Centric Parts Receives 2017 Mackenzie Warehouse Service Award

Centric Parts Receives 2017 Mackenzie Warehouse Service Award

Centric Parts has won the 2017 Mackenzie Warehouse Service Award for “meeting or exceeding all standards.” The Service Award was presented at the 5^th Annual MAC555 Dinner and tabletop show on Thursday night at the Verdi Club in San Francisco. When the awards were presented by Michelle Mackenzie-Menendez and George Salfiti, Centric received the loudest cheer. This is the third time Centric has been honored by Mackenzie.

“The participants in the Mackenzie MAC555 program were especially vocal in thanking Centric for providing quality products,” said Centric Parts VP of Sales Mike Musso, “…and this year they went out of their way to praise the Centric reps as well. Jim Grimes, Ron Bessette and David Perry were singled out for all of their hard work in the field – and for always going above and beyond.”

Approximately 30 vendors were on hand, along with 40 of Mackenzie’s top customers and select MAC555 prospects. Centric Parts was well represented by Mike Musso and sales reps Ron Bessette, Jim Grimes and David Perry who were able to interact with the MAC555 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 pork tenderloin for the 160 guests.  Joining Mike, Ron and George in the kitchen was David Wofford (second from left) from Pronto who leads their Smart Choice program.

This is just the latest honor for Centric Parts. Some of the other awards we’ve won over the past 12 months include:

- Import Vehicle Community -- Best Performance Product

- Pronto -- Partnership Award

- Turn14 Distribution -- Supplier of the Year

- FMSI -- Award for New Assignments & Applications

- NPW – Million Dollar Vendor Club

- APA - Approved Vendor of the Year

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. 

Centric Parts Employee Spotlight: Gregg Murphy

One person’s trash is another person’s treasure. We’ve all heard that expression before, but when it comes to discarded brake parts, who could possibly see them as treasure? Gregg Murphy can, that’s who. Gregg is one of our Centric employees who works at the Hebron, Kentucky Qualis Automotive facility in Quality Assurance. While most people would see these items as scrap metal, he sees the occasional rejected item and thinks, “That would make a terrific planter!” So rather than scrapping these rejected parts, Gregg started making treasures out of the trash soon after he joined the company in 2004.

As you can see in the photos, he’s been busy – making planters, bookends, clocks, and door stops out of brake drums and rotors among other things. His art has gained quite a following and has even attracted attention from a well-known car guy – Mr. Jay Leno. Gregg sent him a set of rotor bookends a while back and was repaid with an invitation to visit Jay’s garage.

For those who don’t know, Jay’s “garage” is a very well-known but very difficult to get into cluster of warehouses near the Burbank airport. In these massive anonymous buildings Jay keeps and maintains a fleet of over 200 vehicles. They are some of the rarest and most sought-after cars in the world and for any car-lover it is a truly special privilege to be able to see them in person. And now thanks to Gregg, future visitors to the garage will not only see a bunch of legendary automobiles, but they will also get to see the rare and beautiful Qualis bookends that Gregg made for Jay right there among the Porsches, Ferraris, Bugattis and McLarens. And we hear that those bookends will soon be joined by a set of Gregg’s planters too.

But Gregg’s artistic talents are not limited to just discarded brake parts. He also works in paper and plastic from time to time. In fact, Gregg’s latest creation is a set of semi-truck PEZ dispensers with our corporate logos on them. Because you can’t just go out and buy a set of trucks with our logos on them, Gregg purchased several with Ace Hardware logos on them and got to work. He was able to remove the old logos and replace them with our logos before carefully returning the trucks to their boxes and sealing them back up. The result is a set of Centric Parts and Qualis PEZ dispensers that look like they were purchased that way. They’re also a good match for Gregg’s previous truck project, a scale model tractor and triple trailer.

“I’m working on my next project for display here in the QA Lab,” added Gregg, “but it’s a couple months away from completion. When I complete it I’ll send you photos.”

Well done. Gregg! It’s always fun to shine a spotlight on hidden talents within our Centric Parts family. Keep up the great work and let us know when your next creation is ready. In the meantime, we’ll be looking at our trash a lot differently from now on.

Look for Pink Calipers to Support Brakes for Breasts in October

Centric Parts Sales Rep, Shane Brown, came to us with a rather unusual request a few weeks ago. He wanted a dozen brake calipers… painted pink. While we were tickled pink to help him out, we just had to know the whole story behind the request. It turns out it’s a great story about an even better cause.

Shane ordered the pink calipers to help support Brakes for Breasts, a movement that has been supporting The Cleveland Clinic Breast CancerVaccine Research Fund since 2011. Dr. Vincent Touhy and his team of researchers at The Cleveland Clinic have successfully tested a breast cancer prevention vaccine in their lab and are working to move the testing to human trials soon. They hope that the vaccine will “Put the brakes on breast cancer.” And it’s easy for all of us to help.

All October, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, participating auto repair shops are offering free brake pads during every brake service, with customers only paying for the labor and associated parts. It’s a pretty good deal for customers but also for the Clinic, because 10% of those brake service fees go straight to Dr. Touhy and his team.

To help promote the program, Shane is holding clinics at several Centric customers in his region and loaning out the pink calipers to display at 7 different locations. But the promotion isn't limited to just a few shops in that area. There are hundreds of shops and stores participating in the program across the country. And just like almost everything else…there’s an app for that. Just search for Brakes for Breasts in the AppleApp Store or on GooglePlay and you’ll find the free app. It will give you some background information on the program and how to donate, plus a directory of participating shops and stores in 28 states.

With Winter approaching, it’s probably a good time to have your brakes checked, and Brakes for Breasts makes it an even better proposition in October, so get out there and help support this great cause.

Compton Facility Surpasses One Year Without a Recordable Injury

Centric's Compton, California facility recently surpassed 365 days without a recordable injury, a milestone we celebrated with a group photo and a visit by the Tommy Burger truck. Our Compton facility is primarily used for manufacturing our StopTech high performance and racing components, as well as research and development, so the extensive use of material handling equipment and manufacturing machinery makes this safety accomplishment extra noteworthy.

Each Centric facility is committed to protecting the safety of its team members, and best-practices are shared between them. The Compton team’s 365-day milestone was the result of every team member’s continuous awareness, effort and care on every shift. By identifying and correcting potential problems before they occur, Compton hopes to extend its record for another 365 days and beyond.

We are proud of all of our employees at all of our facilities, who have kept Centric among the safest and most productive automotive aftermarket manufacturers since our founding in 2000, but especially proud of our Compton workforce for reaching the 365 day mark. Congratulations on one year and here's to the next milestone!

Cost Less Billboard Proclaims Centric Love

Here's something we always love to see - and to acknowledge! Cost Less Auto Parts in Vancouver, Washington sent us this photo of their newest billboards. It's one of two they've set up in the area.

They are probably one of - if not the - busiest retail auto parts stores in the Northwest. Customers must take a number when they walk in if they want to be waited on by one of the 15 or so countermen.

When a store spends their own money to advertise our parts, it not only makes us proud, but it also shows how much they care about letting people know they carry our products. Thanks for supporting us and thanks for your business.

Centric Honored During Second Annual Pronto Smart Choice and MAC555 Program

Thursday February 20, Mackenzie warehouse held their 2nd annual MAC555 dinner and booth show. Approximately 20 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 VP of Sales, Mike Musso, and sales rep, Ron Bessette.

Not only did this duo man the booth, but they also pitched in with kitchen duty for the night’s gala awards dinner, helping prepare tri-tip and salmon for the 200+ guests. Leading the activities in the kitchen was Mackenzie’s sales manager, George Salfiti, who also happens to be a Certified Chef.

At the end of the night Michelle Mackenzie and George Salfiti handed out their annual supplier awards, where Musso was honored to collect the Annual Supplier Recognition Award for Outstanding Performance on behalf of Centric Parts.

Michelle and George had great things to say about Centric. When Musso accepted the award, he thanked Michelle and George as well as the installers for their business. As soon as Mike thanked the installers for their business a few of them stood up and voiced thanks to Centric Parts for supplying premium parts on a regular basis for so many years.

Centric Parts Returns from AAPEX with Two New Trophies

Left to right – Centric Parts Mike Musso, AIA Vice Chairman Thomas Beer, Centric Parts Dan Lelchuk

Earlier this month, the Centric Parts team was in Las Vegas for the annual AAPEX and SEMA Shows - and just like last year - the team came home with a pair of trophies. Both awards were presented to Centric's own Dan Lelchuk and Mike Musso by the Auto International Association (AIA), which "promotes trade in automotive products between the international automotive community and the North American aftermarket."

The first award was given for Best Advertising Campaign for the print and video ad series we did this year educating our customers about the extensive research and development, engineering, testing and quality assurance that goes into our brake pads, rotors and calipers. The complete series is available here - and we encourage everyone to bookmark the page. It makes a great sales tool and resource. 

The second award was presented for Best Import Performance Product. That one went to our StopTech Touring Big Brake Kit for the 2006-2013 Volkswagen GTI . These new StopTech Touring Big Brake Kits (BBK) bring high performance braking to a whole new market sector. They include the same ultra-stiff patented StopTech calipers, StopTech Street Performance Brake Pads and StopTech Stainless Steel Brake Lines used in the traditional StopTech Performance BBK - but in place of the 2-pc AeroRotors we normally use in our traditional BBK, they use more affordable larger diameter 1-piece StopTech Sport Rotors that still offer greatly increased performance over stock rotors.

In awarding the trophies, AIA’s Martin Gold noted Centric’s multiple wins over the years and that the wins have covered a wide range of categories, “This company is consistently providing support for AIA and these awards, and they always stand out in whatever category they enter.”

It was another great show and the team is already looking forward o 2014!

Customer Spotlight: Vermeer Auto Parts Flying High

Today we take a look at a long-time Centric customer – Vermeer Auto Parts of Ohio and Indiana. Named for company founder and former Air Force Airman, Duke Vermeer, the family-owned and run business now has four stores and a large warehouse “employing over 40 well trained, seasoned professionals that are knowledgeable in every aspect of the import automotive aftermarket.  [Their] inventory consists of over 100,000 part numbers, representing more than 100 direct warehouse lines,” according to their website. We reached out to eldest daughter, Jana, to find out more about the history of this business and the family behind it.

HISTORY

Although not officially incorporated until 1974, Vermeer Auto Parts' history began in the mid 1950's. At 16, Duke earned his pilot’s license and proceeded to terrorize the locals with his chicken coop fly-bys and late-night melon snatching mischief. At 20 he enlisted in the United States Air Force, where he started selling auto parts to friends on base that he bought at his Uncle Mac's store. Parts delivery followed him on a tour of duty in France, where he arranged for parts to be sent overseas to service the American cars the airmen's families had brought over with them.

Duke returned to the States in 1964, bringing with him a brand new 40 horsepower Volkswagen camper. When the camper promptly dropped a valve, and Duke found repair parts scarce, he seized on the opportunity. He began to source and stockpile VW parts in the basement of his family's home, and Vermeer Auto Parts was born. Six years later, after a 20-year career that saw him doing maintenance on B-47s and B-52s, as well as working as an engineer on the C-130 Hercules, Duke retired from the Air Force and started driving van routes around Ohio selling parts.

Always the pilot, Duke even made the occasional delivery by air using his stripped out Cessna 206 (left) and the grass airstrip (above) outside their parts warehouse. The normally six-passenger plane was able to haul over 1,000 pounds of parts with the other five seats removed. During a major UPS strike that could have crippled this parts delivery business, Duke was working the plane full-time, making quick pitstops between deliveries before taking off again for another trip.

And Duke certainly hasn't been flying solo running the business - his wife Nora and the rest of the Vermeer family are a huge part of this business and its success too. Besides Duke and Nora, there have been several other family members pitching in and running things, with daughters Jana (top-right) and Laurie (top-left) and their children - Jenny, Laurie (also pictured above) and Doug - making it three generations so far. Jana’s husband Brad and all of the family dogs are there too, helping things run smoothly. That's Skippy on the left and Bella on the right in the photo at the top. One family member sadly missing from the roster is Duke’s late son Doug, who had pretty much taken over running the day-to-day operations of the business until he was tragically killed in a racing accident at Indianapolis in 1987.

That’s when the daughters stepped up and not only took a more active role in the company, but also helped their mother establish the Doug Vermeer Memorial Fund, which raises scholarship money for college students through an annual charity golf tournament among other things. As Jana describes it, “In the beginning it was a pretty serious affair when mom was running things, but now it’s a really fun time for everyone involved. Dad will even fly his L2 in and land on the 18^th fairway. It scares the heck out of everybody but it’s part of the fun.” Centric is proud to be a part of this tradition, which has raised over $200,000 in scholarship money for some 50 plus students “who might not be at the top of their class, but who could really use the help,” according to Jana.

The “L2” mentioned above, by the way, refers to a restored Army Taylorcraft L2 observation plane (below) that Duke restored. It miraculously survived a tornado a couple of years ago, that blew in the West doors of the hangar and out the front. A backhoe and dump truck parked inside somehow managed to block all of the debris from putting even one scratch on the fabric plane! Duke was away when it happened and couldn’t believe his luck when he saw that his prized possession had survived unscathed.

Pretty much retired from the parts business, Duke and his wife spend most of their time on their farm now - Duke still enjoying his motorized machines, tending to 20 acres of woods at the edge of the property - and Nora "keeping him in line." When they’re not there the couple is usually in Port Charlotte, Florida where they spend their winters. The family can’t wait for them to come back every Spring, although mom probably wishes they could stay down south more and dad just keeps getting more ornery according to Jana.

It might have started 60 years ago with Duke arranging to get parts for fellow military folks overseas, but three airplanes, four hangers and four stores later, Vermeer Auto Parts is the Midwest's largest independent import auto parts distributor. The Vermeer family is still there running the show, and although Duke has largely retired, he is always available for advice and even to make the occasional parts delivery.

Centric Parts' Brian Griffin Leads National Catalog Managers Association Conference in St. Louis

This past week, Centric Parts' own Director of Catalog and Product Management, Brian Griffin, III, was in St. Louis to oversee the 40th Annual National Catalog Managers Association (NCMA) Knowledge Conference. As chairman of the NCMA, Griffin helped welcome the record number of attendees to the conference.

According to Amy Antenora of Aftermarket News, this year's event set a new attendance record with 320 registered attendees and exhibitors - which included a record number of first-time participants as well.

The event kicked off with a welcome reception at Busch Stadium on Saturday, April 20, followed by a Sunday that was packed with presentations from speakers like AAIA Chief Information Officer Scott Luckett, speaking on "The State of the Standards;” Marian Maasshoff of MOTOR Information Systems, discussing "Behind the Vehicle Database;" and Jim Grubbs of WHI Solutions, presenting "From Good to Great Content." There was also a panel discussion with parts store managers from O'Reilly, CARQUEST, Advance Auto Parts and NAPA, as well as some technical breakout training sessions.

Griffin noted, "NCMA is not an island, rather it is a specialized community within a larger organization, a segment of the industry with a common profession: content management." Indeed, the conference was a great opportunity for networking - with old members reconnecting to catch up and to welcome the new members into the fold.

As usual, the closing event on Sunday night was the President's Dinner, with great music, good food and stunning panoramic views - as well as riverboat-style gambling that benefited the Aftermarket Foundation.

Not just a chance to mingle and pick up the latest industry tips, the conference also earned attendees Continuing Education Credits (CEUs) from the University of the Aftermarket that can be applied toward their Automotive Catalog Professional (ACP) designation. In fact, eight automotive catalog professionals received their ACP graduation certificates during the event this year – signifying “a commitment to life-long learning, career development and industry participation.”

“The ACP was developed to recognize the best in this business and, on behalf of the full NCMA membership, we add our congratulations to these members who have worked so hard over the years to elevate their profession,” said NCMA President Brian Griffin, Centric Parts. “ACP is an acknowledgement of your accomplishments that employers and your colleagues look up to.”

In a separate event, Catalog Excellence Awards were also presented this year in the categories of paper, web and mobile automotive cataloging.

“NCMA members work hard all year long to produce the application and product data that fuels the aftermarket engine,” said NCMA president Brian Griffin, Centric Parts. “It’s always a highlight of the conference when we can recognize the very best examples of this work in print and electronic form. The demands on content professionals to be creative and do more with less are greater than ever. And the NCMA members are the best examples of the profession.”

Next year’s conference will be held May 4-7, 2014, at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort in Phoenix, Ariz. For more information about NCMA, visit www.ncmacat.org.

The Centric License Plate Has a New Home

Remember that license plate we showed you a few months ago? The one that read, "Centric"? Well, the same member of the extended Centric Parts family responsible for the plate has attached it to an even more impressive statement of brand loyalty.

Robert Geist, a member of the sales force at Parts Authority in Phoenix just sent over some photos of where we can find those personalized license plates. The plates are proudly displayed on an awesome looking Hyundai with Centric Parts, PosiQuiet, StopTech and Fleet Performance logos all over it. And when we say all over it, we mean all over it. Take a look at the photos and you'll see a car completely wrapped in Centric livery!

As we said last time, we see this kind of dedication from our employees and sales force in many different ways, but this being a distributor, we are truly humbled and we had to share.

If you are in the Phoenix area, keep an eye out for the car, the plates and Robert, who will more than likely be wearing a Centric cap for good measure.

Centric Named Vendor of the Year by NPW

Centric Parts sales rep, Joe Evora, and Centric VP of Sales Mike Musso (below right), were recently in Florida, where they attended the National Performance Warehouse (NPW) Million Dollar Dinner, the black tie awards banquet that coincided with the fourth annual FAST Expo.

All involved praised the event, held at the Tower Club on Friday evening.  John Washbish (President of The Alliance Buying Group) helped hand out the awards with Larry Pacey (President and CEO of NPW) and also spoke about Alliance and the great addition of NPW to the Alliance family.  Both John and Larry thanked all the recipients, which included Centric Parts for being a million dollar vendor.

As if that wasn’t enough, on Saturday evening, roughly 200 guests attended the "Vendor Appreciation Dinner" at the Broward County Convention Center, where Centric received the "VENDOR OF THE YEAR AWARD." It was an unexpected honor that Centric is truly grateful for.

In accepting the award, Musso said, "On behalf of Centric Parts, Dino Crescentini, Dan Lelchuk and myself I want to thank you for this award.  It is an honor to be recognized through this award.  If not for the efforts of NPW and their customers this would not be possible.  All I can say now is look out 2013.”

The Expo itself was well attended by both NPW Jobbers and installers (over 3,000 people), and we heard a lot of praise for Centric products.  Many installers told us that Centric is all they use. That’s always nice to hear and we are truly grateful for all of the kind words we heard regarding our products and our company, as well as the honor of being named Vendor of the Year.

The next CARS Expo will be held on April 14, in San Jose, Calif.