People Places & Racing News

Movers & Shakers: Mike Newcomb Joins CV Products as Tech Sales Rep; New Facility for Hotchkis Performance

CV Products hired Mike Newcomb as a technical sales representative. Based out of Thomasville, North Carolina, Newcomb will work to expand business to the short track asphalt market through working closely with engine builders and racers in the United States. He spent the past four years with Five Star Racing Bodies.

Hotchkis Performance moved into a larger facility in Santa Fe Springs, California, a move that the company reports increases its production and new-product development opportunities. In addition to a large customer installation center, the move brought together several offices under one roof and provides larger work bays, engineering suites, shipping and receiving areas and warehouse space.

RimTyme announced that five of its employees have passed the SEMA Z5 Custom Wheel & Tire certification exam. The credential acknowledges Elijah Dickerson, Jeremy Hankins, Robert Blake, Sean Barnes and Taylor Jones as certified installation specialists. The certification establishes benchmarks for employee knowledge and competence.

Pirelli Testing

Pirelli appointed Nick Heidfeld its Formula One test driver to test sample versions of its P Zero Formula One tire. The tire, which Heidfeld put to task behind the wheel of a Toyota TF109, will be used by all Formula One teams beginning in 2011 under a three-year agreement with the FIA.

R&R Marketing Consultants Inc. added Rob Kearns to its sales team. He will cover the Southwest and mountain states, including Denver, where he resides. The company also announced that Gunnar Smith is the newest service representative in the Midwest region. Both Kearns and Smith join Josh Forster as new members of the R&R team. Forster is based in Southern California and focuses on retail sales.

For the third consecutive year, Inc. 500 has recognized Classic Instruments as one of America's fastest-growing private companies. Owner John McLeod stated, “Working in an industry you love with the greatest team you could ask for and be able to work in the most beautiful place in the world (Boyne City, Michigan), is a GRAND SLAM. I am very proud to be included in such a hard-working group, and I owe it all to my family, employees and community.”

O'Reilly Automotive Inc. has signed an agreement for a portion of their brake drum and rotor business with Affinia Group. Affinia Group has served as vendor partners with O’Reilly Automotive for more than 26 years, including the Wix brand of filtration products.

Valspar has opened a new office for its consumer division. The new location, which includes the sales and marketing staffs for PlastiKote, is located at 8725 W. Higgins Road in Chicago, minutes from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.

CRP Automotive selected Hirsig-Frazier as its new sales rep agency for the Southwest territory, including Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. Hirsig-Frazier will be responsible for the direct management of current CRP domestic market accounts as well as new account acquisition efforts within the territory.