Growing pains and expansion plans are very much the order of the day at Associates Leasing, Inc., a Gulf & Western subsidiary whose management is determined to bring new concepts of auto leasing service to mid-size fleet operators. Aiming for nationwide accounts whose fleets number 500 units or less, Associates' management has recruited an impressive team of fleet leasing professionals whose talents are expected to both complement the existing staff and give it new direction.

Based in South Bend, Indiana, the Associates Leasing expansion effort is being headed up by Vice President and General Manager George F. Lillis, whose background includes 15 years in a variety of leasing posts with Hertz. Lillis said the Associates operation currently has some 4,000 cars out on both closed-end and open-end leases. By the end of this year, that figure is expected to top 6,500 cars on lease as the firm opens new regional offices in the Southeast and New York area.

Among the plans Lillis is developing for Associates fleet clients is the "per­petual transportation" concept, which would assure a car for every driver and temporary replacement vehicles for use whenever the leased cars must be taken out of service. Lillis said he and his staff are negotiating with daily rental firms who would be called on to provide temporary cars whenever and wherever the needs arise.

Lillis termed President Jimmy Car­ter's recent call for energy conserva­tion a boon to his business. At Lillis' direction, the Associates team is recommending that fleet clients posi­tion themselves in cars that deliver maximum mileage with minimum fuel consumption - while still maintaining the kind of corporate "image" the cli­ent's cars should reflect. Lillis said that besides saving precious fuel and money now, fleet choices based on conserva­tion will doubtless hold better resale value when the cars come off lease than cars that waste fuel.

Associates Leasing, Inc., is part of the financial services group of subsidi­ary firms that comprise the sprawling, $3.4-billion Gulf & Western Industries, Inc. Lillis explains that the corporate ties to various Gulf & Western subsidi­aries will help Associates grow in its car leasing efforts, which will in turn help other clients take advantage of economies of scale generated by those corporate ties.

Lillis' firm also has access to a sophisticated computer operation based in South Bend but receptive to input from anywhere in the country. By computerizing the leasing opera­tion, Lillis points out, clients will be served with instant information about their fleets and a problem solving potential now offered by only a hand­ful of the largest leasing firms.

A key man on Lillis' staff is Ron Mudwilder, who has been with the As­sociates car leasing operation for the past eight years and holds an intimate knowledge of the South Bend facility. Mudwilder, Assistant Vice President, has been with Associates for an im­pressive 32 years.

When Lillis left Hertz, he went with Emkay, Inc., in Chicago for about one year. At the same time, Mike Donohoo left Hertz and joined Lillis at Emkay. Donohoo has subsequently left the Chicago leasing firm to follow Lillis to Associates, where he is Regional Sales Manager with headquarters in West­chester, Illinois, and responsibility for 14 states in the Associates Central Region.

Herb Baylin is another former Hertz leasing expert who was recently appointed Retail Sales Manager for Associates and will work from South Bend.

Ron Masanet had been with Hertz Car Leasing for nine years before Lillis recruited him to join the Associates team. Also working from South Bend, Masanet will function as Operations Manager and is intent on developing a full maintenance program for those clients who need more than just a car as part of their plan. Masanet reported that Associates will soon be offering a maintenance program in conjunction with one or more of the nationwide auto service chains.

Masanet said his office is currently studying plans offered by Goodyear and Firestone service centers, and may even go to a coupon system that could be used to buy repairs and parts at as many as half-a-dozen outlets. Masanet stressed that although the maintenance program will soon be implemented, the service is not yet available as studies and negotiations continue.

Recognizing that any leasing firm that would hope to expand its hori­zons must be able to offer a complete vehicle replacement and disposal pro­gram, Lillis recruited Dick Widmar to function as Used Car Manager. It will be Widmar's task to retrieve top dollar from every Associates car coming off lease, so that savings can be passed along to clients and lease rates can be kept competitive.