SC October2011.pdf - Parts & People

People & Places
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
The California/Nevada/Arizona
Automotive Wholesalers
Association (CAWA) Annual
Membership Dinner and Scholarship
Fundraiser (sponsored by Motorcar Parts of
America) will be Oct. 30 at the Venetian
Hotel in Las Vegas from 6-9 p.m. The
CAWA Board of Directors Committee
Meetings will be Nov. 17-19 at the
Fairmont Hotel in Newport Beach.
For details about the meetings, contact
Julie Snyder at 800-332-2292, ext. 2, or
at programs@cawa.org.
Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. in Cypress
is sponsoring Cornell University
athletics. Toyo Tire signage will be seen
around the Ithaca, N.Y., campus in
association with sports including football,
men’s hockey, men’s and women’s
basketball, and men’s lacrosse.
Edelbrock in Torrance announced
that QA1, makers of shocks, springs, and
other tubular suspension products, has
acquired its line of suspension products.
“Our suspension products will be a great
addition to QA1’s current line and will give
their customers a larger selection of highquality
components to choose from,” said
Vic Edelbrock, Edelbrock chairman.
Michael
Antonelli of
Vantage
Marketing
Global Inc. in
Grand Island,
N.Y., has been
appointed to the
CAWA Board
of Directors.
Michael Antonelli is
now a member of the
CAWA Board of
Directors,
representing Vantage
Marketing Global Inc.
“Michael
Antonelli has
worked for more
than 35 years in
the automotive
industry with GM
and Ford, and, in 1999, founded Vantage
Marketing Global Inc.,” said Rodney K.
Pierini, CAWA president and CEO.
The used OEM wheel company,
1-800EveryRim.com in Pico Rivera,
has expanded its warehouse to 30,000
square feet, more than tripling its wheel
supply space. “With a larger and more
efficient facility to house a growing
inventory of OEM factory wheels, our
customers will definitely notice a
difference,” President Billy Eordekian said.
The Care Shop in Chino and
Fitzgeralds Auto Care Center in
Costa Mesa have earned certification as
Automobile Club of Southern
California (AAA) Approved Auto
Repair (AAR) facilities. “The
certification means the repair facilities have
met the AAA-AAR program criteria for
technician certification and customer
satisfaction,” said Dave Skaien, AAR
program development manager. “The AAR
program examines all aspects of a repair
shop’s operation and awards approval to
only the best shops in the business.”
For the second consecutive year, The
AAA National Service Provider of
Excellence awards for top performance
by roadside service towing contractors
went to three Southern California towing
companies, including Redondo Beach
Towing in Redondo Beach, winner of
the gold award; Mandic Motors in
Huntington Beach, silver award
winner; and H.A.R. Towing and
Transport in Reseda, which took the
bronze award.
The Automotive Distribution
Network (ADN) has added
Automotive Parts Wholesale Inc.
(APW) in San Fernando to its national
network. “The signing of growing
companies such as APW is indicative of
the Network’s commitment to expanding
the Parts Plus identity into thriving
marketplaces across the country,” said
Mike Lambert, ADN president. “APW
joined Parts Plus to bolster its efforts as the
company continues to expand its footprint
and strengthen its presence in the two-step
market,” said Bobby Hilo, APW
operations manager.
Bossco International in San
Diego, makers of all-in-one portable
illuminators, has announced that Davis
and Associates will be representing the
company’s lineup of products. “I was sold
on Bossco products from the start,” said
Don Davis, CEO of Davis and
Associates. “As I go out into the market
place, I see all kinds of applications where
this innovative line can be used, and I’m
sure there are more ideas that I have not yet
thought of.” Clifford Wright, inventor
and CEO of Bossco, said, “We are not only
thrilled but honored to have Davis and
The used OEM wheel company, 1-800EveryRim.com,
in Pico Rivera, has expanded its warehouse space
to 30,000 square feet.
PHOTO BY ART WOLFE
Bobby Hilo, Automotive Parts Wholesale
(APW) operations manager, says he looks
forward to expanding the company’s
presence in the two-step market by
adding Parts Plus.
Associates representing our company.
Their success with major brands speaks
volumes.”
Elite Worldwide in Rancho Santa
Fe announced that certified service
consultant Doris Barnes is the
company’s newest sales trainer. Bob
Cooper, president
of Elite Worldwide,
said Barnes will use
her experience as a
service consultant
at one of America’s
premier Mercedes-
Benz dealerships to
help service
advisors increase
their sales and CSI
scores. “While with
Mercedes-Benz, she
maintained a
Master-level
Doris Barnes, a
certified service
consultant, is now a
sales trainer at Elite
Worldwide.
certification and was named AMG
specialist,” Cooper said. “She was also
selected by management to train other
Mercedes-Benz employees. It is truly an
honor to have a professional such
as Doris Barnes join our Elite
team.”
The California New Car
Dealers Scholarship
Foundation has awarded
$41,475 in scholarships to 103
California students enrolled in
post-secondary automotive
technology or automotive
management programs for the
2011-2012 school year, said
Doug Fuller, owner of Fuller
Ford in Chula Vista and
chairman of the California New
Car Dealers Scholarship
Foundation.
compiled by Dick DeLoach
NATIONAL
SEMA Vice President of Events and
Communications Peter MacGillivray
said 528 of more than 2,000 companies
exhibiting at the 2011 SEMA Show are
first-time exhibitors. He said the majority
of the first-time exhibitors are restyling,
racing and performance, and truck
segments. Complete show information
including a complete exhibitors list may be
found at: www.SEMAshow.com.
Polk has renewed its corporate
sponsorship of the Global Automotive
Aftermarket Symposium (GAAS) for
2012. Polk has been the corporate sponsor
of GAAS since 2003. GAAS 2012 is
scheduled for May 16-17 at the Hyatt
Regency O’Hare near Chicago. Polk will
continue to present the Polk Inventory
Efficiency Awards at GAAS in 2012. The
annual awards recognize and reward
outstanding aftermarket companies for
process improvements in inventory and
supply chain efficiency. Two companies
were honored with this year’s awards:
Veyance Technologies and
Automotive Parts Headquarters
Inc. (APH).
Snap-on Inc. has announced the
official grand opening of the IdeaForge,
a multimedia conference center in the
Innovation Works facility at the company’s
Kenosha, Wis., campus. The opening was
presided over by the Snap-on Chairman
and CEO Nick Pinchuk. More than 600
Snap-on associates and retirees
participated, as well as state and local
officials including U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-
Wis. IdeaForge will help the company seek
new ideas and fashion them into products
and services. The venue has several defined
areas, including the option to accommodate
different-sized groups and events, all with
audiovisual capabilities. The 7,000-squarefoot,
600-capacity facility is the third piece
Continued on page 38
From l., Kenosha Mayor Keith Bosman;
retired Snap-on CEO Robert Cornog;
current Snap-on Chairman and CEO Nick
Pinchuk; daughter in-law of Snap-on
founder Joseph Johnson, Mary Johnson;
U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.; Johnson’s
grandson and Mary Johnson’s son, Greg
Johnson; retired CEO Jack Michaels; and
Alderman Ray Misner cut the ribbon at the
Snap-on IdeaForge grand opening.
Parts & People October 2011 Page 37