APC Names Tribby Warfield CEO

DETROIT, Mich.–APC Automotive Technologies, LLC (“APC” or the “Company”), a leading supplier of automotive, light truck and heavy-duty replacement parts, has announced the appointment of Tribby Warfield as its Chief Executive Officer.

At the same time, the company named James McCoy Chief Operating Officer. The addition of these key senior executives further builds out the company’s leadership team following the merger of AP Emissions and Centric Parts in 2017.

Tribby Warfield comes to APC with a wealth of experience in the automotive and industrial markets. Previously, she served as the Sr. Vice President of Business Development and Strategy for Nitta Corporation (industrial belting, tubing and hoses) with responsibilities spanning Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Prior to that, she held dual roles as the Sr. Vice President and General Manager of Kaman Fluid Power and Kaman Automation. Prior to that, she worked for over 25 years at Gates Corporation where she served multiple roles including President of North American Commercial, President of North American Power Transmission and 11 years in various positions leading Gates European’s operations, commercial sales and marketing groups.

“I’m excited to join APC just as we are starting to see the benefits of bringing together these leading organizations” said Warfield. “With the strength of our brands, exceptional customer service and talented people, we plan to accelerate APC’s growth through onboarding new customers, expanding into new channels and continuing to grow our product offering to the aftermarket.”

James McCoy brings over 25 years of diversified experience including lean manufacturing and automotive and industrial products to the APC Automotive Technologies management team. McCoy most recently worked for Forterra Inc. as a Senior Vice President of Operations. Prior to that, he served in large scale global executive level positions at Pentair Corporation, Tarkett Inc., Gates Corporation and Danaher Corporation.

In previous roles, McCoy was responsible for multiple facilities and drove performance improvement in cost, quality and service level on a consistent basis. McCoy holds an M.B.A. and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Arkansas.

Mike Barto, President of APC said, “I look forward to working with Tribby and James as we continue to grow the business. Since the merger of AP and Centric, we have planned and executed on multiple initiatives. One of those initiatives was to build out our senior management team. With the appointments of Tribby and James, we have welcomed a pair of experienced leaders to take APC into the future. We are excited about the skills they bring to the Company and know that they will be critical components to our future growth and success.”

“APC is a strong platform that we believe is positioned to rapidly grow both organically and through acquisition. I’m looking forward to working with Tribby and the APC team in further strengthening our position in the marketplace through exceptional customer service, quality and fulfillment,” said McCoy.  

About APC Automotive Technologies
APC Automotive Technologies is a leading supplier of automotive, light truck, and heavy-duty replacement parts. Delivering one of the broadest lines of undercar parts in the market, APC provides a comprehensive product portfolio including full lines of exhaust, brake and chassis parts to traditional warehouse distributors, feeders, retailers and performance and specialty channels. APC Automotive Technologies offers top quality product depth, customer service and support. The company was formed in May of 2017 by the merger of AP® Emissions Technologies (Goldsboro, NC) and Centric® Parts (Carson, CA). For more information, visit www.APCAutoTech.com.

About Harvest Partners
Founded in 1981, Harvest Partners is a leading New York-based private equity investment firm that pursues management buyouts and recapitalizations of middle market companies in North America. Harvest focuses on acquiring profitable companies in the business services, consumer, healthcare services and industrial sectors. This strategy leverages Harvest Partners’ 35+ years of experience in financing organic and acquisition-oriented growth companies. For more information, please visit www.harvestpartners.com.

About Audax Private Equity
Audax Group is a leading alternative investment manager with offices in Boston, New York, and San Francisco. Since its founding in 1999, the firm has raised over $25 billion in capital across its Private Equity and Private Debt businesses. Audax Private Equity has invested over $5 billion in more than 125 platforms and 775 add-on companies. Through its disciplined Buy & Build approach, Audax seeks to help platform companies execute add-on acquisitions that fuel revenue growth, optimize operations and significantly increase equity value. With more than 240 employees and over 100 investment professionals, the firm is a leading capital partner for North American middle market companies. For more information, please visit the Audax Group website www.audaxgroup.com.

David Kiley
David Kiley

David Kiley is Chief of Content for The BRAKE Report. Kiley is an award-winning business journalist and author, having covered the auto industry for USA Today, Businessweek, AOL/Huffington Post, as well as written articles for Automobile and Popular Mechanics.