VIPAR Heavy Duty's Global Parts Network Opens New Coman Center in South Bend, Indiana

Aug. 1, 2011 - PRLog -- Crystal Lake, IL – Global Parts Network, LLC (GPN), a wholly-owned subsidiary of VIPAR Heavy Duty, opened a new manufacturing center dedicated to the remanufacturing and distribution of truck brake shoes and related components on July 11, 2011 in South Bend, Indiana. The new 76,000 sq. ft. facility is the second CoMan Center (Cooperative Manufacturing Center) for GPN and more than doubles GPN’s overall production capacity. GPN’s first CoMan Center continues operations in Salt Lake City, Utah. The new facility is located at 5102 Dylan Drive, Suite 200, South Bend, IN  46628.

GPN's CoMan Centers are dedicated production facilities that provide seamless service and support exclusively to the VIPAR Heavy Duty network of distributors and suppliers. The South Bend location will initially provide new and remanufactured brake shoes, brake shoe kits, friction material and related parts. The brake product offerings support the industry's most recognized brands including Federal-Mogul’s ABEX, Meritor, and TMD Friction's Textar and Don, in addition to GPN's proprietary brand of Ferodo OptiPro and TuffLine private label program.

"The central location of our new CoMan Center allows us to offer service to VIPAR Heavy Duty distributors in Canada and improved service to stockholders in the central and eastern U.S.," said Gene Damron, GPN's general manager. “In addition, we are pleased to introduce improved equipment and processes at the new facility. This includes higher capacity washers, blaster and packaging cells. A new coating process has also been developed and deployed to insure the best possible products for our customers.”

“We are excited to open this new South Bend facility to enable our distributors to remain competitive with a consistent supply chain and to facilitate even more efficient service to fleets and end-users,” said Steve Crowley, president and CEO, VIPAR Heavy Duty.

GPN leverages the latest technology to bring demand chain partners together to create business process efficiencies and specializes in high volume, fast moving parts. GPN provides VIPAR Heavy Duty distributors with quality brand-name parts and customer-focused programs that enhance speed to market to meet the demanding needs of customers.  


For more information on GPN, visit www.globalpartsnetwork.com or e-mail: info@globalpartsnetwork.com.  For more information on VIPAR Heavy Duty, visit http://www.vipar.com or e-mail: info@vipar.com.

# # #

About Global Parts Network
Global Parts Network, LLC (GPN) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of VIPAR Heavy Duty that provides seamless service and support exclusively to the VIPAR Heavy Duty network of distributors and suppliers. GPN utilizes the latest technology to bring demand chain partners together to create business process efficiencies and specializes in high volume, fast moving parts. In addition, GPN operates its brake manufacturing production centers, CoMan Centers™, focusing on new and remanufactured brake shoes, brake shoe kits, friction material and related parts. For more information, visit http://www.globalpartsnetwork.com.