Art Lottes, Leon Viars and Joe Bagwell have been named members of the Heritage Equity Group Executive Council, the company recently announced. The cornerstone of Heritage Equity Group is Beck/Arnley, a full-line foreign nameplate replacement parts company, that it acquired in 2005. Together with Heritage Equity Group owners Max Dull, Patrick Greene and Richard Crawford, the newly formed Executive Council will seek out complementary acquisition opportunities.
“Art, Leon and Joe together have incredible experience and we are pleased to have them on our Executive Council,” said Dull, CEO of Heritage Equity Group and president and CEO of Beck/Arnley. “Along with the strong financial backing and the in-depth experience in executing successful mergers and acquisitions that Richard Crawford and Pat Greene bring, we have truly assembled a ‘dream team’ at Heritage,” Dull continued.
NAPA BRAKES HELPS SHOPS GROW THEIR BUSINESS
NAPA BRAKES’ new Ultimate Shop Merchandising Kit is packed full of both point-of-purchase materials to help grow your business, and a selection of popular-selling brake pads and rotors.
Highlighting the kits is a combination LCD TV/DVD player, which can be placed in your shop’s waiting area to show customers what goes into a quality brake job. NAPA BRAKES is also including an eight-minute custom-made video produced especially for the Ultimate Shop Merchandising Kit that shows the differences between one brake job and the next.
The Ultimate Shop Merchandising Kit is available for purchase while supplies last through your NAPA AUTO PARTS store or NAPA sales representative.
IRA DAVIS JOINS MULTI PARTS SUPPLY
Former Beck/Arnley Worldparts President Ira Davis has joined forces with Multi Parts Supply USA INC. (MPS), a multinational supply chain management organization. MPS has its North American headquarters and quality control laboratory in Jupiter, FL, and maintains offices in New York, Taiwan and Europe as well as light manufacturing, quality control facilities, warehousing and offices in China.
With more 30 years in the import field, Davis’ extensive experience will complement MPS’ role as a one-stop shop exclusively servicing manufacturers and national importers. The company offers a total value-added package providing everything from product design and development through raw material and factory sourcing, production planning and management, quality assurance and export documentation to shipping consolidation.
Davis is currently serving on the board of the Auto International Association (AIA) and several committees of the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA). He has served as chairman of the AIA Board as well as a board member of AAIA.
‘GO RACING’ in Vegas WITH DENSO’s Latest A/C COMPRESSOR PROGRAM
DENSO Sales California has launched its “Go Racing With DENSO” promotional program.
The winners will receive a two-day and one-night stay during the month of February 2007 at the Richard Petty Driving Experience in Las Vegas. The prize includes airfare, meals and lodging. One representative from each of the five repair shops that purchase the most DENSO brand compressor units during the promotion period will win the trip.
The promotion period ends Sept. 15, 2006.
ASE LAUNCHES TECHQUIZ ONLINE SELF-ASSESSMENT
The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) has developed a new series of four online self-assessment quizzes to help individuals evaluate their automotive technical knowledge. The new product, called TechQuiz, is quick, convenient and useful for both new and experienced technicians.
Each of the quizzes is designed to measure technical knowledge at three levels: 1.) Fundamentals, 2.) Maintenance, and 3.) Diagnosis and Repair. This evaluation can help individuals prepare for the ASE certification tests, or help identify areas that need improvement through targeted training. Since these are not pass/fail tests, users get a score report with details on how they did in each area. Each test has 40 questions.
There are four different quizzes: Gasoline Engines; Drive Trains; Undercar; and Electrical/Electronic Systems & HVAC.
The new self-assessment quizzes are available through the ASE Campus online at www.asecampus.com. You can also get to the ASE Campus by going to the ASE website at www.ase.com and clicking on the ASE Campus tab. Once there, simply create a profile and you can immediately access the TechQuiz self-assessments 24/7. Each quiz costs $12.50.
In addition, ASE has announced a new online test center locator just in time for the opening of summer CBT registration. The new map-based test center locators for CBT and Paper/Pencil test centers are up and running at www.ase.com/testcenters.
OUTSTANDING AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGY STUDENT Is Awarded Scholarship from MITCHELL 1
Isaac McAllister from Boones Mill, VA, received the Automotive Technology Outstanding Student Scholarship at the North American Council of Automotive Teachers (NACAT) 2006 Conference held recently in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Each year Mitchell 1 recognizes one U.S. high school senior for outstanding achievement in automotive technology scholastics.
During the awards ceremony, McAllister was presented with a check for $2,500 along with a recognition certificate, courtesy of Mitchell 1.
McAllister currently attends J. Sergeant Reynolds Community College where he is enrolled in the GM program at the Western Campus in Goochland, VA, to pursue an associate degree in automotive technology. During high school, McAllister participated in the AYES program, which placed him in the service department of a local Chevrolet dealership, where he has worked for the past three years. McAllister is a member of the National Honor Society Phi Theta Kappa. Upon completing his education, he hopes to secure a position in the automotive field, possibly teaching, and dreams of one day owning his own shop.
In other news, Mitchell 1 will hold its sixth management system training workshop in Providence, RI, Sept. 14-16 at the Providence Marriott. The training workshop will teach customers, who have been users for six months or more, about the OnDemand5 Manager and ManagerPlus software, as well as integration with aftermarket cataloging and Customer Retention Marketing (CRM).
For more information or to register for Mitchell 1’s management system training workshop, visit www.buymitchell1.com/form/m1users.htm. Registration must be completed by Sept. 6.
SKILLSUSA PAYS TRIBUTE For TWO DECADES OF SUPPORT
SkillsUSA honored the DaimlerChrysler Corporation for 20 years of vital support to its students and programs. The DaimlerChrysler Corporation and DaimlerChrysler Corporation Fund have given more than $393,000 to SkillsUSA since 1985. In addition, the DaimlerChrysler Academy has provided technical support, management consulting and has provided expertise and equipment for SkillsUSA competitions. “DaimlerChrysler’s support of SkillsUSA demonstrates to our young student members that they will be entering a workforce that welcomes their much-needed skills,” said Tim Lawrence, executive director of SkillsUSA.
The donor award was accepted on behalf of The DaimlerChrysler Corporation by Mike Collins, national manager of Vocational Education, who also serves as a member of SkillsUSA’s Automotive Service Technology Technical Committee.
“We are proud to support SkillsUSA because we know that in doing so, we ensure our own success by helping to train our future skilled workforce,” said Collins.
OLYMPUS CHOOSES ACTIVANT ECATALOG TECHNOLOGY TO HELP DRIVE GROWTH
Activant Solutions Inc., a provider of vertical business management solutions, has announced that Washington, D.C.-based automotive parts distributor Olympus Imported Auto Parts has adopted Activant’s Cover-to-Cover graphical eCatalog technology to help drive long-term business growth.
Olympus, a longtime user of the Activant Ultimate business operating system and PartExpert eCatalog, invested in Cover-to-Cover to help the company’s 32 counter professionals optimize customer satisfaction through fast, error-free service. Olympus operates four warehouses serving more than 2,500 automotive service accounts across Northern Virginia.
