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| Del Austin, new sales director at Egge Machine Co. |
Egge Machine Co. Inc. hired Del Austin as its new sales director. Austin has owned both jobber stores and machine shops and is a hands-on enthusiast. “I have known the Egge Machine Company for years, first, as a customer and more recently as an account for advertising sales. It is a great company with a vast history, and I am looking forward to working with the company and the great people there,” said Austin. He will be responsible for increasing outside sales and managing the Egge sales staff.
The Ohio Technical College was awarded the top prize—$10,000 worth of Chicago Pneumatic tools—in the 2nd annual Tomorrow’s Technician/Chicago Pneumatic competition. Tomorrow’s Technician magazine, produced by Babcox Publications, and Chicago Pneumatic created the contest to recognize top technical colleges with training programs that prepare students for real-world careers.
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| The Ohio Technical College was awarded the top prize in the 2nd annual Tomorrow’s Technician/Chicago Pneumatic competition. |
Pilot Automotive opened its first East Coast distribution center. The company currently operates several sales offices in the eastern United States and five distribution centers in California. According to Pilot COO Mitch Williams, “Freight and time are both limiting factors for a West Coast company in serving the customers in the east as quickly and as cost effectively as possible, especially for certain types of products.” Pilot decided to locate selected products closer to the customers as a part of its ongoing Continual Improvement Initiative. Williams added, “We already have about 400,000 sq. ft. in California so this was a good time to add space in the eastern United States. This is an economy where you have to work harder and smarter to get the business, and we are very excited about the growth opportunities that this facility represents for us.”
Well-known street-rod builder Leonard Lopez of Dominator Street Rods will display several creations at WyoTech Sacramento’s 5th Annual Car Show on May 16. Lopez, who was recently honored at the 2009 San Francisco Rod, Custom and Motorcycle Show as “Trendsetter of the Year,” will sign autographs and address the crowd.
All-American off-road racer Rob MacCachren has committed his Rockstar Energy Racing team to compete in the new Traxxas TORC Series. MacCachren will drive his Dave Clark-built no. 11 Rockstar Energy Ford in the Pro 2WD division in the new short-course series.
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| Members of the MCA’s “Pay It Forward” restoration team gather at the Mustang 45th Anniversary Celebration. |
Kicker Performance Audio will donate about $1,500 of gear toward the Mustang Makeover project—a special project of the Mustang Club of America (MCA) in celebration of the 45th anniversary of the Mustang and Drake Automotive Group's 30th anniversary. MCA club Mustangs of East Texas and the "Pay it Forward" restoration team will start with a '66 Ford Mustang convertible project car and $10,000 in parts donated by Drake Automotive Group (www.drakeautomotivegroup.org). The club will finish with a completely restored Mustang that will be displayed in the Drake Automotive Group booth during the 2009 SEMA Show this November and later sold at auction. Proceeds from the sale of the car will benefit the charity selected by the winning MCA club.
DuPont announced a five-year extension to its agreement to serve as a major corporate sponsor of the Collision Repair Technology Program at Pennsylvania College (Penn College) of Technology. Under the renewed agreement, DuPont will donate liquid coatings and its patented technology Color Proofing system for instructional use in Penn College’s collision repair labs. DuPont also will upgrade the school’s computer and mixing room equipment and provide training for faculty members. Penn College will display the DuPont logo in the collision repair laboratory and in the Parkes Automotive Technology Center.