Accuride Taps New Leader for Commercial Wheels

Accuride Corp. has appointed Leigh Wright, currently the group's vice president for Steel Wheels to a new title, senior vice president of Accuride Wheels. In his new position he'll be responsible for strategic global leadership and oversee manufacturing of steel and aluminum wheels. “Under Leigh’s direction, Accuride recently restructured the steel wheel business unit to ensure its long-term competitiveness and also successfully introduced AccuLite, a lightweight steel wheel which we believe will become an industry standard,” stated president and CEO John Murphy. He added that the company expects Wright to continue focusing on operational excellence while expanding market share and increasing customer service. Accuride is a holding company for a series of units producing commercial vehicle components, including wheel-end components and assemblies, truck body and chassis parts, and seating assemblies, as well commercial vehicle wheels. Among its brand names are Accuride, Gunite, Imperial, Bostrom, Fabco, and Brillion. The company also reported that it has recruited Edward Gulda, formerly head of a business consultancy, to join the organization as senior vice president of its Brillon and Gunite units. He replaces Robert Nida, who left Accuride "to pursue other career opportunities." Gulda has been a principal with Kinnick Group L.L.C., which advises businesses on mergers, acquisitions, and "turnarounds." He has been president and CEO of Peregrine Inc., CEO of Kelsey Hayes, and president and COO of Dayton Walther. “Ed’s extensive background in business development and operations optimization coupled with his in-depth experience in the commercial vehicle industry affords him the expertise necessary to aggressively implement strategic improvements at our Brillion and Gunite facilities so as to strengthen the business units’ competitiveness,” Murphy stated.