SEMA News—May 2015
Fast Facts
Brake Parts Inc. (BPI) promoted Michael Caruso to vice president of finance and global controller. In his new position, Caruso will focus on acquisitions and business integration. He will lead a team of 19 people, with 14 of them located at the company’s headquarters in McHenry, Illinois, and the others located internationally. Prior to his promotion, Caruso served as BPI’s corporate controller and played a key role in establishing the new business after the company was acquired by Torque Capital Group in 2013. Brake Parts, McHenry, IL: 815-759-7658.
Action Car and Truck Accessories, located in Eastern Canada, has acquired CTP Distributors/Custom Truck Parts Inc. of Western Canada. The combined companies will consist of four major distribution centers (Surrey, Edmonton, Pickering and Moncton), four secondary distribution points (Calgary, Grande Prairie, Winnipeg and St. John’s) and 37 retail stores with installation facilities and e-commerce stores catering to wholesale, retail and commercial fleet segments. Action Car and Truck Accessories, Moncton, Canada; 506-857-0120.
Transamerican Manufacturing Group has acquired Poison Spyder Customs. “I really admire what Larry McRae [of Poison Spyder Customs] has done in building a predominant brand so quickly,” said Greg Adler, CEO of Transamerican Auto Parts. “Poison Spyder is a great fit with our brands and our customer base. We look forward to developing the full potential of what McRae and his team have already worked so diligently upon.” Transamerican Manufacturing Group, Compton, CA; 310-900-5500.
Eric Butler’s custom-built ’68 Mustang was the first recipient of the Weld President’s Award at the 2015 O’Reilly’s World of Wheels presented by Weld. Butler, who participated in the show at Bartle Hall in Kansas City, Missouri, is a resident of the Kansas City metro area. Butler completed all of the work on the vehicle by himself, including custom Weld wheels with a 1996 Mustang bolt pattern. The President’s Award was presented to Butler for “the vehicle that embodies tradition, quality and durability like Weld wheels.” Weld, Kansas City, MO; 800-788-9353.
The Mothers big rig will bring some of the coolest rides to several car shows, races and festivals as it traverses the country in 2015. The custom truck will feed the detailing needs of enthusiasts and experts alike, and its crew of specialists will introduce and demonstrate the company’s latest car-care products. Highlights on the Mothers car-show calendar include the 2015 SEMA Show and SEMA Ignited, and the Barrett-Jackson collector-car auctions in Palm Beach, Las Vegas and more. Mothers Polish, Huntington Beach, CA; 714-891-3364.
Quest Automotive Products—the manufacturer of Matrix- and USC-brand automotive repair products, paints and finishes—has renewed its partnership and support of the popular reality television series “Counting Cars.” The Matrix and USC brands have supported the show since its inaugural season in 2012. The show chronicles repair projects undertaken by Danny “The Count” Koker, owner of Count’s Kustoms—a Las Vegas body shop that specializes in restoring and customizing classic cars and motorcycles. Quest Automotive Products, Massillon, OH; 330-299-8879.
SCG Brands, the parent company of Surf City Garage and Paradise Road Car Care, has retained Kahn Media Inc. as its agency of record. Kahn Media will provide strategic PR and communication services to help the Orange County-based company market its washes, waxes, polishes and surface-care products. Surf City Garage, Huntington Beach, CA; 714-894-1707. Kahn Media Inc., Moorpark, CA; 818-881-5246.
The Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) has extended its partnership with VP Racing Fuels, which will be designated the official fuel of PDRA through 2017. As part of the agreement, VP will provide trackside fuel service for the all-eighth-mile drag-racing series and post-season awards up to $1,000 in each class for the series championship. Professional Drag Racers Association. Pittsboro, N.C.; 919-799-0621.
Yokohama Tire Corp. of North America announced several organizational changes. Rick Phillips was promoted from senior director for commercial and OTR sales to vice president of sales for consumer, commercial and OTR. He will report to Takayuki Hamaya, YTC chief operating officer. Larry Kull, former senior director for tire business planning and sales operations, is now senior director for consumer sales. He will report to Phillips. Fred Koplin, former senior director for consumer sales, is now senior director of marketing. He will report to Hamaya. Andrew Briggs, former senior director of marketing, product planning and technical services, is now senior director for tire business planning, product planning and sales operations. He will report to Hamaya. Yokohama Tire Corp., Fullerton, CA; 714-870-3800.
AP Exhaust Technologies appointed Chris Ostrander as its chief executive officer and president. Evangelos Proimos will continue as executive chairman, working directly with Ostrander on developing the company’s strategic vision. Ostrander joins AP Exhaust with more than 16 years of experience in the automotive aftermarket and OEM industries. In his most recent role, he served four years as senior vice president and president of the Americas at Cooper Tire & Rubber. AP Exhaust Technologies, Goldsboro, N.C.; 919-580-2000.
Toyo Tire North America has promoted John Ferguson to director of sales. Ferguson has worked with the company since June 2012, first serving as a sales account manager. A graduate of The University of Findlay (Ohio), Ferguson has extensive sales experience with international organizations. Toyo Tire, Cypress, CA; 714-236-2080.
Wilwood Disc Brakes has partnered with Ultimate Performance—a suspension tuning and performance product supplier based in North Carolina—to enhance support to drivers at race events. As part of the partnership, Ultimate Performance owner JJ Furillo will travel to pro-touring events across the country, providing technical support and guidance to competitors on tuning suspensions to match their driving styles. Furillo founded Ultimate Performance in 2014 and has partnered with a number of performance-enhancing companies. Wilwood Engineering Inc., Camarillo, CA; 805-388-1188.
MSDP Group LLC announced that it will merge MSD and Mallory by the end of the first fiscal quarter of 2015. As part of the merger, all fuel and ignition-system products will be manufactured exclusively under the MSD brand. MSD will honor warranties for all existing Mallory products, as well as offer service and repair. MSD will also continue to make available Mallory distributor replacement parts, such as caps, rotors, points and nearly 100 other components. MSD, El Paso, TX; 915-857-5200; Mallory, Cleveland, OH 216-658-6413.
National Performance Warehouse has purchased Racer’s Equipment Warehouse, which has been in business for more than 50 years and serves all varieties of automotive enterprises in the New England area. Racer’s is the regional wholesale specialist in marketing and selling brand-name lines for Jeeps, trucks, SUVs, off-roading, hot rods, musclecars, drag and circle-track cars and street performance. Racers is also a long-standing member of The AAM Group and has a large number of Parts Pro and Total Truck jobbers in the Northeast. National Performance Warehouse, Miami, FL; 305-953-7290.
Longtime motorsports PR specialist Dave Densmore received the Founder’s Award from the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame. For nearly four decades, Densmore has been the spokesperson for the top names in drag racing, as well as both top series. As the primary spokesperson for John Force, Densmore worked beside Force through his 16 Funny Car championships. He helped navigate Force through the high times of winning championships, as well as some of the team’s most devastating times, including the loss of team member Eric Medlen in a testing accident in 2007, and Force’s nearly career-ending accident later that year.
Black Book, a leading provider of electronic data and insight to the automotive industry, appointed Laird Popkin chief technology officer and senior vice president. He joins Black Book from Kaplan Inc., where he was chief enterprise architect. Popkin, who has more than 25 years of executive and technology-management experience, reports directly to Tom Cross, president of Black Book.
