EMPORIA, KS – Emporia based Hopkins Manufacturing earned top marketing honors at the 2011 Automotive Aftermarket Product Expo (AAPEX) held last week in Las Vegas. The award recognized the companyʼs new packaging for their vehicle-to-trailer wiring products. Judges included a panel of international retailers and experts from the Institute of Packaging Professionals.

On hand to accept the award was Mike Williams, Hopkins Vice President of Marketing and Dan Scheller, Marketing Director for Towing products. “This award reflects the professionalism of our entire marketing team,” said Williams. “We make the best quality and most innovative products in the industry and we wanted our packaging to reflect that. We set specific goals to make the product category easier to shop, provide better cues for our premium quality products, and make the packaging more environmentally sustainable.” Williams added.

“This took months of effort to completely rethink the consumer shopping experience,” added Scheller. “By listening closely to consumers in our research, we were able to design packages that really make shopping easy for consumers. And the smaller packaging size means retailers can add more items in the same shelf space, which will help retailers provide a broader range of products. This is a true win for Hopkins, our retail customers and consumers alike.” said Scheller. Customer reaction has been equally positive as they look forward to more exciting retail presentations of the Hopkins towing products and enhanced shopability for the consumer.

The Automotive Aftermarket Product Expo (AAPEX) is the largest annual automotive trade show, drawing more than 100,000 buyers from across the globe. Their awards are regarded as the most prestigious in the industry.

Hopkins, based in Emporia since 1953, is the #1 seller of towing electrical, winter snow and ice tools and vehicle cleaning products in North America. You can learn more about Hopkins at www.HopkinsMfg.com.

For more information:
Brandon Dexter
Director of Creative Services
(620) 340-8496
brandon.dexter@hopkinsmfg.com