POMONA, Calif., Aug. 25, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Keystone Automotive Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq:KEYS) today announced that Richard L. Keister was formally elected president and chief executive officer at the company's annual board meeting held last week. He succeeds the retiring Charles J. Hogarty who remains with the company as a consultant for the next two years, as previously announced.
Keister (58), most recently served as president of Delco Remy International's Aftermarket Group -- joining that company in 1997 following Delco Remy's acquisition of World Wide Automotive.
"Since its founding in 1947, Keystone has evolved to become the leader in the aftermarket collision replacement parts industry. After nearly three months on the job and after visiting many locations and talking to employees at all levels, I see tremendous opportunities for Keystone's continued expansion and I look forward to building upon the success of my predecessor, Charlie Hogarty," said Keister, president and chief executive officer.
"Now that 12 of the 13 legacy systems of our management information system that existed separately two years ago have been consolidated, and all locations except for one recent acquisition and the locations in Canada will be under one system by the end of November, we will be able to generate meaningful analytical data across all areas of the company," Keister said.
He emphasized that this consolidation will greatly enhance management's ability to analyze the company's results, thereby providing better informational resources to grow earnings at a rate greater than the growth in sales and further eliminate redundancy from the more than 30 acquisitions completed over the past 10 years. Additionally, he added that the consolidation will allow Keystone to continue to capitalize on its purchasing power and brand recognition from the company's Platinum Plus product line. "We will then be able to create the transparency and accountability throughout the company necessary to take the company to the next level of sales and earnings," Keister said.
He noted that the creation of a stronger organizational structure represented another area of significant opportunity for Keystone, with the announcement of the appointment of Barnett Gershen to the newly created position of vice president of organizational development.
"Mr. Gershen grew his building maintenance company from 1,000 to over 13,000 employees over the last 10 years before selling the company. We are fortunate to have someone with Mr. Gershen's talent and drive on our executive team," Keister said.
In addition to the appointment of Gershen, Keister indicated that the company intends to create several other positions, including: a vice president of supply chain management to improve its inventory management, purchasing and logistics; a project management director and a senior financial analyst. "While these additions will increase costs, over the long term I believe that the positive benefits to sales and earnings from the organizational changes and the improved transparency and accountability will be significant," Keister added.
Keister was co-founder of the predecessor company to World Wide Automotive, serving from 1976 as president and chief executive officer of the start-up venture. The company initially focused on the remanufacturing of rotating electrics, selling to local auto repair shops. By 1984, that company had 3,000 customers in the mid-Atlantic region. Keister expanded operations under the name World Wide Automotive in the mid '80s with a focus on serving the high-growth market of imported vehicles -- selling to large retailers, major warehouse distributors and, in some cases, direct competitors. The company also launched remanufacturing operations and joint ventures in several overseas locations, including Hong Kong, Malaysia and China. Delco Remy acquired the business in 1997.
Keystone Automotive Industries, Inc. distributes its products primarily to collision repair shops through its 126 distribution facilities, of which 22 serve as regional hubs, located in 38 states and Canada. Its product lines consist of automotive body parts, bumpers, and remanufactured alloy wheels, as well as paint and other materials used in repairing a damaged vehicle. These products comprise more than 19,000 stock keeping units that are sold to more than 25,000 repair shops throughout the United States and Canada.
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for certain forward-looking statements. The statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements based on the company's current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on the company. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the company will be those anticipated by the company. Actual results may differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond the control of the company) and are subject to change based upon various factors, including but not limited to the impact on the company as a result of the transition to a new chief executive officer. Reference is also made to the Cautionary Statements set forth in the company's Form 10-K Annual Report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) on June 9, 2004 and in Part II, item 5 of its Form 10-Qs filed with the SEC thereafter for additional risks and uncertainties facing the company. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as the result of new information, future events or otherwise.