PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
Following are personnel changes and announcements in the trucking industry:
·The Automotive Youth Educational Systems (AYES) announced the addition of two new positions within its field organization: John Jessup joins as East area manager and Marvin Linville joins as West area manager.
·Talbert Manufacturing named Todd Galgoci its Great Lakes territory sales manager and Laura Roan its Southeast territory sales manager.
CVSN, HDDA, AAIA Reach Agreement
The Commercial Vehicle Solutions Network (CVSN) and the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA) announced an agreement now in effect in which AAIA will provide management services with a focus on government affairs representation to CVSN.
According to the announcement, the agreement will unify commercial vehicle aftermarket distributor members of CVSN with the Heavy Duty Distribution Association (HDDA), a segment of AAIA, on key issues and challenges in the heavy-duty aftermarket.
“CVSN is very excited about its new management agreement with HDDA and AAIA,” said Ken Duval, CVSN outgoing president. “Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week has shown us that by working together we can bring enhanced value to our members.”
“By uniting CVSN and HDDA under the AAIA government affairs umbrella, commercial vehicle aftermarket distributors will have a single and more powerful voice in the legislative and regulatory arena, both at the state and national levels,” said David Scheer, HDDA chair and president of Inland Truck Parts Co.
Tom Stewart, president of Carolina Rim & Wheel and incoming president of CVSN said, “Besides Right to Repair’s fight for access to information, there are other initiatives like education and training, best practices and a host of other challenges facing our industry that will benefit from a stronger and more focused independent channel.”
Weight Calculator Available Online
Hendrickson Truck Suspension Systems launched an online weight savings calculator, according to a company statement. The online tool utilizes calculations that estimate the effect that overall weight savings may have on payload increase and fuel efficiency improvement.
To calculate the potential value of weight savings, users can go the company’s Web site www.hendrickson-intl.com, click the “Load sample data” button and edit the sample values to more closely match their own fleet operating data, or they can directly enter their operating data into the available fields. The potential increased payload revenue and fuel savings per truck and per fleet are automatically calculated and displayed in the results boxes on the screen as the operating data is entered or modified.
Rotary Lift Launches Lift Inspection Program
Rotary Lift announced the launch of “Inspect to Protect” which the company said is the industry’s first nationwide heavy-duty lift inspection program.
The ANSI national standard covering vehicle lift operation, maintenance and inspection, ANSI/ALI ALOIM (current edition) and a growing number of state codes and regulations require that all vehicle lifts be inspected by qualified lift inspectors at least annually.
“Properly functioning vehicle lifts are crucial to service bay safety and can directly impact both employee morale and productivity,” said R.W. “Bob” O’Gorman, president of the Automotive Lift Institute (ALI). “Periodic lift inspections following the manufacturer’s recommendations ensure reliability and allow the continued safe operation of the lift.”
Under Rotary Lift’s Inspect to Protect program, shop owners can call Rotary at (800) 640-5438 and be connected to local, factory-trained lift inspection providers through the Rotary Authorized Installer nationwide network.
Each participating Inspect to Protect company has inspectors on staff who meet all of the requirements for a “qualified lift inspector” outlined in the ANSI standard. Plus, each company is required to attend annual Rotary Lift training, maintain insurance coverage and be able to provide customers with lift maintenance, repair and genuine Rotary replacement parts.
Rotary Lift equips its Inspect to Protect program providers with inspection checklists that detail what should be inspected on all of its lift models. At the conclusion of every inspection, customers receive an inspection certificate signed by the lift inspector that details what was found during the inspection, any adjustments made and parts replaced for each lift. This inspection certificate can be posted on the lift in a literature pouch provided by the inspector or it can be stored with other lift records.
The program runs through Dec. 31, 2009.
Alliance Parts, ArvinMeritor Partner on Reman Brakes
Alliance Parts announced it has partnered with ArvinMeritor to introduce a new line of remanufactured brake shoes. According to the announcement, “engineered to strict standards, Alliance remanufactured brake shoes offer real value for any make or model of commercial vehicle.”
The brake shoes will be manufactured by ArvinMeritor in North America and use the company’s PlatinumShield technology which helps prevent rust jacking.
The brake shoes will be available in a range of high demand FMSI numbers and are designed for 20,000 and 23,000 pound axle applications.
“Alliance Parts continues to provide drivers and owners with the best value for their money,” said Todd Hooper, director of Parts and Service Marketing for Daimler Trucks North America. “By offering high quality, reliable products at an affordable price, Alliance brand parts help to make today’s tough times just a little easier.”
The announcement states that Alliance remanufactured brake shoes are available at more than 1,000 retail locations, including Freightliner, Western Star and Thomas Built Buses dealers across the U.S. and Canada.
HDAW Offers Early-bird Registration Incentives, Contest
HDAW’10 announced several incentives for the upcoming Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week, Jan. 18 to 21, at the Mirage hotel in Las Vegas. These include a deferred billing option, reduced early registration prices and a contest for registering early.
Those who register by Oct. 31 are automatically entered for a chance to win:
- High roller package (valued at $2,500) – includes a Mirage penthouse suite, round-trip limousine service to and from the airport, two spa passes and VIP line passes.
- Cirque du Soleil tickets (valued at $350) – four pairs of tickets are available to any one of the six performances held during the week of HDAW.
- HDAW program DVDs (valued at $89) – four full sets of HDAW’10 educational program DVDs are available.
- Dinner gift certificates (valued at $50) – four gift certificates in the amount of $50 for any one of four Mirage restaurants are available.
- Spa passes (valued at $40) – one of four Mirage spa passes are available.
“We are pleased to offer a significant savings for distributors who plan to attend HDAW’10, and feel the deferred billing option and reduced pricing for additional company representatives to attend will be helpful to them,” said Gary Smalley, president and CEO of Dayton Parts and co-chair of HDAW’10.
Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week is the largest North American gathering of the independent heavy-duty industry. More than 1,400 managers and executives from 17 countries – including distributors, manufacturers, service providers, educators and media – attended the 2009 conference in Orlando. An even larger group is expected for the 2010 event.
