible for organizing the agency’s monetary policy process. Bryan previously served as vice president in the research department at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland where he specialized in business analysis with an emphasis on measuring and tracking inflation trends. In 1986, he served as an economist in the research division of the Federal Reserve System’s Board of Governors in Washington, D.C.
Steve Deist: The strategic planning and sales effectiveness specialist from the Indian River Consulting Group. Diest will be the Keynote Speaker for the HDX Technology track, speaking on the importance of strengthening IT projects during tough economic periods, and focusing resources to get the most for the money. He has more than 17 years of experience in the distribution field and a strong background in business process re-engineering and technology implementation.
In addition to the speaker lineup, the Aftermarket Distribution Summit will feature an array of business sessions with issue-driven panels, interactive breakout sessions and a focused technology track presented by HDX.
Panels include: What Customers Want, What the Channel Needs and Protecting Product Brand and Brand Integrity. The technology track features a Bridging the Gap IT panel and a session on Prioritizing IT Projects and Maximizing ROI.
Additionally, the Aftermarket Distribution Summit will include private strategic planning sessions scheduled between distributors and suppliers; presentation of the CVSN President’s Award to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to the industry; and networking opportunities, including the Tenneco Challenge Golf Tournament and deep sea fishing.
Mitchell 1 now provides online medium-duty truck service info.
Mitchell 1 announced it is now offering online service information for medium-duty vehicles (Class 4-7) configured as straight trucks and built from 1990 to the present.
The company said the new site – Medium-Truck.net – provides 24/7 online access to the same real world service information available on Tractor-Trailer.net (Mitchell 1’s Class 7 and 8 tractor counterpart) to medium-duty vehicle service and repair shops.
The subscription-based site is updated monthly and will include thousands of detailed color wiring diagrams to help solve electrical problems. Also included is the company’s CircuitSelect that allows users to trace, highlight, isolate and hide individual wiring circuits using different colored highlights.
According to Mitchell 1, “Medium-Truck.net is easy to learn and easy to use. Technicians can simply navigate through the program after they log-in to find all the information required to fix a particular vehicle. By entering the vehicle VIN number, the program automatically populates the Year/Make/Model for rapid vehicle selection. Diagnosis and repair are made correctly the first time; thus putting the vehicle back in service quickly.”
Great West Truck Show boasts healthy attendance, quality attendees
Despite difficult economic conditions, attendee turnout at Las Vegas-based The Great West Truck Show held in June was excellent, said Mike Reilly, president and CEO of Randall-Reilly, the show’s owner.
“To have a show hold up under such dramatic economic pressure and have such good attendance was better than anyone expected,” said Reilly.
“Although the show was smaller than in 2008, the quality and quantity of attendees, in such challenging times, was unprecedented,” said Alan K. Sims, vice president/executive director.
Show management reported that overall visitor registrations totaled 16,524, down 11.7 percent from last year. However, the show saw gains in key “qualified” attendee categories.
Of the qualified registered attendees, the executive management/owner category increased 11.8 percent. Private fleet attendance increased 3 percent. “We were pleased with the quality of attendees, but were even more pleased with exhibitor’s reactions,” Sims said.
“I thought it was the most productive show, in terms of the number of quality of contacts, of any show I’ve personally attended to date,” commented Lane Bartram, marketing manager, with Arrow Truck Sales. Bud Weisbart, vice president with A&R Tarpaulins said: “The quality of attendance was one of the best ever, and we actually made contacts on the show floor that are resulting in sales.”
Next year’s Great West Truck Show will be held June 17-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Randall-Reilly also produces the Great American Trucking Show, held annually in Dallas. GATS has been recognized by Tradeshow Week, a leading industry publication, as one of the “Fastest 50,” the fastest-growing events in the U.S. and Canada, as well as one of the “Tradeshow 200” events, which represent the 200 largest events in the U.S. and Canada.
New Life Transport acquires Trailmobile Parts
Grand Rapids, Mich.-based New Life Transport announced it acquired Trailmobile Parts in Erlanger, Ky.
According to the announcement, the asset purchase includes the exclusive rights to the distribution of Trailmobile’s aftermarket repair parts in North America. Trailmobile will operate as a separate New Life entity, continuing to supply Trailmobile parts to authorized Trailmobile outlets.
Additionally, New Life said it added a fully staffed sales office in Florence, Ky.
“With the addition of Trailmobile to our system, we have strengthened our competitive market position and added significant value to our product offering,” said New Life President and CEO Robert Hinton. “Trailmobile will enhance our value-added proposition to our entire customer base.”
