A part for every need: Hard parts supplier listing 2024
One of the earliest signs that an industry was forming was a transition to specialty transmission hard parts suppliers emerging from general salvage yards to create the efficient flow of those parts to every shop in the nation. As the automatic transmission became the dominant powertrain option from automakers, some salvage yards specialized in supplying
Back with force: ATSG is back in full swing to educate the transmission industry
“Everywhere you turned, there was something amazing. It’s probably the coolest man cave I’ve ever been in,” says Wayne Colonna who, as president, heads up the technical team at the Automatic Transmission Service Group (ATSG). Wayne is describing the host venue for his company’s inaugural 2024 seminar that was held at the John Force Racing
2024 State of the Powertrain Industry
The Transmission Digest Annual Survey of Retail Shops has served as benchmark and planning tool for the industry now for the past 38 years. Charts and tables in this study are based on a survey of subscribers that was conducted early this year. Where differences are obvious, we separate the responses of transmission specialty shops
Powertrain industry directory and buyer’s guide 2024
This is the latest in TD’s annual series of directories for the powertrain industry. Companies that supply products to the powertrain aftermarket are listed in alphabetical order. Because data changes frequently, only organizations that have updated information with Transmission Digest in the recent past are included. Every precaution has been taken in the preparation of these listings; however,
Top 20 Tools and Products: The Winners
Transmission Digest readers voted during the past several weeks to select this year’s top products and tools from those nominated in our December issue. This year, rather than separate contests, voting was for a combined tool and equipment contest, with 20 winners rather than 10. Winning entries appear in the following images, but are in
Outgrowing the walls: The story of EVT Transmission Parts
There’s an interesting business, one of our industry’s success stories, located in the greater Los Angeles area city of Compton, CA. Walter Quintanilla is the owner of EVT Transmission Parts, which supplies a full line of parts and supplies to rebuilders in the area and beyond. The company began as a Los Angeles transmission shop
Fabricating frictions: Keeping ahead of the curve at Raybestos Powertrain
While the transmission aftermarket is well familiar with Raybestos Powertrain branded friction elements for transmissions and torque converters, most would be impressed to learn the science and efforts that go into creating the product lines. Transmission Digest recently did just that, visiting the manufacturing plant and tech center facilities of the company in Crawfordsville, Indiana.
Al La Rocca passes away
It is with great sorrow that we report the passing of longtime automatic transmission industry veteran Al La Rocca. He started his long career back in 1958 at Allomatic Industry as a plant manager, moving from there to Windsor Products in New Jersey as a production manager. Al continued his career at AJAC Transmission Parts
Manual transmissions in 2023: Some are still sticking with it
Over the past 25 years, a combination of driver preference and fuel economy requirements have resulted in a marked decrease in the number of vehicles in the U.S. fleet that come equipped with a manual transmission. One can wax nostalgic for the “car guy” discussions from 40 or 50 years ago that included terms like
HECAT to cease operations
HECAT, Inc., manufacturer of a line of transmission flushing machines, announced last week that it will be ceasing operation at the end of the year. The company has been supplying cooler line flushers for more than 40 years. HECAT President Karl Matis said: “Due to many unpresented and volatile market changes beyond our control, HECAT,
Two industry friends have passed
With sorrow, we report that former longtime Lubegard sales manager Ken Thomas, 76, passed away from a heart attack on Oct. 5. Ken created friendships and business relations over many years at Lubegard during which he seemingly attended every weekend seminar, distributor open house and industry trade show. Ken (pictured above) will be remembered as
ETE Reman: Ever expanding
With a history and reputation dating back to the 1980s, growth is a continuous pattern at Milwaukee’s ETE Reman. CEO Noah Rickun says that ETE is ready to meet the ever-expanding demand for remanufactured transmissions. He points to a combination of available capital to invest in the facilities, equipment, technical capabilities, and the well-trained workforce
