IMPCO Automotive promotes from within

IMPCO Automotive of Santa Ana, Calif., today appointed two current sales team members to its board of directors.

Jay Sandler has been named director of OEM and fleet sales and John Cocchiola has been named director of aftermarket & dealer sales. Sandler and Cocchiola will report to Rob Lykins, director of sales & marketing.

"As we continue to grow our OEM, fleet and aftermarket business in North America, we want to be smart about managing that growth by ensuring we have in place the right organizational structure to support our business objectives," Lykins said.

"I am confident that both Jay and John will succeed in their new roles and additional responsibilities and that IMPCO Automotive will benefit from both their leadership and the efforts of their respective teams."

Sandler will be responsible for growth and management of IMPCO Automotive's alternative fuel system business with vehicle manufacturers and major fleet customers. His primary focus will be working with the Detroit Three OEMs as well as other U.S.-based commercial truck and bus body builders.

He also will work with major commercial truck and bus fleets in North America to assist them with transitioning their fleets to cost-effective, clean burning alternative fuels such as compressed natural gas and liquid propane gas.

Sandler, who is based at IMPCO Automotive's Engineering Center in Sterling Heights north of Detroit, is an automotive industry veteran with prior sales and engineering experience at Meritor Automotive, Workhorse Custom Chassis, Navistar International and Azure Dynamics. He holds a bachelor's degree in automotive engineering from Western Michigan University and an MBA from Central Michigan University.

Cocchiola will focus on managing and growing IMPCO Automotive's installation, sales and service network. Working with the IMPCO Automotive aftermarket regional sales managers, he will implement a new Certified Installation Partner program designed to grow the aftermarket business and to ensure top quality installations for IMPCO's customers.

He also will work to expand IMPCO Automotive's North American sales and service network to create a strong nationwide sales and service presence to support the many vehicles being converted across the country utilizing IMPCO Automotive alternative fuels systems.

Based at IMPCO Automotive's Kitchener, Ontario, facility in Canada, Cocchiola holds a bachelor of engineering science degree from the University of Western Ontario and an MBA from Colorado State University.

You can reach TN's Hawke Fracassa at hawkefracassa@aol.com.

Image source: Wikipedia