Luber-finer® Marks 50-Year Relationship with Carolina Rim & Wheel Company

Albion, IL, August 19, 2009 – The year was 1959. Alaska and Hawaii had just joined the Union as the 49th and 50th states.

It would be another 10 years before man would walk on the Moon. It was also the year that Luber-finer first began supplying its heavy-duty filtration products for the heavy-duty, light- and medium-duty truck markets to the Carolina Rim & Wheel Co., a Charlotte, NC-based distributor of parts and accessories for the trucking, automotive and small-trailer industries.

“I remember that Steve Norris was the Luber-finer® representative that originally set us up in 1959 and that he used to periodically visit us while riding on his motorcycle,” recalled Tom Stewart, President of Carolina Rim & Wheel.

Since then, Carolina Rim & Wheel, which was founded in 1926, has grown into an operation that features a state-of-the-art, 32,000-square-foot warehouse and corporate headquarters in Charlotte, with branch operations in Fayetteville, NC; Columbia and Charleston, SC; and Suwanee, GA. For its part, Luber-finer® had developed into the leading manufacturer of heavy-duty filtration products for the transportation, off-road/mining, marine, agriculture and automotive & light truck industry. But one thing has remained constant in the ensuing 50 years and that is the ongoing business partnership between the two companies, which is something you don’t see much of these days.

“In this day and age it is unusual that two companies have been business partners for more than five decades,” said Steve Horn, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Champion Laboratories, Luber-finer®’s parent company. “It has been our privilege to enjoy their business for all these years. Carolina Rim & Wheel is an exceptional company that has survived and grown throughout its very long history. We are thankful for this special relationship and wish Tom and his team continued success.”

For more information on Luber-finer® or any of its products, please contact Averi Goodman, Marketing Coordinator, at (618) 445-5410, or visit www.luberfiner.com. For more information on Carolina Rim & Wheel Co., please visit www.carolinarim.com.

Champion Laboratories, Inc. is a global manufacturer of Luber-finer® branded light, medium and heavy-duty filtration products. Luber-finer® provides premium filtration solutions for all fleets and on highway, as well as all off-road applications such as heavy construction, mining, agriculture, oil and gas industry and marine. Luber-finer® has been a trusted name in filters since 1936, providing high efficiency performance in the most demanding work environments. For more information visit www.luberfiner.com or call (800) 851-3641.

posted by Averi Goodman