Japanese Parent Company Names Sherman President of No Touch

In an unusual step for a Japanese company, Taiho Industries has promoted Jeffrey M. Sherman to the position of president of its U.S.-based subsidiary, No Touch North America, in Irvine.

Sherman, 42, is the former president of Armor All Products Inc., also in Irvine, who launched No Touch North America as executive vice president and general manager.

In that post he was the highest-ranking officer of the company and reported directly to Taiho officials in Japan. The position of president did not exist until Sherman’s promotion.

Many Japanese-owned companies in the United States either operate without a president or with a Japanese national in the president’s position. Often, a U.S.-born manager will serve as executive vice president and chief operating officer and function as the company’s top spokesman in the U.S.

Hiromi Osakada, president of Taiho Industries, said the decision to name Sherman president of No Touch North America was reward for his “outstanding leadership abilities and proven track record in the automotive aftermarket.”

Taiho recruited Sherman when it launched the company in mid-1990. No Touch manufactures and markets a spray-on tire cleaner and polish that, as the name says, works without wiping or rubbing.

The product also helps protect tires from damage from the sun’s ultraviolet rays and thus competes with Armor All, which is marketed as an all-purpose protectant for automobile leather, vinyl, plastic and rubber.

Sherman said he wants to see No Touch introduce other auto-appearance chemicals, including products that would compete with those of his former employer.

But Armor All Products isn’t taking No Touch’s challenge lightly. The company on Tuesday announced that it will begin marketing its own spray-on Armor All Tire Foam, a tire cleaner, polish and protectant that requires no rubbing or wiping.

Sherman headed Armor All until March, 1990, when he resigned because of differences with the company’s directors about the direction in which the automotive chemicals firm was headed.

He said in an interview earlier this year that he chafed at Armor All under the restrictions of running a publicly traded company because he felt pressured to focus on immediate profits rather than long-range growth.

Under Sherman, Armor All’s annual sales climbed from $48 million in 1974 to $167 million in 1990.

No Touch began its sales campaign in May, 1991.

The company won’t disclose sales figures, but officials have said the firm expects to capture 10% of the $100-million U.S. tire care products market by the end of the year.