Clevite

MAHLE Clevite has been involved the Heavy Duty aftermarket now for over 50 years and offers a wide range of replacement parts for Heavy Duty engines found in Agriculture, Construction, Trucking, Marine and Oil Field operations.

Click Here for more information about Clevite!

Fontaine PartSource

Fontaine Trailer Company builds the best flatbed and lowbed trailers in the world. And now Fontaine PartSource brings that kind of quality and dedication in an aftermarket trailer parts supplier. No “knock- offs” or counterfeit parts; only original equipment design and quality, which will keep your trailers on the road and protect your investment.

Click Here for more information about Fontaine!

“We have a corporate and public responsibility to our customers to be environmentally friendly,” said Daniel Kratz, truck operations manager, GE Capital Solutions, at the Work Truck Show’s Hybrid Truck & Alternative Fuels Summit in Atlanta. Kratz discussed the use of hybrid vehicles and alternative fuels in vocational truck applications, now and in the future.

High fuel costs, dependence on an unstable petroleum supply, corporate mandates to reduce carbon footprints and government idling regulations all are market drivers for hybrids, said Kratz. But there are challenges too, including warranty concerns, serviceability, training difficulties, safety issues and limited model availability. Hybrid vehicle batteries also have to be replaced about every eight years, which comes with a $5,000 price tag.

Kratz went on to discuss some of the benefits of alternative fuels, such as reduced CO2 emissions. Over its lifetime, pure biodiesel emits about 78 percent less CO2 than conventional diesel.

Using what GE calls “ecomagination,” the company provides a roadmap for improving a fleet’s environmental performance. This includes everything from vehicle selection, vehicle efficiency, and measurement and reporting tools used to analyze and communicate environmental performance.

Recent developments in hybrid and alternative fuels technology are pushing environmentally sound developments forward, but these technologies still have a long way to go. “We’re at the tip of the iceberg,” Kratz said.

VIPAR Heavy Duty announced the truck parts network’s expansion into the commercial vehicle equipment market. The new entity will be known as VHD Equipment Network LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of VIPAR Heavy Duty. VHD Equipment Network will focus on the $9 billion North American commercial vehicle equipment market that represents more than 1,700 companies that distribute, install, buy, sell and repair truck-mounted equipment.

“The synergies that exist between the commercial vehicle parts market and the commercial vehicle equipment market present many opportunities for VIPAR Heavy Duty, our existing stockholders, supplier partners and new equipment members,” says Steve Crowley, president and chief executive officer of Crystal Lake, Ill.-based Vipar Heavy Duty. “These synergies make it practical to deliver our value-added propositions in program management, technology, business services, marketing, communications and more to the leading vehicle equipment distributors.”

Crowley says VIPAR Heavy Duty remains committed to providing the greatest value proposition possible to all stakeholders, and looks forward to putting the company’s 20 years of experience to work in the commercial vehicle equipment market. “VHD Equipment Network will benefit progressive distributors and suppliers of commercial vehicle equipment by ensuring they maintain profitability and a high profile in their given marketplaces,” he says.

Hiab, the business unit providing load handling solutions within Cargotec, has signed an agreement to acquire U. K.-based DEL Equipment Limited and U.S.-based Ultron Lift Corp.

The sales of the companies in 2007 exceeded EUR 23 million. Together, the companies employ 164 people. The current management will continue in their positions in both companies.

The acquisition compliments Hiab’s Waltco brand in North America and its Zepro liftgate brand in Europe. Waltco and Zepro liftgates currently are sold through distributors in more than 50 countries worldwide, according to the company.

Two leaders from Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems were part of an industry panel that met with legislators and regulators on Capitol Hill this week to discuss the impact proposed legislation could have on the safety of America’s highways.

The panel was charged with advocating for the adoption of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Advanced Safety Technology Act of 2007 – also known as H.R. 3820. Introduced in October 2007, H.R. 3820 would provide a tax credit equal to 50 percent of the cost of a qualifying commercial vehicle safety system. The panel’s presentations and targeted meetings provided information about the importance of the safety technologies for which the act would provide incentives, including vehicle stability systems, collision warning systems, lane departure warning systems, and brake stroke monitoring systems.

Scott Burkhart, Bendix vice president of the controls and modules group, and Fred Andersky, Bendix marketing manager for electronics, were part of the panel, which was assembled by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA). A part of the Motor Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA), the Alliance selected leaders from key technology providers to represent the industry on the panel. The group met with members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure and Ways and Means committees, the Senate Commerce and Finance committees, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

“By offering meaningful tax incentives to fleets and heavy vehicle operators that implement active safety-enhancing technologies, H.R. 3820 could help ensure not only the safe operation of commercial vehicles, but also the safety of our nation’s roadways,” Burkhart said.

NHTSA statistics report that between 2001 and 2005, more than 25,000 fatalities resulted from crashes involving heavy-duty vehicles. In addition to injury and loss of life, these accidents can cause productivity-robbing traffic delays and lost time due to out-of-service vehicles. Bendix believes H.R. 3820 has the potential to significantly accelerate the implementation of safety technologies that can help prevent these incidents.

During the Capitol Hill meetings, Bendix experts highlighted the benefits of two safety technologies that could be covered by H.R. 3820: electronic stability control and adaptive cruise control.

Our country shouldn’t apologize for its energy use, but we should make a pact to be more efficient with our use of energy, said the Honorable Clarence H. Albright, Jr., Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy, at the Hybrid Truck & Alternative Fuels Summit in Atlanta.

The summit, which addressed how concerns about fuel prices and emissions regulations can be met by hybrid vehicle technology and alternative fuels, was held in conjunction with the National Truck Equipment Association’s (NTEA) Work Truck Show. Under Secretary Albright was the summit’s keynote speaker.

“We are not effectively harnessing all our domestic resources; this needs to change,” said Albright. “We do have resources that can be developed here. I want us to recognize the resources that we have and develop them in ways that are economically and environmentally sound.”

He cited the Canadian tar sands and oil shale as two potential sources of alternative fuel. Albright also mentioned the importance of aerodynamics as an energy conserving technology.

“Aerodynamics is important because for every 2 percent reduction of drag, there is a 1 percent increase in fuel efficiency,” said Albright. He advocates creating a diverse portfolio of fuel options that are “safe, reliable and clean.”

“Diversity is key,” he said.

But, according to Albright, America cannot afford to sacrifice its “get it done” work ethic. It’s a difficult thing to do while maintaining fuel efficiency, but Albright believes it can be done with the private sector and government working together.

“The private sector will lead the way,” predicts Albright. “The government has its limits. The market should determine government action, not the other way around.”

FleetPride, Inc. announced that it is expanding its national reach with the acquisition of certain assets of Oklahoma Truck Supply in Tulsa, Okla.

“Oklahoma Truck Supply was chosen for several reasons. They have a solid 30-plus year reputation in Tulsa. Prior to this expansion, FleetPride had four branches in Oklahoma — one in Del City and three in Oklahoma City — and one in Little Rock, Ark., but nothing in between. With this acquisition, FleetPride will shorten the gap between our central region branches. This in turn means faster sourcing for hard to find and specialty parts and more efficient delivery,” said Lee Stockseth, vice president, central region, FleetPride.

“We are now strategically positioned to quickly service our national accounts as well as our existing customers across Oklahoma and Arkansas. The Tulsa acquisition is an important element in our external growth strategy. By seeking out companies that provide an instant customer base in new locations, we will expand our competitive position,” said Todd Dunn, President and CEO.

Grote Industries has added the Trilliant LED WhiteLight work lamp to its line of light-emitting diode (LED) products.

The work lamp provides a bright white light for more than 35,000 hours of operation. The pattern evenness of the new lamp’s beam and its color temperature produce a natural, sunlight-like contrast that reduces eye fatigue, says Grote.

The product features solid-state construction and specially formulated potting that is said to provide shock, vibration and moisture resistance. It also has a hardened, powder-coated, die cast aluminum housing and a choice of three replaceable hard-coated polycarbonate lenses-flood, spot or trapezoid.

Eaton Corp. announced at the Work Truck Show on Feb. 27 that Coca-Cola Enterprises will purchase 120 new trucks in 2008 powered by Eaton’s hybrid electric drivetrain system. The order is Eaton’s largest to date in North America for hybrid systems. Coca-Cola bought 20 trucks with Eaton’s hybrid system in 2007.

“We have been working with Coca-Cola Enterprises since 2003 to assess our systems,” said Dimitri Kazarinoff, general manager for emerging technologies at Eaton’s Truck Group. “Coca-Cola is demonstrating its commitment to reducing pollution and greenhouse gases, and Eaton is pleased to be a part of this effort.”

Coca-Cola’s testing and evaluation of its existing trucks equipped with Eaton’s hybrid-electric drivetrains resulted in a 32 percent reduction in emissions and a 37 percent reduction in fuel consumption compared to conventionally powered equipment.

Eaton’s system relies on a parallel-type, diesel-electric hybrid architecture in conjunction with Eaton’s Fuller UltraShift automated transmission. It incorporates an electric motor/generator between the output of an automated clutch and input of the transmission. The system recovers energy normally lost during braking and stores the energy in batteries.

Clevite

MAHLE Clevite has been involved the Heavy Duty aftermarket now for over 50 years and offers a wide range of replacement parts for Heavy Duty engines found in Agriculture, Construction, Trucking, Marine and Oil Field operations.

Click Here for more information about Clevite!

Fontaine PartSource

Fontaine Trailer Company builds the best flatbed and lowbed trailers in the world. And now Fontaine PartSource brings that kind of quality and dedication in an aftermarket trailer parts supplier. No “knock- offs” or counterfeit parts; only original equipment design and quality, which will keep your trailers on the road and protect your investment.

Click Here for more information about Fontaine!