Canadian Tire Inks Parts Supply Agreement with Uni- Select, Ends Five- Year Pact withNAPA

Canadian Tirehas announced that the Uni- Select Network will be its primarysupplier of auto parts not inventoried at Canadian Tire and PartSource outlets.

The announcement comes as a similar agreement with the NAPA chain comes to a close. A five- year agreement with NAPA was signedin 2002.

The new three-and-a-half-year supply agreementwithUni-Selectwill enable Canadian Tire storesto provide more automotive replacement parts and faster service to customers at the store’s automotive parts counter and service centres, says the company.

While it supplants the agreement with NAPA, it does not necessarily mean that Canadian Tire’s doors are closed to efforts by individual NAPA jobbers to secure business. According to one source within NAPA who asked not to be identified, relationships that have been built with Canadian Tire franchisees during its agreement will not disappear overnight. In fact, said the individual, the end of the national supply contract allows for more flexibility in business dealings at the local level. That flexibility may, in fact, result in greater opportunity for NAPA- affiliated stores.

However, the new agreementwill allow the Uni- Select Network to provide automotive partson an as- needed basis for parts not currentlywithin Canadian Tire’s own assortment and will also enable PartSource stores to source parts from Uni- Select’s warehouse distribution network.

” Thisagreement reinforces Canadian Tire’s leadershipposition in the auto parts market as it enables our customers to access thousands of brand name parts to service almost all vehicle makes and models,” says Tony Kuczynski, vice- president automotive, Canadian Tire. ” Withaccess to more auto parts,we’re also able to provide better onsite solutions and faster service to the 13,000 customers who use our auto service centres every day to get them back on the road and on their way as quickly as possible.”

Canadian Tire’s partnership with Uni- Select provides for a three- and-a- half- year business agreementthatbecameeffectiveJanuary 1, 2008.

As the new preferred supplier of automotive parts, Uni- Select will provide Canadian Tire withsame- day access to more than 100,000parts on an as- needed basis and in markets inwhich there is not currently a PartSource store. This agreement is a major component of Canadian Tire’s automotive growth initiative announced earlier this year that focuses on growing the automotive hard parts business by expanding category assortments, improving local market access for same- day parts, and enhancing in- storecustomer service.

Shell Scholarship WinnersAnnounced

Shell Canada, along with the Heavy Duty Distributor Council of Canada, has announced the first winners of the Heavy Duty Technician Scholarships. Introduced in June 2007, the scholarships are designed to support the next generation of skilled workers by providing financial assistance to Canadian students in a transport- related program.

The following five regional winners were selected to receive a $ 1,000 scholarship, based on their academic merit, financial need and desire to contribute positively to the future of the trucking industry: Paul von Conrad — Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (Edmonton, Alta.); David Thompson — Red River College (Winnipeg, Man.); Anthony Baines — Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology (Hamilton, Ont.); Julien Bradet — Centre Wilbrod-Bherer (Quebec City, Que.); Jennifer Willis — Nova Scotia Community College (Halifax, N. S.)

“These students represent the future of the industry in Canada,” says Diane McFarlane, general manager, Shell Lubricants Canada. “For Shell, supporting the development of these students today is a way of encouraging the skills and values that we will need in our business down the road. It is our way of helping the best succeed, which is what we do in our business every day.”

Federal-Mogul Emerges From Chapter 11

Federal-Mogul Corporation has announced it emerged from Chapter 11 on December 27, 2007, the effective date of its plan of reorganization.

“This is an especially exciting time for Federal-Mogul. We begin 2008 with confidence in our future and we are well positioned with our global strategy for sustainable profitable growth,” says Federal-Mogul president and chief executive officer Jos Maria Alapont. “We wish to thank our customers, employees, stakeholders, and the communities in which we do business for their loyalty and support. We remain committed to deliver value to all of them.

“We have continued during the restructuring process to grow our business globally and have strengthened our financial performance,” Alapont says. “The worldwide Federal-Mogul team is fully dedicated to exceed customer and market expectations by creating value through innovative technology, leading products, and service excellence at competitive cost. We are pleased to emerge as a worldclass, diversified global supplier.”

Genuine Parts Company Acquires Altrom Import Specialist Distributor

Genuine Parts Company, parent company of the NAPA Canada auto parts network, has acquired import parts distributor Altrom.

Genuine Parts first acquired a minority stake in Altrom Canada and Altrom America in 2005.

The new companies will form Genuine Parts Company’s Altrom Group focusing on parts for Asian and European nameplate vehicles.

Altrom Canada has 15 locations and is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Altrom America has two locations and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

Pascal Litscher will serve as president and CEO of Altrom Canada. Scott Mountford will continue to serve as president of Altrom America.

The move echoes that of other distribution organizations looking to increase their penetration into the import nameplate service parts marketplace. The most notable is General Parts Limited, the largest Carquest member and owner of Carquest Canada, which purchased the WorldPac import specialist distributor a few years ago.

Expansion Plans for Mister Transmission

Mister Transmission has announced the signing of a development contract with Network Franchising International, a Toronto-based company specializing in the sale and development of franchises.

Randall Moore, VP of operations, states that Mister Transmission’s goal is to expand the chain to ensure there is coverage that is needed in the major markets to be more widely available to the Canadian aftermarket. “Network Franchising International is a great fit for our company. They bring franchise sales expertise and site location services to our group that will allow expansion without compromising the services currently provided by our staff and resources available at our corporate offices,” he says.

Mister Transmission is Canada’s largest chain of transmission experts, founded in 1963, with 85 franchised locations coast to coast. Expansion plans will take the chain to over 100 stores in the next 24 months.

Montreal International Auto Show Hits Charity Milestone

The Montreal International Auto Show (MIAS) Charity Preview evening, which took place on January 17, helped five worthy causeswithin Greater Montreal’s medical community: the Montral Sacr- Coeur Hospital Foundation, the Sir Mortimer B. Davis – Jewish General Hospital Foundation ( JGHF),the Pierre- Boucher Hospital Foundation,the Centre hospitalierde l’Universit de Montral Foundation ( CHUM), and the McGill University HealthCentre Foundation ( MUHC).

This fundraising event was presented and sponsored by the Montreal Automobile Dealers Corporation Foundation and the Palais des congrs de Montral.

Ever since it premiered back in 2005, the event has raised over $ 1,100,000 for various foundations within Montreal’shealth care community.

Now, for the fourth consecutive year, Auto Show organizers are proud to offer their support to five foundations, each working towards improving the state of health care in the area. In keeping with its previous editions, the 200
8 Charity Preview, whose spokesperson this year was actor Raymond Bouchard, was once again a tremendous success.

2008 Montreal International Auto Show president

Marc Bourassa is thrilled to continue this wonderful tradition. ” Over the past four years, themoney raised has greatly helped support Montreal’s medical community,” expressed Mr. Bourassa during the Charity Preview. ” Once again this year, we arevery proud to be able to help five foundations whose hard work and dedication remain essential to the health and well- being of everyone within the GreaterMontreal community.”

The Montreal International Auto Show is organized by the Montreal Automobile Dealers Corporation ( MADC).