YRC announces shake-up of top management
Struggling trucker YRC Worldwide Inc. announced a shake-up of its upper management, resulting in an expanded role for the president and chief operating
officer of its holding company, the hiring of an outsider to head the company’s
sales, and the departure of its top regional executive.
Mike Smid, president and COO of YRC Inc., has been put in charge of operations of all YRC Worldwide regional and national networks. Smid will also continue in his current role, the company said.
John Garcia, who had been president of Sprint’s largest wireless business unit and
chief marketing officer for the entire corporation, was tapped to head YRC’s sales
function. Garcia will manage and coordinate sales for YRC’s trucking and logistics
units, and report to William D. Zollars, YRC’s chairman and chief executive officer.
Gone is Keith Lovetro, president of YRC Regional Transportation. Also departing
were Michael Rapken, executive vice president and chief information officer; Jim
Ritchie, president of YRC Logistics; and Christina Wise, vice president and treasurer.
John Carr, who had been COO of YRC Logistics, has been promoted to president of the unit. Greg Reid, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, will lead a consolidated marketing effort, including brand and business
development initiatives, the company said.
YRC has lost $2 billion in the past 27 months, and without flexibility from its
lenders, would be in danger of violating its loan covenants. Zollars said in mid-May that he would consider applying to the federal government for $1 billion in
funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to help defray its $2 billion in
annual costs for paying into the Teamsters Union’s multi-employer pension
plan. YRC won a reprieve from its immediate pension obligations June 18 when
the Teamsters’ Central States pension fund, the largest fund YRC contributes to,
allowed the company to defer its $83 million second-quarter pension payment
in return for pledging some of its real estate as collateral. ;
go figure …
9
The number of countries from which
Kellogg sources ingredients for a
Nutri-Grain bar
SOURCE: ECONOMIST BARRY ASMUS, SPEAKING AT
THE APRIL 2009 LOGISTICS & SUPPLY CHAIN FORUM
The article “get more bang from your
pick-to-light buck” (May 2009) may
have misled readers about the way
pick-to-light systems are priced. One
manufacturer explained that prices are
determined through negotiations and
depend on the complexity and size of a
system, not the number of individual
lights. DC VELOCITY regrets any confusion the article might have caused.
A June story on fuel cell technology
(“cell-ing the transition”) incorrectly
stated a numerical figure for fuel cell
investment (p. 44). The figure should
have been $1.3 million. DC VELOCITY
regrets the error. ;
oversight
short takes
W&H Systems has added a new regional sales office in
Chicago. Austin Power will serve as the district sales manager in that office. ... Old Dominion Freight Line has
moved its operations in Topeka, Kan., to a new 34-door
facility. ... ChemLogix has formed a new subsidiary called
ChemLogix Global, which will specialize in international
supply chain and logistics services for small to mid-sized
chemical shippers. ... Descartes Systems Group has
acquired Scancode Systems, a developer and integrator of
carrier-compliant parcel and less-than-truckload shipping
solutions. ... Komatsu Forklift U.S.A. is moving its forklift
production operation from Covington, Ga., to Newberry,
S.C. The company says it is making the move to reduce
costs and make better use of corporate assets. … Plug
Power, a provider of energy solutions, has received over $6
million in awards from the U.S. Department of Energy for
fuel cell market transformation programs. The funding will
be used to integrate fuel cell technology into material han-
dling, residential, and stationary power applications. …
Habisit, a conveyor belt manufacturer, has cut the ribbon
on its new American headquarters building. The 340,000-
square-foot facility, which is located in Suwanee, Ga., houses production for its fabric and plastic modular belting lines
as well as the company’s corporate offices. ... Management
Dynamics, a developer of global trade management solutions, has opened a new office in Zurich, Switzerland. …
Ryder System has pledged $1 million over the next three
years to the American Red Cross. Of that $1 million,
$850,000 will go to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund,
while the remainder will go to Red Cross activities in
Miami, Ryder’s home town, and the Florida Keys. …
Sunteck, a non-asset based provider of transportation services, has added a new agent office in Cumming, Ga. …
Schmalz Inc., a manufacturer of vacuum material handling
systems, has moved into a new headquarters building in
Raleigh, N.C.
