There is no more frustrating experience than managing a solid business, with a solid business plan, in a down market. Sales are moving forward but not necessarily at the levels one would like. Servicing customers remains a key element of the business but direction becomes more of a key component. When this occurs, management needs to be strong and willing to look forward rather than cry about what is a reality. A company that continues to serve its customers with solutions to their issues, while planning for the future, is a company that should be put on radar.
General Automotive Company Inc., a tier-one OEM automotive and aftermarket parts supplier, works to supply mobile electronics and other high value-added automotive parts to leading manufacturers and aftermarket vendors. The company is currently keeping pace in difficult times by looking forward while servicing current customers. In general terms, the company is entering forward-leaning partnerships and acquisitions that will help maintain current revenue levels while preparing it for a different type of automotive parts market in coming years. Ultimately, the company is working along the entire supply chain – through its OE Source and Global Parts Direct divisions – to help its customers remain competitive while positioning itself in a market experiencing dynamic change.
Upper management is a fine balance that has seen dynamic movements of industry around the world and is capitalizing on this past experience. Although there are many way to approach issues such as those facing the automotive markets today, the company’s management experience has/is allowing the company to find the flexibility necessary to remain competitive as change takes place. General Automotive’s CEO –Joseph L. DeFrancisci – has a management background that helps him find direction and move the company in that direction quickly and efficiently. It also enables the company’s management team to adjust as market conditions warrant, without cumbersome corporate culture getting in the way.
General Automotives’ chairman and co-founder, Dan Valladao, has seen the automotive market change and adjust in his years with APS International and HSG Corporation – each large-parts servicers to Ford, GM, Toyota, Chrysler and Honda. His work in each case has led to revenue increases when others were having difficulties achieving their parts contract requirements. Mr. Valladao’s ability to maintain solid growth has been documented and should aid the company in its drive to grow in difficult market conditions.
With the addition of two senior directors to the company’s board, including one with a hedge fund background, General Automotive has clearly positioned itself on the international and domestic fronts to enhance business prospects and better service its customers. To maintain and enhance this effort, General Automotive uses the 30 years of experience that Harry Christensen brings as Chief Financial Officer. Although his duties may tend more toward the financial aspects of the business, his contacts in Asia have proved invaluable as the company continues to seek Asian advantages in its aftermarket businesses. Moving forward in a difficult market is essential to the company’s success, but maintaining a focus on its core accessories lines is critical. To service this aspect of the business, the company has two seasoned marketing and sales executives in Sechoon Park and Tim Alford, the presidents of Global Parts Direct and OE Source respectively.
Planning for the future in the automotive markets of today is no easy task. General Automotive’s management, however, appears to have a solid take on where it would like to see itself end up as market conditions stabilize. Its joint venture, announced today with SenCer Inc. – to develop automotive oxygen technology – is a clear sign that the company is working to offer more efficient and environmentally sound parts (in the form of fuel cells) for whatever form the future car takes. Its desire to grow through acquisition is another sign that the company is ready to position itself for the unknowns that today’s automotive market brings. In a general sense, this is a strategic move by the company, in that it demands that any company brought under General Automotives umbrella be self-sustaining and ready to contribute to its bottom line from day one.
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