Dennis Kline, vice president of worldwide truck sales and marketing for ArvinMeritor Commercial Vehicle Systems, Troy, Mich., has been elected 2007 chairman of the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association (HDMA).

Kline has been a member of the HDMA board since 1998, serving as secretary in 2004, and vice chairman in 2005 and 2006. He is also a four-year member of The Heavy Duty Business Forum (HDBF), a discussion group for senior industry leaders.
He succeeds William Diggory of SKF, 2005 and 2006 HDMA chairman. Kline will lead the association’s board of directors and has strategic and financial oversight responsibility for HDMA. He also was elected to serve a term on the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) board of directors. HDMA is the heavy duty market segment association of MEMA.
Other officers include:
• Vice Chairman – Joseph McAleese, president and CEO of Bendix CVS, Elyria, Ohio; McAleese also will serve a term on the MEMA board of directors
• Secretary – Denny Michels, president and CEO of Link Manufacturing, Sioux City, Iowa

Timothy Kraus, executive director of HDMA, was elected to the position of president and chief executive officer of HDMA. Kraus assumed the leadership of HDMA in 2004, and also has served as a MEMA vice president and staff member.

New HDMA board directors, elected to varying terms, include:
• Gary Edwards, president and CEO, Phillips and Temro Industries, Eden Prairie, Minn.
• Randall Nord, president and CEO, Horton Industries, Roseville, Minn.
• Jack Shaffer, president and COO, Bergstrom, Inc, Rockford, Ill.

Board directors re-elected to an additional terms are:
• William Diggory, vice president, general manager, SKF VSM Business Unit, Elgin, Ill.
• Tim Musgrave, president and CEO, Pressure Systems International, San Antonio, Texas
• Robert Phillips, president and CEO, Phillips Industries, Santa Fe Springs, Calif.
• Gary Smalley, president and CEO, Dayton Parts LLC, Harrisburg, Pa.

Current HDMA board members also include:
• Vicky Black, vice president and general manager, Dana HVTSS, Toledo, Ohio
• Terrance Keating, CEO, Accuride Corp., Evansville, Ind.
• Ronald Parker, chairman, president and CEO, Indianhead Industries, Charlotte, N.C.
• Joseph Plomin, Senior Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Product Line Management, Remy International, Anderson, Ind.

HDMA has served the strategic needs of its members and the commercial vehicle industry since 1983. The mission of the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association is to be the industry’s primary advocate for the members of the commercial vehicle supplier community. With a continuous focus on its members, HDMA strives to advance the image and interests of the industry and its member companies. More details are available at www.hdma.org.