Why Buying That New Machine Is The Right Thing To Do Right Now
Why am I saying to upgrade and buy now? Well, I’ll tell you why: because if your equipment is behind the times it can’t create the tolerances that today’s engines require. So why now? After all, the market is in decline, business is off, times are really tough, right? Blah, blah, blah! Yes, the market
Profiting From Personal Performance
Ifyou’ve been following my articles over the last year, you may bestarting to get some new ideas for finding profits in selling highperformance engines, parts and accessories. We’ve discussed various sales techniques to battle internet and catalogparts sales, or “walk-in parts,” as I like to call them. I wrote aboutstrategies and gave them creative names
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: May 2009
Top 10 Machine Shop Business Tips Engine Pro recently held a series of 8 focus-group meetings in the Midwest. Each meeting consisted of 8 to 10 machine shop owners and a moderator. Three questions were asked during the meeting. “What’s working? What’s not working? What do you need most to help you ‘make it’ for
Executive Interview with Bill Skok, President of Elgin Industries
BillSkok is president of Elgin Industries, a leading global manufacturer oforiginal equipment and replacement engine and chassis products for theautomotive and commercial vehicle markets. Skok joined the company,founded in 1919 by his grandfather, Martin Skok Sr., as governmentsales administrator in 1985 and became vice president of OEM sales in1988. He was named president of the
APRA BIG R Show Opens Section for Heavy Duty Engine Suppliers
The Automotive Parts Remanufacturers Association (APRA) will open a section of the 2009 International BIG R Show for Heavy Duty Engine Suppliers so that engine remanufacturers in the heavy duty side of the business will be attracted to this new combined trade show. The 2009 International BIG R Show is being co-located with the ATRA
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: April 2009
Top 10 Machine Shop Business Tips Engine Pro recently held a series of 8 focus-group meetings in the Midwest. Each meeting consisted of 8 to 10 machine shop owners and a moderator. Three questions were asked during the meeting. “What’s working? What’s not working? What do you need most to help you ‘make it’ for
Crane Cams To Be Purchased By Scorpion Performance, Holds Job Fair
Scorpion Performance, Inc., a high performance valvetrain parts manufacturer, recently announced that it is in the process of buyingCrane Cams, which closed its doors in February and was scheduled for a liquidation sale in April. Crane Cams has been in business 56 years and is one of the best-known brands in the industry. Scorpion Performance
Hastings Promotes Two to Director Posts
Hastings Manufacturing Co. has promoted two executives to new positionsat the nearly 100-year-old American manufacturer of piston rings. Thomas DeBlasis has been promoted to the position of director ofnational sales. DeBlasis will have responsibility for piston ring salesthroughout the United States and Canada. DeBlasis has more than 30 years in the automotive aftermarket with thelast
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: January 2009
Top 10 Machine Shop Business Tips Engine Pro recently held a series of 8 focus-group meetings in the Midwest. Each meeting consisted of 8 to 10 machine shop owners and a moderator. Three questions were asked during the meeting. “What’s working? What’s not working? What do you need most to help you ‘make it’ for
Inaugural Motorsports Industry Trade Show to Debut in Indianapolis in December 2009
Theperformance and racing industry will converge upon Indianapolis inDecember 2009 for the first ever International Motorsports IndustryShow (IMIS). Scheduled to be held Dec. 2-3, 2009 at the IndianapolisConvention Center, the show is owned and promoted by Performance EventsPromotions (PEP) and assisted in presentation by the IndianaMotorsports Association. According to show organizers, IMIS will bringtogether the
Cleaning Rules
One of the least pleasant parts of any engine builder’s day is the cleaning process. Removing the oil, carbon and general gunk from blocks, cylinder heads and assorted parts before your inspection, machining and rebuilding process can even begin may seem as painful as a trip to the dentist’s chair. But if you think that
Up-Selling in a Down Market
Do you ever wonder what’s next? First gas prices climb to more than $4.50 per gallon and everyone is dumping their gas-guzzlers. A couple of months later gas free-falls to $1.50 a gallon, but no one cares because people are being laid off in record numbers. Our major investment banks go bust, the credit system
Harvesting Profits From the Farm/Agricultural Market
When we last visited the subject of the opportunities in the agricultural market, (Engine Builder, March 2006) we discussed the diversity that may not have been apparent to everyone. While many would immediately think about tractors, combines and maybe, grain trucks, most would not have realized that the farm and agriculture industries are much more
Polk Introduces New Vehicle Statistics Reports for the Automotive Aftermarket
R. L. Polk& Co. has announced the launch of its New Vehicle Statistics reports forthe automotive aftermarket. The New Vehicle Statistics reports are available ona monthly basis to help provide faster clarity to developing market situations,enabling aftermarket-related companies to make business decisions more efficiently. Now availableto the aftermarket, Polk has provided this information to Original
HD Remanufacturing Summit
The Heavy Duty Remanufacturing Group Summit ’09 in Orlando, Florida on February 16 will feature an outlook for the reman business by Bruce Plaxton, veteran industry observer and analyst. Bruce is President of BGP Marketing Solutions in Schaumburg, IL, a consulting practice with a focus on mobile capital goods. Plaxton has been an advisor to
Shop Solutions: July 2008
Timing Chain Tensioner Installation Caution: 1996-’06 GM 2.4L This tensioner consists of a housing and a piston. The piston has a secondary piston or plunger contained in it and must be in the compressed position for installation. When compressed, the plunger extends approximately .070? (or 1.7mm) beyond the piston cylinder. If this is not the
Five Plans To Turn A Profit From Sales of Performance Parts
It seems that lately everyone wants to build high performance engines and sell high performance parts. But it has not always been that way. In the 1950s and ’60s, high performance engine builders were racers first and to feed their need for speed they built their own high performance parts. Many started small businesses producing
Federal-Mogul Announces Organizational Appointments
Federal-Mogul has announcedsenior leadership changes within its finance, global purchasing,corporate communications and investor relations staffs. Jeff Kaminski has been appointed senior vice president and chieffinancial officer. He will continue to serve as a corporate officer andmember of the Federal-Mogul Strategy Board (FMSB). Markus Wermers has been appointed senior vice president, globalpurchasing. He will also serve
AAEQ Unveils New Web Site for AA Midwest Cores
AAEQ Manufacturers and Recyclers has launched a new Web site for AA Midwest Cores at www.aamidwestcores.com.The Web site is part of AAEQ’s new marketing and sales initiative tobring awareness to the company’s engine, transmission and internalparts cores for sale to engine rebuilders and machine shops. AA Midwest processes more than 500 engines a day atstate-of-the-art