YOUNG PROFESSIONALS IN THE AFTERMARKET SPOTLIGHT:

DONNY BRAGA

Name: Donny Braga

Company: Wakefield Canada

Title: Brand Marketing Manager – PCMO

Number of years in the aftermarket: 15

What company do you currently work for? What is your position?

I am currently with Wakefield Canada, in the role of brand marketing manager – PCMO (passenger car motor oil), managing the Castrol family of brands.

This is a new role for me as of December 2022. I joined Wakefield Canada in December of 2021 as the marketing innovation and Super Clean brand manager. In that time, I guess they liked what I was doing for the Super Clean brand and with my brand experience at other companies, they wanted to give me the Castrol family of brands to manage.

Did you know you wanted to work in the automotive aftermarket?

Getting into the automotive aftermarket just sort of happened. I had always wanted to be either a paramedic (from my lifeguarding days) or a marketer because of the fun, creative and dynamic nature of the role. I was sure of that. After working for several years in the marketing department at Molson Coors, I got a call from a headhunter about an opportunity that ITW Permatex had to join their team as their marketing manager. This was just after ITW had acquired the Spray Nine brand. In my time with them, I was part of the acquisition team for several key automotive brands, including Rain-X, Spray Nine, Slime Tire Sealant, Fix-A-Flat and Black Magic.

What is one of the biggest and/or most difficult lessons you have had to learn as a young professional?

As a young professional, it is important to stay grounded, listen and learn as much as possible about the business, industry, products, and customers. Take time to discuss situations and options with your colleagues. It is important to understand that business is a team effort. No single department or person will help the company succeed. Drop department silos and have lunch with colleagues in different departments, take the time to learn what they do and how it impacts the business, because that knowledge will come in handy.

What advice would you give someone either starting in the industry or looking to transition into the industry?

Early in my career, I was taught that it is easier to edit than create. So, for young professionals, do not be offended or upset if people critique your work or make suggestions. Instead, learn, grow and continue learning for each experience.

About the Young Professionals in the Aftermarket

Young Professionals in the Aftermarket (YPA) is an Automotive Industries Association of Canada (AIA Canada) committee comprising of young executives, of 45 years or younger, in the Canadian auto care sector. The Committee’s mandate is to ensure the future growth and prosperity of the aftermarket industry.

Baywatch Tmps Coverage

Schrader’s coverage of its EZ-sensor family of products has expanded with applications launched for 2019-2027 Ram 2500 and 3500 vehicles. Additionally, Hyundai Azera vehicles from 2011-2013 and 2014-2018 are covered. Users will have had to do a software update on Schrader programming tools, released on Jan. 9. If using ATEQ programming tools, these received a fourth-quarter update for 2022 that was released in January. For Bartec tools, software updates are needed from 64.0.22, released in August 2022 and onward. Users of other programming tools are asked to contact their supplier to check the latest software updates and new coverage release dates.

www.schradertpms.com

Lug Nut Wheel Sockets

Milwaukee Tool added to its Shockwave Impact Duty sockets line up with new 1/2 Drive Lug Nut Wheel Sockets. The sockets feature a durable, non-marring sleeve to protect rims during tire changes while ensuring the durability of the sleeve. The sleeves are colourcoded gray and red to distinguish between metric and SAE sizing. Constructed with thin walls, the sockets are optimized for users to access the tight spaces around lug nuts. Users can attach the sockets to half-inch drive impact wrenches, drivers and adapters.

www.milwaukeetool.ca

Mini Pry Bars

Mueller-Kueps released the Mini Pry Bar Kit (No. 276 100). The pry bars have a black oxide finish to help protect the tool against corrosion. It comes with hardened and tempered steel to provide durability. The six-sided shaft makes the prybar stronger than its rounded shaft counterparts. The pry bars have an ergonomic two-component handle for a comfortable and secure grip. Two different tip widths and an angled design give the user maximum leverage and options.

www.mueller-kueps.com

OIL FOR COLLECTOR, CLASSIC, RACING

Wakefield Canada announced the launch of

Castrol GTX Classic motor oil. The new product has been developed specifically for classic and collector cars and racing applications. GTX Classic is a highperformance formula for push-rod, flat-tapped engines and performance cam applications. It’s blended with high zinc and phosphorus content to help prevent premature aging, wear and metal fatigue. It also features minimal foaming and high resistance to thermal degradation. It’s compatible with gasoline and alcohol-based fuels and is currently available in the 20W-50 grade. www.wakefieldcanada.ca

Cockpit Gauges

A new line of VDO Cockpit International GEN

Baywatch

II gauges with 26 gauges covering eight different functions is now available. They include 3 3/8” (85mm) speedometers and tachometers as well as 2 1/16” (52mm) voltmeters, oil pressure, gear pressure, water temperature, oil temperature and fuel gauges. The rust-resistant steel housings gauges and are available in dual scale (U.S./Metric) and single scale metric variants. The tachometers feature LCDs along with traditional pointers and are available for generator or magnetic sender feeds. The speedometers are available for 120mph/200kph and 85mph/130kph versions www.vdo-instruments.com

Wheel Charger

Clore Automotive has introduced the new

Continental brushless blower motors –true fit with plug and play installation

Continental brushless blower motors deliver true OE performance and unsurpassed quality, backed by our deep technical expertise and solid customer support. These blower motors restore the original cooling performance and feature OE mounting locations and plug-and-play electrical connections for quick, easy installation, right out of the box.

Find the right part at: www.continentalaftermarket.com www.cloreautomotive.com

Pro-Logix Wheel Charger Model PL3740. It brings versatile service to today’s busy shops, from battery charging and engine starting to battery maintenance and power supply support for a variety of applications. It provides shops with the ability to manage a variety of lead acid battery types, including AGM batteries. It also has charge settings for flooded and AGM/spiral wound batteries to provide each battery charged gets exactly the power it needs. application specific blower wheel to deliver genuine OE performance. Continental’s new blower motors will be available to the aftermarket in the first quarter of 2023.

Engine Management Sensors

Continental announced new knock, cam, and crankshaft sensors to its OE-engineered engine management sensor line. Application coverage Audi A3, A4, A6, A8 Allroad, Q7, RS5, RS7, S6, S7, S8, and TT; BMW Series 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, M Series, X3, X5, X6, Z4, and Z3; Infiniti QX56, Mercedes Benz C230 and SLK 230; Mini Cooper, Countryman, and Paceman; Nissan Altima, Armada, Cube, Frontier, Maxima, NV200; and VW Atlas, Beetle, CC, EOS, Jetta, Golf, Passat, Phaeton, and Touareg. The program covers more than more than 12 million vehicles in operation in Canada and the U.S.

www.continentalaftermarket.com

Performance Valve Springs

Elgin Industries has launched a broad new line of Elgin Pro-Stock performance valve springs engineered specifically for General Motors LS based engines. The new valve springs are designed for use with the brand’s performance camshafts, including the Sloppy Stage 2 hydraulic roller lift cam. The new Pro-Stock valve springs include an array of advanced features designed to ensure durability and valvetrain performance, including: Micro-engineered surface finish, multilayer fatigue enhancement, proprietary heat-treat process and beehive and conical spring geometries..

www.elginind.com

AUTOMATIC A/C RECHARGING MACHINES

The Rotary R3AC Series A/C recharging machines are a vehicle diagnostic tool, designed to automatically service the refrigerant in vehicle air conditioning systems. These machines provide North American automotive service professionals with a quick, efficient and cost-effective way to recover, recycle and recharge R134a and R1234yf refrigerant gases. Three models are now available: Single-gas R3AC50-A (R134a refrigerant compatible); single-gas R3AC60-YF (R1234yf refrigerant compatible); and dual-gas R3AC80-AYF (both R134a and R1234yf compatible) that automatically purges between gas changes. www.rotarylift.com

Bosch Releases

Bosch added three braking parts, 16 fuel and water pumps, two ignition coils, 30 sensors and one fuel injector in the first quarter of 2023. Bosch’s braking parts and assemblies include the new Bosch Hydro-Boost Braking Assembly, the QuietCast Disc Brake Pads and Bosch Blue Disc Brake Pads. Included in 16 new fuel pump parts is the Bosch Auxiliary Water Pump, equipped with a sealed pump chamber, an independent heating system and an EV and hybrid compatible cabin heat control system to complement the increasing use of ADAS and Body Electronics. www.boschautoparts.com

Window Assemblies

ZF Aftermarket announced 56 different new part numbers for Lemförder window regulators, motors and related assemblies for various 1999-2018 Audi, BMW, MercedesBenz, Volkswagen and Volvo models. The full line of Lemförder window regulators includes more than 1,800 SKUs covering 95 percent of the aftermarket. ZF Aftermarket plans to release 300 more in North America in 2023. www.zf.com