Following are personnel changes and announcements in the trucking industry:
* Fontaine Trailer has hired Dan Rosen as vice president of sales and marketing for the heavy-haul business.
Albano
* Bob Albano joined Webb Wheel Products OEM Business Unit as account executive.
* Meritor, Inc. appointed Krista Sohm to the position of vice president, communications and Curt Wormington as the director of sales for its North American Trailer Products business.
* Phillips Industries strengthened its field sales force with the addition of Randy Long, Mathew Sayre and Nick Tosie as new territory sales managers and the promotion of John Nugent to Western regional sales manager.
* Denso announced that Hikaru “Howard” Sugi will be president and CEO of Denso International America.
* American Trucking Associations announced it has hired Caroline Decker as its new vice president of legislative affairs.
* Rob Abbott, American Trucking Associations’ vice president of safety policy, was named to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee.
* Wayne Keller, founder of Truck Pride and 2011 HDAW Heavy Duty Aftermarket Hall of Fame inductee, passed away.
Vipar Names New Executive Committee
Bill Nolan, president of Power Brake & Spring Service Co., is the new chairman of the board. In addition, Paul Raymond, president of Parts for Trucks, Inc. is the vice chairman and Dave Gerdes, chief operating officer of CATCO Parts and Service, is the secretary. Steve Crowley, president and CEO of Vipar Heavy Duty, continues as a member of the executive committee.
“Vipar Heavy Duty is poised for growth in strategic markets and continues to support the strength of the independent distributor in the aftermarket truck parts segment,” says Nolan. “I’m honored to be chosen as chairman to lead our organization forward. We continue to focus on helping meet the needs of customers for quality parts and exceptional service.”
Tepid GDP Growth Predicted
The Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index (PCI), issued June 8 by the UCLA Anderson School of Management and Ceridian Corporation, fell 0.9 percent on a seasonally and workday adjusted basis in May, after falling 0.5 percent in April.
“The index has now declined in four of the first five months of 2011, and in eight of the past 12 months,” says Ed Leamer, chief PCI economist and director of the UCLA Anderson Forecast.
“The PCI makes it clear that the high-growth recovery lasted only four quarters from 2009Q3 to 2010Q2. Since then the PCI and the economy have been idling, not powering forward. We are going to have to get the recovery going again to make a material dent in the chronic jobless problem.
“On a year-over-year basis, the PCI was flat in May. This was disappointing in that it ended a string of 17 straight months of year-over-year improvement in the index,” Leamer continues. “One small glimmer of good news is that May of last year was the strongest month of 2010, and this month’s result nearly cleared that hurdle. Nevertheless, the PCI showed no growth, and this is another indication that the economy is stuck in neutral.
“The May result further reinforces our long-held cautious outlook for below consensus growth in GDP, and suggests that second quarter GDP growth will be less than two percent. Similarly, the PCI is anticipating industrial production to show modest growth of 0.05 percent for May when the number is released by the government on June 15, 2011.”
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CEI Adds 30 Truck Repair Shops
The CEI Group, Inc. (CEI), a provider of fleet collision management services in the U.S. and Canada, has expanded its repair network in 2011 by enrolling 30 new medium- and heavy-duty truck body shops in 11 states
Through a managed network of more than 800 truck collision centers, CEI manages repairs on all trucks, from Class 3 through Class 8, including vehicles outfitted with specialty equipment.
Among the 30 new network shops admitted this year, 14 service heavy-duty trucks, and are located in: Sacramento, Calif.; Grand Junction, Colo.; Bridgeport, Middletown and New Britain, Conn.; Oxford, Ga.; Addison and Huntley, Ill.; Osceola, Ind.; Inver Grove Heights, Minn.; Clifton, N.J.; Marietta, Ohio; Lindon, Utah; and Toledo, Wash.
CEI’s objective is to keep collision-damaged trucks from having to be towed more than 75 miles from the scene of an accident.
“Keeping towing distances short is part of our overall effort to control the expenses of truck repairs,” says John Wolford, CEI’s senior manager of provider network services. “We add shops as our customer base requires it to maintain this standard.”
Hendrickson Training Program Visits UTI Campus
Hendrickson’s hands-on training program traveled to the Universal Technical Institute campus in Ontario, Calif., where 60 service professionals attended and worked directly with Hendrickson service managers to gain a better understanding of preventive maintenance, diagnostics and repair tips on the Primaax, Haulmaax and Composilite SC.
The classes were split between a brief classroom-style presentation and hands-on service where technicians were able to disassemble suspension models and replace critical parts. Key service points were covered to familiarize the technicians with problem diagnostics.
“Our goal is to have every service professional walk away from these courses with an understanding of what to look for on Hendrickson suspensions to shorten the time spent on diagnostic,” says David McCleave, Hendrickson’s director of aftermarket technical services.
“We also look to the technicians to bring general suspension questions and feedback to our service managers to help us better understand field concerns and share ideas.”
Aftermarket Heads To Washington For CVSN 2011 Summit
The Summit will open with an evening reception on September 18 and will be followed by two days of speakers and strategic planning sessions.
The final day of the convention also will feature scheduled congressional meetings, where aftermarket business leaders will be able to meet with their local congressman in one-on-one settings.
Speakers for the first two days of the conference include: Robert L. Ehrlich, former governor of Maryland, Jim Camp, founder and president of the Camp Group; Gene Marks, owner of the Marks Group; Bert Mayo, vice president of the Lockton Companies; and Dr. Bob Nels of Nelson Motivation.
CVSN will hold board meetings on September 18 and 21, and a closed member meeting on September 20. The Summit is present by CVSN in conjunction with Truck Parts & Service magazine, HDDA/AAIA and Datalliance/HDX.
For more on this year’s Summit, go to www.cvsnADS.org.
SSA Sets Succession Planning Seminar
An all-day seminar discussing succession planning options for family aftermarket firms, distributors, shops, rep firms and suppliers will be presented on October 21 at the Marriott Sanibel Island Hotel in Fort Myers, Fla.
The seminar is one day prior to the 30th Annual Service Specialists Association convention, which is being held in the same facility.
This program is being jointly presented by American Council of Frame and Alignment Specialists and SSA. You can obtain a registration application on line at
www.truckservice.org/succession.
Inland Truck Parts Creates Inspection Program
The company says the program is designed to find problems before they cause breakdowns, and is being used at 20 Inland locations throughout the U.S.
“Pro-Guardian is a time-saver. It not only identifies smaller issues before they become big breakdowns, but it helps me with budgeting for truck maintenance,” says Dan Sherman, director of delivery and warehouse for National Paper & Sanitary Supply. “In fact, Pro-Guardian is the reason I switched from my old service provider to Inland Truck Parts.”
According to Inland, Pro-Guardian serves as an early warning system by providing a comprehensive inspection of all major components — including the brakes, engine, suspension/steering and driveline — to catch any leaks or failing parts before they become major repairs.
Inland claims Pro-Guardian inspections are more comprehensive than typical OEM inspections and can be performed twice yearly. Results, repairs performed and any maintenance due from the inspection are summarized in an e-mail that’s sent directly to the truck owner or fleet manager at the completion of the process.
Minimizer To Launch Fender At GATS
Minimizer is planning to launch a new fender at the Great American Trucking Show that the company says will change the industry.
“Customers keep asking for new and innovative products, they ask us to keep moving the needle. Well, we did. We keep investing and we’re really excited about this new product. It’s going to turn the truck fender industry upside down,” says Craig Kruckeberg, Minimizer’s chief visionary officer
The fender will be launced at 1:15 p.m. on August 24 at Minimizer’s booth #18092 at The Great American Truck Show in Dallas.
Bendix Assumes Full Support For Its Foundation Brakes
Customers seeking sales, service or technical support for Bendix foundation brakes and wheel-end solutions from Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake will now receive information exclusively through their Bendix account managers, Bendix SWAT team members, www.foundationbrakes.com and the Bendix Tech Team members who offer service support via 1-800-AIR-BRAKE.
Through an agreement in place since 2004, the Roadranger marketing organization had been a part of the overall team providing sales and support across the North American marketplace for Bendix wheel-end solutions, including air disc and foundation drum brakes. The support agreement ended on May 31, 2011. Effective June 1, Bendix assumed full support for its foundation brake sales and service program.
Bendix foundation brake customers will continue to have 24/7/365 access to the full range of technical documentation at www.foundationbrakes.com. And, if needed, support and troubleshooting is just a phone call away with the opportunity to talk with a Bendix Tech Team member on a call-in line at 1-800-AIR-BRAKE.
Yokohama Tire Announces Price Increase
Yokohama Tire Corp. announced that it will implement a price increase on average of 80 percent on all its light- and medium-duty commercial truck tires sold in the United States, effective July 1. There also will be in-line adjustments, which will be announced at a later date.
The rising cost of raw materials was the primary reason for the increase, according to Rick Phillips, Yokohama director of commercial sales. “Further, other factors also influenced the increase, such as the costs associated with manufacturing and transportation, which continue to escalate,” he says.
Wayne Marshall Is Truck Service Expert of the Year
HDA Truck Pride honored Wayne Marshall of Marshall Truck and Trailer Repair Limited in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada as the 2010 Truck Service Expert of the Year.
HDA Truck Pride gives out its Truck Service Expert of the Year award annually, and selects its winner from a network of more than 400 independent repair garages.
HDA Truck Pride says key characteristics of Expert of the Year winners include:
* Providing exemplary service to their customers
* Exceeding the product support requirements of their sponsor
* Endorsing the Truck Service Experts Code of
Ethics
* Participating in the Truck Service Experts training programs
* Implementing the Truck Service Experts marketing tools
* Promoting and supporting the Truck Service Experts program within their marketplace and across North America
Mark Willis, HDA Truck Pride’s business development manager, presented Wayne Marshall with the 2010 Truck Service Expert of the Year Award in front of an audience of more than 400 individuals distributors, manufacturers, fleets and fellow Truck Service Experts.
This year’s winner has been in the industry for nearly 30 years. Marshall Truck and Trailer Repair Ltd, a family owned and operated company, opened for business in 1984.
Only 14 at the time, Wayne started in the family business washing trucks. He progressed to driving trucks and eventually went to school to become a technician. Today that single-pump fuel station with a two-bay shop has developed into a seven-pump fuel station with nine service and repair bays, two wash bays and two diagnostic bays.
