Compiled by Jason Catullo
 Laurie Bundschu was promoted to vice president of product supply for CARQUEST Auto Parts. | |
CARQUEST Auto Parts Promotes Laurie Bundschu to VP of Product Supply
announced that Laurie Bundschu was promoted to vice president of product supply. She will lead product forecasting, purchasing and inventory management for CARQUEST US and CARQUEST Canada. Bundschu joined CARQUEST in November 2010 as director of demand planning and transitioned into senior director of demand management in September 2011 when she assumed responsibility for store assortment planning. Prior to CARQUEST, Bundschu held leadership roles that included supply chain/logistics, purchasing, inventory management and operations planning at Eaton and Caterpillar.
“With 15 years’ experience in supply chain operations and leadership, Laurie is highly qualified for her new role and we are pleased to welcome her to CARQUEST’s senior leadership team,” said Braxton O’Neal, senior vice president of global product supply.
 The Goodguys Rod & Custom Association's new Texas Road Tour begins Friday, September 27, and cruises to the Texas Motor Speedway by Thursday, October 3, a journey that covers 1,969 total miles. | |
Goodguys Announces New Texas Road Tour
Goodguys announced a new Texas Road Tour this fall that takes rodders from the Goodguys headquarters in Pleasanton, California, to the 21st Lone Star Nationals at Texas Motor Speedway. The tour will begin Friday, September 27, and cruise to the Texas Motor Speedway by Thursday, October 3, a journey that covers 1,969 total miles. The pace car for the tour will be a new 525hp Goodguys G/RS '69 Camaro.
The seven-day road tour travels through California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, stopping at the Southwest’s finest rod shops, car collections, museums, race shops and more. There is a one-time entry fee of $1,500 which covers nightly hotels, most meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and commemorative tour booklet. The entry fee also includes two tee shirts, two caps, two decals, entry to the Goodguys 21st Lone Star Nationals October 4–6 at Texas Motor Speedway and a special at-event parking area exclusive to Road Tour cars only. Only 50 spots are available and will be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis. For more information and to register, visit www.good-guys.com/goodguys-road-tour.
Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association Signs Agreement With Messe Frankfurt
The Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA) has signed an international cooperation agreement with Messe Frankfurt. Through the agreement, AAAA will promote six Automechanika trade fairs of interest to Australian aftermarket businesses. "The Australian aftermarket now exports about $800 million worth of product a year," AAAA Executive Director Stuart Charity said. "This agreement will increase international marketing opportunities and lower costs for innovative Australian aftermarket businesses." Charity also said that this strategic partnership will deliver benefits to Association members who exhibit or visit the Frankfurt, Dubai, Shanghai, Johannesburg, Moscow and New Delhi Automechanika trade fairs.
Kahn Media to Handle PR for Dinan Engineering
Kahn Media announced that the agency will provide public relations, media outreach, strategic communications and social media marketing for Dinan Engineering. As one of its first initiatives, Kahn will help Dinan launch its latest line of tuned BMW Sport Sedans and promote its performance parts, national dealer network and motorsports programs. Kahn will also work with Dinan to promote new vehicle launches, coordinate press drives and publicize Dinan’s engineering projects.
Accessories Marketing Inc., Sealant Systems International Inc. Prevail in Patent Infringement Action
Accessories Marketing Inc. (AMI) and Sealant Systems International Inc. (SSI), manufacturers and sellers of Slime and Fix-A-Flat tire-repair sealant products and retail and OEM tire-repair kits, have prevailed in their patent-infringement action against TEK Corporation (TEK). A jury in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California found that TEK's tire repair kits infringed AMI's U.S. Patent No. 6,789,581. The jury awarded damages to AMI for all of TEK's sales of its TEK 400 and TEK 500 kits dating back to 2007. There are also on-going royalties for any future sales of such kits that are not enjoined by the court. A tire repair kit is a combination of an air compressor and sealant that is used to repair punctured or flat tires on vehicles, and it may be used in lieu of a spare tire. The Court earlier invalidated TEK's U.S. Patent No. 7,789,110, also relating to tire-repair kits, which TEK had asserted against SSI.
National Performance Warehouse Acquires Performance Warehouse’s Sacramento, California Wholesale Operations
National Performance Warehouse has purchased the California wholesale business unit of Performance Warehouse of Portland, Oregon. The Performance Warehouse facilities in Sacramento, California, will become a Speed Warehouse location. The companies have a transition plan in place where jobber ordering, delivery and product availability will continue without interruption and as is the tradition of an NPW acquisition, the staff and management are being retained to service the customer base. Bob Baptiste will continue to manage the sales and operations out of Sacramento. The National Performance Warehouse Companies operate five other facilities in California: Vernon, Tustin, Sacramento (Arden), Hayward and its main facility in San Jose.
2012 SEMA Show Coverage Featured This Weekend on "Chop Cut Rebuild"
The "Chop Cut Rebuild" episode featuring action from the 2012 SEMA Show will premiere this weekend, Sunday, May 19 (10:30 a.m., EDT), on the SPEED channel. Surf City Garage joined this season of Chop Cut Rebuild to demonstrate the effort and energy put into putting product into packages and a proper presentation at the SEMA show. Also in the season nine finale, Auto Metal Direct showcases a custom ’71 Nova with a Grimmes Family motor that will rock any engine dyno.
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