INDUSTRY NEWS
The newly created High School Racing Association (HSRA) named Jonathan Eckelberg as its first director. In his new position, Eckelberg will help grow the association, increase driver participation, and manage race schedules and point rankings. HSRA features high-school-aged drivers in competition throughout the summer race season. The group’s goal is to provide young adults with an economical way to enter stock-car racing and keep younger generations interested in the sport.
Lubrication Specialties Inc. (LSI) announced the expansion of its warehouse footprint with the addition of a 24,000-sq.-ft. facility located in Mt. Gilead, Ohio. The new distribution and shipping hub will help accommodate the 50-plus SKUs of Hot Shot’s Secret products and LSI Chemical products developed and shipped in bulk for international sales.
MW Industries completed two new acquisitions that expand its precision spring and fastener manufacturing capabilities. They include Fox Valley Spring Co. (a supplier of springs, wire forms and flat springs) and Ideal Fasteners (a global manufacturer of threaded fasteners). These additions expand MW’s U.S.-based manufacturing locations and broaden its custom and stock component capabilities.
Christine Bowser has been appointed president of Pinnacle Media, a full-service marketing communications agency serving clients in the global automotive, commercial vehicle, industrial and financial services sectors. The agency’s founder, Drew Shippy, will remain with the firm as chairman and CEO. Bowser most recently served as vice president and director of account service, overseeing the company’s relationships with clients throughout North America.
Holley acquired substantially all of the assets of Arizona Desert Shocks, Baer Brakes, Brothers Trucks and Rocket Racing Wheels. Holley completed the acquisitions for approximately $56 million during the fourth quarter of 2021. For 2022, Holley expects these acquisitions to contribute net sales of approximately $30 million, the company stated.
Covercraft announced the acquisition of Lloyd Mats, a manufacturer of custom-fit carpeted floor and cargo mats for cars, trucks, vans, SUVs and RVs. Since 1978, Lloyd Mats has developed a comprehensive library of vehicle-specific patterns in the custom floor mat category. The company offers multiple branded, licensed and personalized versions of its floor mats across dozens of colors and carpet styles.
Kahn Media made several recent strategic hires and staffing changes. Jeff Dillow, a PR agency leadership veteran with two decades of experience in outdoor, automotive, CPG, CSR and crisis communications, joined the team as an account supervisor, leading one of Kahn’s three account teams. Russell Stacey was promoted to director of
digital marketing, following his six-year track record of continual growth of the company’s digital marketing capabilities and team. Heather Buchanan was appointed to the newly created position of creative project manager.
The Automotive Content Professionals Network (ACPN), a community of the Auto Care Association, named Jonathan Briseno of SEMA Data as the 2022 ACPN Scholarship winner. The ACPN Scholarship is awarded to one individual who has the passion and determination to pursue professional and personal growth. The scholarship provides the opportunity to attend the 2022 ACPN Knowledge Exchange Conference—a gathering of content professionals and service providers in the aftermarket.
VP Racing Fuels Inc. announced the promotion of Ben Dolan to vice president of marketing. Prior to joining VP, Dolan was director of sales and marketing at holding company UGGM LLC, where he was responsible for the marketing and sales of the company’s five largest divisions, ranging from signage fabrication to diesel mechanics. He has more than 20 years of marketing and sales experience across a broad range of industries.
Arnott, a provider of air suspension products, announced the acquisition of JRi Shocks, based in Mooresville, North Carolina. JRi Shocks will continue to serve its existing markets and customers, “but will now be better positioned to grow those markets even further while also expanding into new ones,” according to Arnott. Customers should see no change in the day-to-day operations of the business.
Quadratec Inc. announced the promotion of Eric Ammerman as the company’s director of creative content. Ammerman will oversee Quadratec’s print catalog as well as its digital product pages, its highly successful YouTube channel and its Torque editorial section. Ammerman recently celebrated his 10-year anniversary at Quadratec and formerly helmed the company’s video department and YouTube channel. Additionally, he headed Quadratec’s YJL project vehicle build that was a Battle of the Builders nominee at the 2021 SEMA Show.
SCAT Enterprises announced that it has been acquired by Taglich Private Equity, which recently acquired Air Flow Research Heads, a manufacturer of cylinder heads and intake manifolds for the high-performance automotive aftermarket. The transaction includes the Procar by SCAT seating division. SCAT’s management team will remain in place along with SCAT’s production facility and employees, located at its headquarters in Redondo Beach, California. SCAT founder Tom Lieb will remain involved in the business going forward, and SCAT’s current COO, Craig Schenasi, will become CFO of the combined companies and an owner in the business.
SuperSprings International (SSI) announced changes to its leadership team. SSI restructured to establish five defined business units led by a member of its new leadership team. The units include Tom Bateman, director of marketing; Jeni Chen, director of operations; Justin Tevis, director of data and tech ops; and Ryan Dougan, controller. All members of the leadership team report to Chief Commercial Officer Adam Weisner, who reports to SSI Chairman and CEO Gerry Lamberti.
