News: SPX Acquires Chinese Diagnostic Tool and Equipment Maker

News: SPX Acquires Chinese Diagnostic Tool and Equipment Maker

From aftermarketNews Staff & Wire Reports
Shanghai, China — SPX Corp.’s Service Solutions business unit has completed its acquisition of AUTOBOSS Tech Inc., a Shenzhen, China-based manufacturer of diagnostic tools and equipment. “This investment further underscores our commitment to accelerate growth and expand our business in strategic markets, China in particular,” said David Wilson, president of SPX Service Solutions, Asia Pacific. “The leaders of AUTOBOSS have developed an outstanding brand that we will leverage to expand our aftermarket business in China and across the region. We are pleased the leadership team has committed to continue working with us.

“AUTOBOSS broadens our product portfolio, adds extensive channel coverage and gives our global engineering team a great opportunity to accelerate the development of our next-generation diagnostics tools,” Wilson added.

“It was a pleasure to work with SPX on this transaction,” said David Wen, former president of AUTOBOSS. “I am very pleased to know that the company I created will be run under SPX’s capable leadership and that my former employees will have solid career opportunities ahead of them. My team can now fulfill their vision to become the premier service solutions provider in the region.”

Wen has agreed to remain on as a consultant to SPX.

The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

For more information about SPX, visit www.spx.com.

Hand Tool Manufacturer Celebrates Football Season with Tool Giveaway
Meadville, PA — With football season here, Channellock Inc. announces its “Football Challenge” sweepstakes.

The sweepstakes, which began August 4, 2008, runs through Jan. 4, 2009. With a new contest every two weeks, football fans must re-enter every other week to have 11 chances to play and win one of 11 CHANNELLOCK tool rolls. The five-piece tool rolls include a 10” tongue-and-groove plier, 6.5” tongue-and-groove plier, 7” diagonal cutting plier, 7” end cutter and an 8” long-nose plier with side cutter. To enter the sweepstakes, visit www.channellocksweepstakes.com. Contestants must first answer three football and Channellock-related trivia questions before they can be entered into a drawing to win one of the tool rolls. The approximate retail value of each prize is $100. Football fans can also test their knowledge against friends and family using the website’s buddy referral system.

Snap-on Diagnostics Offers Training Solutions
Lincolnshire, IL — Snap-on Diagnostics announces it has added Training Solutions to its website http://diagnostics.snapon.com. This new program consists of product training videos for Snap-on diagnostic platforms, including MODIS, SOLUS PRO, Vantage PRO and ETHOS. The intent of Training Solutions is to provide quality product training that is available to professional technicians 24 hours a day.

“We realize that in order for technicians to utilize the full value of our products, they may need the opportunity to learn over time as their experience grows with the use of the various tools that we offer,” said Al McCaskey, manager of customer care for Snap-on Diagnostics. “For this reason, we provide entry-level product training courses at no charge. Plus, we give technicians the ability to revisit these training sessions as often as necessary to learn at their own comfort level and to review at their convenience.”

TechEd Advanced courses are also available to expose technicians to the more challenging uses of their diagnostic tool, including case studies and examples of difficult diagnosis and solutions. TechEd Advanced courses are offered for a reasonable cost.

Testing is available following each training module to allow technicians to measure their comprehension of the material. Once they pass the course, they can print out a certificate of completion for their records or to proudly display.

Streamlight Marks 35 Years of Flashlight Manufacturing
with Building Addition

Eagleville, PA — Streamlight Inc. recently marked 35 years of operations with a gala reception and tours of its newly expanded Eagleville headquarters. More than 250 guests, including Lower Providence Township officials, key customers, employees and distribution partners were invited to tour the 75,000-foot addition to office and manufacturing space.

“We are extremely proud to mark 35 years of providing tough, durable, long-lasting flashlights to professional users across many different markets — from firefighting and law enforcement and military, to industrial, automotive and sporting goods — with this new addition,” said Brad Penney, president and chief executive officer of Streamlight.

“Our expanded facility will enable us to keep pace with the growth we continue to experience, which has led to the need for more space to accommodate our administrative, research and development and manufacturing needs,” Penney added.

The addition added 55,000 square feet to the company’s original 70,000 square-foot manufacturing space. At the same time, the company doubled the size of its headquarters office and engineering facility with an additional 20,000 square-feet of office space. The company’s total plant size is now 165,000 square feet.

Streamlight built its original facility in 2001, consolidating two former locations in East and West Norriton into one headquarters and manufacturing operation that housed 100 employees. The company today employs some 170 employees.

Rodcraft Inks Exclusive Deal with IMTDA
Following on the heels of the German-engineered Rodcraft pneumatic tool brand’s successful U.S. debut in May, the brand has inked a six-month exclusivity deal through a select U.S. distributor with the Independent Mobile Tool Distributor Association (IMTDA).

This agreement with Rodcraft gives IMTDA’s nationwide membership a significant marketing advantage, and it provides Rodcraft with a mobile sales force dedicated to growing the brand in the U.S.

“We don’t have the buying power to obtain traditional deals from tool distributors in order to run our own promotions, making this deal a unique opportunity to build our own marketing program,” said Brian Tuite, owner of West County Tool & Equipment and IMTDA secretary. “Couple the ability to create our own program, with the quality of the Rodcraft line, and we believe that we have something very special and unique to offer our customers.”

IMTDA Treasurer Brian Gallagher began conducting market research on the Rodcraft line earlier this year in preparation for this launch.

“I field-tested the Rodcraft impact wrenches through a few customers, even a couple who work in junkyards tearing down chassis components,” said Gallagher, who owns Iron Man Tools in Savannah, GA. “I told them to abuse the tools, not to oil them or maintain them at all, and seven months later the tools are still running strong.”

This exclusive deal with Rodcraft provides a sense of credibility that IMTDA members have been seeking. In a business environment in which independent jobbers must compete for sales against more well-supported competitors, the ability to sell a professional-grade line of tools that the competition cannot access is a real benefit.

IMTDA was founded in 2005 by Lynn Stokes in order to help independent jobbers with buying power, tech financing, insurance of all types, and training and education of new tools and products. The not-for-profit organization also connects independent mobile jobbers, providing a platform for communication about everyday problems and concerns. For more details, visit www.imtda.com.

Rodcraft, headquartered in Mulheim, Germany, designs, manufactures and distributes a large range of professional high-performance air tools, workshop equipment and accessories for vehicle service applications, repair and maintenance shops. Established for more than 30 years, Rodcraft supports a wide distribution network in more than 50 countries around the world. Rodcraft is a brand within the Atlas Copco group of companies. For more details, visit www.rodcraft.com.

JohnDow Industries Wins Award of Excellence
Barberton, OH — SPX-Dealer Equipment and Service recently presented JohnDow Industries with its 2008 Award of Excellence. The award was given to JDI for its new product offering of the new Fuel Chief line of Pro 30 Gas Caddies. The award was accepted by Mark Pfleeger, vice president – sales of JDI from Ed Prang, director, dealer equipment & services and Erika Hernandez, manager supplier relations.

This Fuel Chief series was introduced by JDI to meet the growing needs of vehicle service technicians. The Pro 30 Gas Caddy line is the most professional portable gas caddy on the market today and is engineered to handle a multitude of fuels from unleaded gas, diesel, and kerosene to potentially corrosive fuels like bio-diesel and E85 Ethanol.

The award presentation took place at the 2008 Supplier Strategy Meeting in Troy, MI, on August 13, 2008.

Phoenix Systems Gives Away 650,000 Brake Fluid Test Strips
Bicknell, UT — To help support the Motorist Assurance Program (MAP) Brake Service Awareness Week, Phoenix Systems recently gave away over 650,000 BrakeStrip test strips to professional technicians. BrakeStrips allow technicians to quickly diagnose brake fluid condition. Utilizing Phoenix System’s patented FASCAR technology, BrakeStrip tests for copper in brake fluid.

According to a Uniform Standard developed by MAP, a copper content of 200 ppm or greater indicates a depletion of corrosion inhibitors in the brake fluid and would require brake fluid replacement. Currently, BrakeStrip is the only brake fluid test available that measures for copper and meets the MAP guidelines.

“The average vehicle owner is unaware of the importance of servicing brake fluid, which is the lifeblood of a vehicle braking system,” explained Jon Petty, managing partner and inventor of FASCAR technology. “The opportunity to participate in the MAP Brake Service Awareness Week with our test strip donation provided our company with the chance to educate consumers that maintaining good brake fluid condition helps ensure maximum stopping power and can prevent costly ABS and other brake system repairs.”

Phoenix Systems’ MAP giveaway combined with the company’s free test strip program for educators and students in the industry has a combined retail value of more than $1 million dollars. Service providers nationwide who have utilized the company’s simple seven-step BrakeStrip System, have reported increases in brake fluid exchange service by as much as 400%.

For more information about BrakeStrip, go to www.brakestrips.net, or phone (435) 425-2222. For more information about the Motorist Assurance Program or its annual Brake Service Awareness Week, contact [email protected].

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