ACDelco’s year-long celebration of its 100th anniversary includes honoring its standout distributors and top service center customers along with awarding training scholarships to future technicians.
Now operating in nearly 100 nations, the company’s humble beginnings in 1916 were sparked by Albert Champion, an 1899 immigrant from Paris and a champion racer of bicycles, motorcycles and cars. A serious crash in New York put the brakes on Champion’s motorsports career, but he used his time while recuperating to advance his studies of automotive electrical engineering and enhance his innovative spark plug design ideas.
With the aid of investors the Champion Spark Plug Co. was established. After having a falling out with his financial backers Champion pitched his prototypes to Buick’s William C. “Billy” Durant, who was also a founder of General Motors.
Durant set him up with a workshop in Flint, Mich. Because the “Champion” moniker was already attached to an existing firm, Albert Champion utilized his initials to name a new enterprise that was eventually merged under the United Motors/GM umbrella with the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Co., commonly known as Delco.
Fast-forward over a century of history, and ACDelco markets 37 product lines encompassing some 90,000 SKUs via 28,700-plus locations throughout North America, South America, Africa, Japan, China, India, Russia and the Middle East, which has become a key growth area for the company.
Battery sales were up 29 percent in 2015, capturing 40 percent of the region’s market share for the category. “Car batteries are big business in the Middle East,” notes Mohammed Al Fayyad, parent-firm GM’s director of customer care and aftersales.
“We saw the battery industry grow last year, and ACDelco was a powerful force behind this,” he says. “A century is a long time to get to know your market and develop your products.”
“This is truly a global celebration,” says general director Bob Sanford.
Along with supplying OEM products for Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac – and providing aftermarket parts for most of the other makes and models on the road – ACDelco was among the first aftermarket manufacturers to focus on the importance of training technicians on proper installation techniques.
“We believe it’s important to invest in the next generation of automotive technicians, the young men and women who will lead our industry in the near future,” Sanford says. “These are great jobs that pay well, and it’s estimated there will be a need for 35,000 technicians by 2020.”
In-tune with techs
As part of its centennial celebration the company is teaming up with the General Motors Automotive Service Educational Program (ASEP) to distribute 100 scholarships worth $1,000 each to students pursuing careers as auto technicians.
The “100 Years, 100 Futures” project is designed to help defray the costs of college for students enrolled in ASEP, which combines classroom and real-world, paid internships at sponsoring GM dealerships and independent ACDelco Professional Service Center program shops.
Five scholarship recipients will be announced weekly through ASEP and ACDelco social media channels, emails and newsletters. “We intend to push this out until the end of the year,” says Sanford.
ASEP operates through selected public colleges and universities. Graduates alternate time in the classroom with hands-on automotive service experience, earning an associate’s degree in applied science or an equivalent field of study.
The program provides up to 90 percent of the training required to become a GM-certified technician. Students benefit by getting industry-leading training, and sponsoring shops get access to a pool of talented young technicians at a time when there is a shortage of techs.
“I really enjoyed being part of the ASEP program,” reports student Justin Van Berg of Red Wing, Minn. “The instructors are very knowledgeable and the depth of training allowed me to get right to work in a shop in my hometown.”
To encourage and engage future technicians, ACDelco also sponsors the “GM ASEP School Challenge” that rewards schools whose students actively participate in the company’s social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Prizes include branded gear and automotive tools.
Among the recent winners of the ongoing contest is Southeast Community College in Milford, Neb. “The enthusiasm of the students at Southeast Community College is infectious, and we hope they inspire many more current and prospective students to pursue careers in automotive service,” says Abby Szafranski, ACDelco’s digital and social media manager.
“As demand for qualified technicians in our area increases, it is important for our faculty to stay on the cutting edge,” explains instructor Mark Christensen. “With the ongoing support of corporate partners like ACDelco, we look forward to giving the next generation of auto care professionals the tools they need to succeed.”
A “Faces of ACDelco” initiative additionally highlights technicians-in-training. ASEP schools nominate students who develop and share content on their social channels about their educational experiences and car culture activities. The goal is to inspire their peers to consider careers as technicians and to promote the future of the industry.
In April the company announced an alliance with Pandora to create “the ultimate car care soundtrack” in the form of ACDelco Tech Tunes Radio, which combines a customized playlist, including car care trivia questions, specially designed for service professionals and auto enthusiasts.
The programming is described as “the perfect soundtrack whether you’re relaxing with friends or hitting a long stretch of two-lane highway,” complete with popular songs “inspired by the automobile and fueled by the spirit of accomplishment – all carefully selected to bring out your inner air guitarist.”
Younger technicians will enjoy artists like Kid Rock, Metallica and Rob Zombie; classic rock is also being beamed with tunes from performers such as AC/DC, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty. Heather Waszczenko, ACDelco’s national brand manager, observes that “we all know a day of hard work always goes better with good music, so we partnered with our friends at Pandora to create a great listening experience for our customers.”
Saluting sales partnerships
Another element of the centennial celebration is a Top Shops contest honoring members of ACDelco’s Professional Service Center (PSC) program who deliver the best service, customer care and community engagement.
Five Grand Prize winners and their guests will be awarded with a trip to Las Vegas and special recognition from the company at this fall’s Automotive Aftermarket Product Expo (AAPEX).
“Our independent service provider partners have helped us stay in business for 100 years, and we wanted to do something special this year to honor their dedication to their customers,” says Sanford. “Many of our PSC participants have been a part of the ACDelco family for generations.”
Field employees of the company will be nominating outstanding PSCs, and shop owners are allowed to nominate themselves as well. Entry-form essay submissions cover the shop’s accomplishments, goals for improvement, community involvement, training participation, what product lines are being sold, and the shop’s overall online presence.
Top WDs were saluted at a company-wide conference in February. Tonsa Automotive of Port Washington, N.Y., won the 2016 Distributor of the Year Award. The Parts House in Jacksonville, Fla. and Rowerdink Automotive of Grand Rapids, Mich. were recognized for outstanding growth in key sales categories.
Praise was bestowed upon 18 WDs with marketing connections to the company that have exceeded the half-century mark, including two businesses notching more than 70 years: Memphis-based Mid-America Parts Distributors, and Southern Distributors of Birmingham, Ala.
“Our distributors are an incredibly important part of our business,” Sanford points out. “As we celebrate ACDelco’s centennial this year, it is particularly appropriate to recognize the influential role they will play as we look ahead to the next 100 years.”
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