People and Positions December 2016

, a provider of work truck accessories and snow and ice management equipment, has hired Joshua Davis as its district sales manager. He will manage Southeast sales accounts in Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi with support and integration from the marketing and sales team. His experience includes a previous position as a materials manager for Knapheide Truck Equipment and service with NASCAR RV as a regional sales manager.

Vanair announced that Dean Strathman has been promoted to vice-president of sales. Joining Vanair when the company acquired Air N Arc in 2009, he advanced through sales positions to his most recent role as vice-president of abovedeck sales.

Haldex announced the appointment of Walter Frankiewicz as senior vice-president–North American sales. With 30 years of executive leadership and experience in the automotive and commercial vehicle industries, he previously served as president of Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake LLC.

The Timken Company has realigned its automotive aftermarket leadership team. Brett Blauner, national sales manager, oversees the sales and commercial strategy for the company’s light vehicle aftermarket. He previously worked in sales and operations for RBC and ITW. Rick Domin, training and product support manager, leads Timken’s field training and support. His previous Timken experience includes product engineering and product management for the automotive industry. Ryan Shaffer, manager regional marketing, leads the development and implementation of local strategies for the Americas. He also directs the Timken automotive aftermarket catalog team. He has served the firm in aftermarket communications, national accounts and regional sales management. With nearly 20 years at Timken, Mark Stangl, manager–global marketing, leads development of long-range strategy for the automotive aftermarket. Greg Sturm, product manager, leads the product management team. His Timken experience includes roles in on-highway application engineering and retail accounts manager for the automotive aftermarket.

Hiab, part of Cargotec, has appointed Jan-Erik Lindfors vice-president, new business solutions. He joins Hiab from HiQ Finland, where he had been vice-president, strategy and business development since November 2013.

William “Bill" Garrison, retired vice-president of sales for Clement Industries and a member of the trailer manufacturing community for more than 30 years, died Nov 29, 2016. He was 87. Born September 10, 1929 in Corning OH, he graduated from Corning High School and attended Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware OH. Garrison began his career in industrial sales work at Marion Power Shovel Co, where he met and married his wife of 64 years, Patricia Smoot Garrison. Together they moved to New York, Atlanta, Jacksonville FL, Ft Lauderdale FL, Findlay OH, Plymouth MI, Newark OH, Enterprise AL and to their final home in Minden LA. He was preceded in death by his grandparents William J Garrison and wife Anna; Earl S Harman and wife Ethel; parents Clarence W “Gary” Garrison and wife Helen “Hap”; and an aunt, Christine Garrison. Surviving are his wife Patricia; daughter Laura Garrison and husband Bob with grandson Nicholas, Boulder CO; son Richard W Garrison and wife Pat with grandsons Oliver, Max and Neil, Boston MA; daughter Jill Hensley and granddaughter Natalie, Albuquerque NM; one brother Richard E Garrison and wife Greta, Bonita Springs FL; and many nieces and nephews.

Jules Leonard Davis, former Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association (TTMA) chairman for the Associates, died November 2, 2016. He was 92. Born July 31, 1924, in Petrey AL, he was the son of Joe Latas Davis and Ethel Williams Davis. He later recalled growing up in rural Alabama during the Great Depression in a vivid memoir, Life on a ‘Two Horse’ Farm. After graduating from Luverne High School in 1943, he taught there and coached the football team, which earned him, at 19, recognition in the AP News as the youngest coach in the United States. He attended and graduated from the University of Alabama, where he met Jane Benton Davis of Opp AL. They were married June 13, 1948, and, after teaching and coaching in Luverne, moved to Opp where they would live and raise their three sons: Joe Benton, Jules Edwin, and George Jeffrey. Jules also coached football in Opp, and during the 1951-53 seasons, the team won 27 straight games. After teaching, he began a career in trailer sales, working for Dorsey Trailers, Kershaw Axle Co, and the Dana Corporation, from which he retired. He continued to consult in the industry in retirement and played an important role in planning TTMA conventions. Survivors include his wife of 68 years, Jane Benton Davis; son, Joe Benton Davis and wife Sheila Everidge Davis of Montgomery; son, Jules Edwin Davis and wife Linda Bowman Davis, of New York City; grandchildren, Shannon Davis, Alison Horton (Justin), Kimberly Davis, Benjamin and Jacob Bowden; and great-grandchildren, Benjamin and Jules Horton, and Brittany Bowden. Memorial contributions may be made to SPIRIT of Frazer (Box 241347, Montgomery AL 36124-1347) or the charity of your choice. ♦