b'Welcome to the \x1frst edition of Q&A Supplier Pro\x1fle, a new feature whereweinterviewindustryleadersaskingthemtosharetheir perspective on the Automotive Aftermarket and help us get to know their company.OurguesttodayisDanSchildge,Presidentand CEOofCRPIndustries.CRPisaleaderinthe manufacturing and distribution of innovative prod-Supplier Profile uctsandsolutionsforEuropeanandDomestic shopsandhasbeenakeypartnerofSSFfor decades. Welcome to the program Dan! CRP Headquarters in Carteret, NJ (Circa 2005)An interview with Dan Schildge, President & CEO, CRP IndustriestimingbeltkitsandbuilttheReinbrand. Atthe Can you give us a brief overview and historytime, we were partnered with many OE manufactur-of CRP Industries and your role with theers, but we did not package or catalog the parts. By company? placing these parts under the Rein brand, we made it easyforprofessionaltechnicianstotrustour CRP was founded by my Grandfather in 1954 ashigh-quality parts. Continental AGs general agent. For 25 years, we were a tire company, focused on building ContisWe continue to evolve, having acquired the AAE business in North America. In the late 1970s, mysteering remanufacturing business and sold our belt father rebuilt CRP as an automotive parts supplier. business to Continental. Weve created a new busi-Using Contis belts and hoses as a foundation, weness remanufacturing electronic power steering and started working with other German manufacturersother complex mechatronics. And with input from such as Pentosin, Bruss, and Phoenix.It was alsoourtechniciancouncil,weredevelopinginnova-aroundthistimewestartedour40-plusyeartive,problemsolverproductsinourReinbrand. relationship SSF. ThisisallpartofourvisiontobeTHEservice marketpartnerforcreatingsolutionstoproblems caused by advanced technology.Before the COVID-19 pandemic, what was your outlook for 2020?At CRP, we were excited for growth of our Rein, AAE,andPentosinbrands,thankstoourwork developing the latest applications for our key prod-uct lines. The ContiTech sale was behind us and we came into the year firing on all cylinders. I thought theoverallautomotiveaftermarketwaslooking strong, with rapidly rising numbers of vehicles in operation in the 612 year old range. This coupled CRP third generation CEO Dan Schildge (R) walking withCRP Headquarters with Continental Tire Sign, Carteret, NJ his father George (L) in the Cranbury, NJ Warehouse (Circa 1960) with a strong economy looked very promising.I joined the company in 1998, after serving eight years as a submarine officer in the US Navy. Im notsureIcouldhavefoundabettertraining ground. Throughout my time in the Navy, I was leading people who were older than me and knew a lotmorethanme.Thattaughtmetoleadwith humility and to focus on serving those who I led. TheselessonspaidoffwhenIjoinedCRPand found myself again leading people who were much more experienced than me.Under my watch, CRP developed the ContiTech Production Worker in Conway, SC23'