SEMA News—August 2019

INDUSTRY NEWS

Fast Facts

Bob Klimm

Veteran Falken sales executive Bob Klimm was promoted to director of sales for the company’s commercial division. Klimm moves from truck and bus radial (TBR) division manager into the director role for the North American market, where he will lead the company’s commercial tire growth. The Dallas native was responsible for establishing Falken’s entry into the TBR business. Led by Klimm, Falken expanded its commercial sales efforts and allowed it to reach new customers and gain market share.

Paul Marks

Stertil-Koni USA announced that Paul Marks, operations manager, retired after 21 years of service with the company. Marks played a substantial part in the company’s development, having overseen Stertil-Koni’s key operations and logistics associated with the delivery, receipt and shipping of its heavy-duty vehicle lifting systems and shop equipment. Doug Frakes joined the company as an operations specialist. In his new post, Frakes will work closely with a broad range of audiences, chiefly the company’s North American distributor network, sales personnel and Stertil-Koni manufacturing locations in the United States and Europe. His prime mission is to process and ship vehicle lift equipment and accessory orders to distributors and customers across North America.

Gregg Bashur was named the new CFO at Covercraft Industries LLC. He joins Covercraft during a period of expansion that includes the marine and recreational vehicle markets as well as an enhanced presence in the automotive market. Prior to joining Covercraft, Bashur served in various CFO and finance leadership roles with privately held and public companies in manufacturing and distribution, including Honeywell, Thermo Fisher Scientific and Collins Aerospace. The newly appointed CFO will be based at the corporate home office in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma.

Mary Kay Bryja

Firestone Industrial Products Company LLC (FSIP) announced that Mary Kay Bryja, former manager of marketing, was named director of Ride-Rite, FSIP, to appoint employees to new leadership roles based on their expertise and vision for the business moving forward. Bryja will lead marketing and sales initiatives for the Ride-Rite business in addition to identifying growth opportunities. She also oversees engineering initiatives for the business. FSIP also announced that Emily Poladian, former director of fleet sales, truck, bus and retread tires (TBR), was named president of the company. Poladian will oversee all aspects of the FSIP business. She brings more than 20 years of experience in the industrial products industry, having previously served as managing director for the firm’s Asia strategic business unit.

Tiffany Dorin

Battery-Biz, an employee-owned manufacturer of automotive accessories, congratulated Tiffany Dorin on her re-election as an official select committee member of the SEMA Businesswomen’s Network. The organization is a dynamic group of professionals representing the women of SEMA. Dorin was first elected to the committee in July 2015 for a two-year term and was then re-elected in 2017. Her most recent re-election will mark Dorin’s third term and will extend through 2021.

APC Automotive Technologies LLC has announced the appointment of Tribby Warfield as its CEO and James McCoy as its COO. The addition of these key senior executives further builds out the company’s leadership team following the merger of AP Emissions and Centric Parts in 2017. Warfield comes to APC with experience in the automotive and industrial markets. McCoy brings more than 25 years of diversified experience, including lean manufacturing and automotive and industrial products to the APC Automotive Technologies management team.

Liz White

Covercraft Industries announced the addition of sales professional Liz White as the new ADCO national sales manager. White will work with dealers and distributors across the country to strengthen ADCO’s position as a market leader in the recreational vehicle protective cover marketplace. Additionally, she will manage ADCO’s Premier Dealer network.

Total Seal Piston Rings has been sold to an investment group led by Promus Equity Partners, Jon S. Vesely and Total Seal President Matt Hartford. The sale was finalized June 7, and released in a joint statement by Joey Moriarty, son of founder Joe Moriarty, Promus Equity Partners, Vesely and Hartford. Hartford served as vice president of the company since joining Total Seal in 1998 and is now the CEO and president. He previously was a nuclear engineer in the U.S. Navy.