MANUFACTURER NEWS
Cummins ranked in 50 best companies for minorities
Cummins announced Thursday that Fortune magazine has selected it as one of the “Top 50 Companies for Minorities.” The company is ranked 43rd. This is the second time in three years Cummins has been recognized as a top company for minorities. To increase the company’s diversity, it tracks and measures minority recruitment and hiring efforts, and every employee is required to take a diversity awareness training course.
DaimlerChrysler announces re-organization
Daimler Chrysler announced June 30 it will restructure its truck unit on January 1. As a result of the reorganization, truck development units, currently managed separately, will be grouped together under the same management team. Mercedes-Benz’s truck business will merge with the U.S. truck business, which includes Freightliner and Sterling brands. DaimlerChrysler’s Power Systems, which manufactures engines, transmissions and other components, will be discontinued and its plants are being assigned to the regional vehicle units.
DEALER NEWS
Management team buys J.W. Burress
JWB Acquisition announced late last month it has purchased the assets of J.W. Burress, a mid-Atlantic equipment distributor with 10 locations. JWB Acquisition, formed by five members of the dealership’s senior management, will continue doing business as J.W. Burress at all the company’s stores, which extend from Maryland to South Carolina.
RENTAL NEWS
Volvo Rents to open centers in Alabama
Volvo Rents announced Thursday that a franchise contract has been signed for new rental centers near Mobile, Ala. Cook Coastal Rentals of Spanish Fort, Ala., will own and operate centers in Spanish Fort and Montrose. Both centers will open later this year.
PEOPLE NEWS
Astoria president dies
Linda G. Wolf, president of Astoria Industries, died June 30 after a lengthy battle with an illness. She and her husband Robert J. Wolf bought Astoria in 1995 and moved it from Jackson, Minn., to Chariton, Iowa.
Tadano appoints new president
Crane manufacturer Tadano announced June 30 that Koichi Tadano has been named president and chief operating officer. Koichi, who replaces his uncle, Sakae Tadano, is the fourth Tadano family member to be appointed president of the company. Koichi’s grandfather founded Tadano Cranes in 1948.
