LEHIGH VALLEY, Penn. — The Mack Canada Distributor of the Year for 2003 is Richard “Rick” Mayer, with Mack Sales & Service in Nanaimo, British Columbia.

Mack Trucks, Inc. today announced the recipients of its 2003 Distributor of the Year awards.

The announcement comes as the industry prepares for this weekend’s American Truck Dealers Convention and Exposition in Seattle.

Every year, Mack acknowledges the efforts and contributions of its dealer network by honoring high performing distributors in its U.S., Canada and International business units. The U.S. Distributor of the Year is selected from a pool of regional honorees.

Categories included in the selection criteria include sales, facilities, personnel, leasing, service, parts, general management, customer satisfaction and community service.

Born and raised in Nanaimo, Mayer grew up in the trucking business. His grandfather started with a single axle gravel truck, working in a local sawmill, and his father and uncles also ran gravel trucks before branching into large asphalt, aggregate and concrete ready-mix operations. Their fleet was soon all Mack vehicles.

Rick was relining brakes before the age of ten, and rebuilding engines soon thereafter. When the family sold its business to a major corporation, Mayer purchased a struggling local Mack dealership in 2001. In just three years, he has turned a moribund franchise into a thriving operation. Rick and his wife, Anu, have two young
daughters and a son, and still reside in Nanaimo.

Roger Kriete, dealer principal of Milwaukee Mack Sales, was selected U.S. Distributor of the Year. Kriete is a second-generation dealer principal. His father, Henry, purchased Milwaukee Mack in 1951.

Roger became dealer principal in 1973, and has since opened three additional locations in Wisconsin. He has twice been nominated ATD Dealer of the Year. He was the 2001 Wisconsin Automotive and Truck Dealers Association (WATDA) Chairman of the Board, and is currently Chairman of the WATDA’s Foundation and Investment Task Force. He has been the Director of the Lombardi Charitable Funds since 1980, and is a major donor to the Rawhide Boys Ranch, which teaches mechanical skills to troubled children. He also donates engines and scholarships to the Milwaukee Area Technical College.

Roger and his wife, Sandy, live in Mequon, Wisconsin and have four adult children, two of whom currently work at the dealership.

In addition to Kriete, who represents the Central Region, other 2003 U.S. regional winners include:

Northeast Region: Debra Harvey, Harvey Mack Sales & Service, New Castle, Del.

Southwest Region: Tom Graddy and Tom Ewing, Houston Mack Sales & Service, Houston, Tex.

Southeast Region: Ted Steele, Steele Truck Centre, Ft. Myers, Fla.

Western Region: Jack O’Brien, Arizona Truck Centre, Phoenix, Ariz.

Roberto Salinas, chairman and CEO of Salinas Y Fabres headquartered in Santiago, Chile, was recognized as the Mack International Distributor of the Year.

Salinas’ father, Ramon, and his partner, Raul Fabres, became Mack distributors in 1938. Roberto first began working for the company in 1961, starting out in the tire department.

Today, in addition to a central location in Santiago, Salinas Y Fabres has seven branch offices located throughout Chile. 2003 marks the fifth time that Roberto has been recognized as the Mack International Distributor of the Year. He and his wife, Nancy, have six children and sixteen grandchildren.

In addition to a plaque, Mayer, Kriete and Salinas will each receive a highly coveted green sport coat, identical to the one worn by winners of a famous U.S. golf tournament.

“We have worked very hard over the past couple of years to strengthen our dealer network and enhance the level of service provided to our customers,” said Kevin Flaherty, Mack senior vice president of sales. “The quality of all of our 2003 award winners is an indication of how successful we’ve been in this regard. And I as well as the rest of the Mack family commend them for their efforts.”

Mack is part of the Volvo Group of companies, headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden. For more information about Mack, visit www.macktrucks.com