Centric Parts Named 2015 Supplier of the Year by Turn14 Distribution

The StopTech division of Centric Parts - North America’s leading manufacturer and supplier of OE and aftermarket brake and chassis components and systems - has been named Supplier of the Year by Turn14 Distribution. The award was presented on Nov. 4, 2015 at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, by Turn14 CEO, Jon Pulli.

In presenting the award to Centric Parts National Performance Sales Manager, John Marshall, Pulli stated that the honor is “in recognition of excellence in communication, supply chain support, and product innovation.”

“This is a great honor,” said Marshall. “We greatly value our partnership with Turn14 and we look forward to mutually growing both of our businesses together in the future.”

The Turn14 Supplier of the Year Award represents just the latest honor for Centric Parts and its StopTech performance brand, which have garnered dozens of industry and customer awards since its founding in 2000.

2015 Parts Authority Tradeshow NY

Citi Field Centric Sighting

Held at Citi Field, the home of the NY Mets, The Parts Authority’s annual show attracted more than 5,000 installers and jobbers this year, their best turnout ever. Working the Centric booth were reps Shane Brown, Terry Dolan and his team, as well as our own national sales manager, John Marshall.  Centric took home a Partner of Excellence award, while Shane won his own as Service Rep of the Year.

“We had so many people coming through the booth saying exactly the same things,” explained Marshall. “We kept hearing how our products solve problems and eliminate comebacks. One customer said he is 100% Centric and wouldn’t dream of using anything else. It was a very positive experience.”

We had a huge space on the premier vendor floor this year. This is reserved for Parts Authority’s top suppliers.

This year's shirts

Cool view from the booth level

Fancy Calipers

We see some really unusual and cool things here on a pretty regular basis, but this one really stands out. We just rebuilt a set of these calipers for a customer and it's pretty obvious that somebody spent an incredible amount of time and $$$ to get this looking just right.

As we understand, it’s a type of photo-etching process that involves a wax film with the design on it, laid over the polished chrome body and then an acid solution etches out the various design elements, giving it a 3-dimensional texture.

Apparently, they’re going on some kind of Cadillac show car, according to Senior Technical Specialist, Will Pringle. "I can only imagine what the rest of the car looks like: Texas Longhorn steer antlers out on the hood, cowhide seats and a matching pair of chromed Colt 45s on the console, maybe?"

Whatever show vehicle it ends up going on, we couldn't resist showing off this craftsmanship.

Mackenzie Warehouse Honors Centric with Distinguished Service Award

Last week Mackenzie Warehouse held their 3rd annual MAC555 dinner and table-top show where Centric Parts was honored with the 2015 Distinguished Service Award for Exceptional Quality and Devoted Service. When the awards were presented, Centric received the loudest cheer.

“The participants in the Mackenzie MAC555 program were especially vocal in thanking Centric for providing quality products,” said VP of Sales Mike Musso.

Approximately 26 vendors were on hand showing and talking about their products, along with 37 of Mackenzie’s top customers and select MAC555 prospects. Centric Parts was well represented by Mike Musso and sales reps Ron Bessette and David Perry who were able to interact with the MAC5554 installers as well as selected MAC555 prospects. We received a lot of praise and positive feedback from the group.

Not only did the guys man the booth, but they also pitched in with kitchen duty for the night’s gala awards dinner, helping prepare tri-tip for the 200+ guests.  Leading the activities in the kitchen were Mackenzie’s Sales Manager, George Salfiti, who also happens to be a Certified Chef. 

AutoBild Magazine Picks StopTech as Best BBK in Comparison Test

In the December 2014 issue of AutoBild Magazine, the editors rounded up several big brake kits from some of the biggest names in aftermarket braking - Brembo, AP Racing, Performance Friction, K-Sport and StopTech - to compare head-to-head.

As a test subject, the magazine chose a modified BMW M3 that was put through a series of tests with each system to determine which brake system gave the best overall performance when judged on objective and subjective criteria. The judges looked at braking distances, fade and feel among other things.

As a benchmark, AutoBild used the stock BMW M brakes that come stock on the car. Not surprisingly, all of the aftermarket brakes scored much better than the BMW units, except one. The Brembo system finished just behind the BMW brakes, with a combination of poor performance and poor feel. At the other end of the finishing order, StopTech was named the overall winner, after scoring a perfect 5 out of 5 in every single category!

"No weaknesses came to light during the installation," according to the editors. "On the contrary - the caliper features a cover that can be opened for the easy removal of brake pads."

Other areas of praise were the system's lower weight, shorter stopping distances and fade-free performance - not to mention the lower price compared to the Brembo and PFC systems. You can read the whole English translation of the article here.

Click each page to enlarge.

Centric Honored for Third Consecutive Year as NPW Million Dollar Vendor

 Left to right – Chris Pacey, Dan Lelchuk, Larry Pacey, Mike Musso

Just like last year, National Performance Warehouse (NPW) once again started its 2015 FAST Expo weekend off with a black tie dinner gala, and once again Centric was honored as a Million Dollar Vendor. This marks the third consecutive time Centric has been honored this way, along with being named Vendor of the Year by NPW in 2013 and 2005. On hand to accept the award this year were President/CEO Dan Lelchuk and Mike Musso, VP of Sales.

The event was held at the historic Miami Beach Resort, in its famous Starlight Ballroom, which features panoramic views of the Miami skyline as well as the acclaimed infinity star effects out its windows. This is where stars such as Dean Martin, Jackie Gleason and Frank Sinatra once entertained. The dinner was held to recognize NPW vendors in the “million” dollar-plus purchase category for their efforts to grow with NPW.

Larry Pacey, CEO and president of the company, offered these remarks about the Club and Expo weekend: “Our FAST Expo is the kick off for our 2015 selling season and most of our suppliers are already in town. We appreciate what all our suppliers do for us and we wanted to do something special for them, so we created this club to commend those at the forefront and hope that we encourage others to make it to the club level as membership benefits our suppliers, our customers and of course, NPW.”