Illinois Meineke Employee Wins Pipe Bending World Championship

Illinois Meineke Employee Wins Pipe Bending World Championship; 
New Hampshire Employee Takes First Place in Meineke Brake-Off

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Nov. 6, 2003)?Isak Berianidze of Downers Grove, Ill., won 
the Meineke Pipe Bending World Championship finals Tuesday, and on 
Wednesday Paul Rivard of Nashua, N.H., took home the top prize in 
Meineke's Brake-Off World Championship.  Both competitions were held at 
the 2003 Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX) in Las Vegas.
Berianidze had won the Midwest Regional Pipe Bending contest with his 
company, and Rivard represented the Northeast Region at the Meineke 
Brake-Off finals.  Four regional contests?Midwest, West, Northeast and 
Southeast?determined eight finalists (four for each contest) who won trips 
to Las Vegas to compete in the finals.  Rivard also represented the 
Northeast in the Pipe Bending competition.
Meineke spokesman George Foreman, who provided commentary for both 
competitions, presented each world champion a trophy as well as $400.
A Meineke employee for three years, Berianidze works at the Meineke Car 
Care Center located at 815 Ogden Ave., Downers Grove, Ill.  Rick Lennon 
and Ed Moses own the franchise.
Berianidze competed as a finalist in the Pipe Bending contest last year 
and finished fourth.
"I wanted to come back and do better," Berianidze said.  "I feel really 
happy now."
Runners-up in the Pipe Bending World Championship finals were:
·       Second place ? Chris Krenn of Katy, Texas, representing the West Region.
·       Third place ? Edward Fernandez of Lawrenceville, Ga., representing the 
Southeast Region.
·       Fourth place ? Rivard, representing the Northeast Region.
Rivard has worked 15 years for the Meineke Car Care Center located at 22 
E. Hollis St. in Nashua.  Barry and Christine Williams own the franchise.
Immediately following his victory, Rivard said winning first place felt 
good.
"It feels good," he said.  "I'm still shaking.  I didn't do so well in the 
exhaust (Pipe Bending) competition so this is good."
Runners-up in the Brake-Off finals were:
·       Second place ? Lawrence Lemieux of Carson City, Nev., representing the 
West Region.
·       Third place ? Scott Coleman of East Troy, Wis., representing the Midwest 
Region.
·       Fourth place ? Michael Hunt of Fairmont, W. Va., representing the 
Southeast.
        Gene Zhiss, Meineke Vice President of Marketing and Dealer 
Communications, said the contests test the speed and accuracy of each 
contestant.
        "Finalists performed operations for identical vehicle applications 
using the same machines," Zhiss said.  "We didn't announce the year, make 
and model of the vehicle until just before the competitions began."
        Meineke hosted the first Pipe Bending World Championship last year 
at the AAPEX Show in Las Vegas to showcase the expertise of creating a 
custom exhaust system.  This year the company added the Brake-Off 
competition (replacing brakes) since Meineke has expanded its product line 
to cover a wide array of automotive services and not just mufflers.
Meineke Car Care Center, a nationwide chain of independently owned and 
operated franchises, has been a "consumer friendly" name for more than 30 
years.  Founded in Houston, Texas and now headquartered in Charlotte, 
N.C., the company has grown to approximately 900 Centers in the United 
States, Canada, Central and South America.