Westpac Heavy Duty has announced the recipients of it annual PAC awards, which are given to vendors who have received high marks on Westpac’s supplier scorecard in such categories as total gross sales, fill rate, marketing / promotional assistance and training.

The 2008 PAC Awards were presented to Baldwin Filters Inc., Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems, Gates Corp., Grote Industries, Sloan Transportation Products and Wix Filtration Products. Baldwin Filters Inc. also was presented the Vendor of the Year Award, while John Misken of Affinia (Wix Filters and Raybestos Brakes) was presented Westpac’s Vender Rep of the Year Award.

Westpac Heavy Duty is a full-line bumper-to-bumper distributor of heavy-duty truck parts and service headquartered in Phoenix and servicing the Arizona, California and Nevada markets. For more information, go to www.westpac-hd.com.

Horton Inc. has appointed Tom Hujik to director of aftermarket/field sales for North America. Hujik will manage Horton product sales through all independent distribution, original-equipment truck dealers, select off-highway and non-truck original equipment customers, and fleet accounts.

“Tom’s knowledge of Horton products and 35 years of industry experience are great benefits to Horton,” says Jeff Lindgren, vice president of sales and marketing for Roseville, Minn.-based Horton. “His leadership skills and dedication to service will strengthen our aftermarket and field sales efforts.”

Hujik has worked at Horton for more than 15 years. His previous positions at Horton included regional sales manager and, most recently, director of sales for the eastern United States. Prior to joining Horton, Hujik worked in truck and trailer dealerships as well as warehouse distributors. He has received many sales and recognition awards during his career.

John Parr recently assumed duties as vice president of international business development for Hendrickson. In this new role, Parr will be responsible for key aspects of Hendrickson’s business strategy and activity in the global marketplace.

Parr — who will report to Gary Gerstenslager, president and chief executive officer of Itasca, Ill.-based Hendrickson — will be based out of the United Kingdom but will spend considerable time in the United States working with the leadership team. He will collaborate closely with Baine Adams, vice president of international sales and marketing, and with other members of Hendrickson’s executive team as he identifies opportunities for business growth, ventures and relationships.

Detroit Diesel Corp. has announced that a free software release soon will be available to customers designed to enhance the fuel economy of EPA 2007-compliant Series 60 engines. These improvements, according to Detroit Diesel engineers, will increase fuel economy by up to 2.5 percent.

“Extensive testing of the Series 60 has shown our particulate filter regeneration process is more effective than originally anticipated,” says David Siler, director of marketing for Redford, Mich.-based Detroit Diesel. “The fact that the filters are staying clean, combined with some advancements in the regeneration software, allow us to enhance the regeneration process to improve the fuel efficiency for the engines.”

In addition to regeneration cycle modifications, Detroit Diesel also announced nocharge features that can enhance the vehicle’s shifting and cruise control operations. “Progressive shifting, which limits engine speed during upshifting, can add additional savings in fuel consumption,” Siler says. “Optimizing engine speed while in cruise control can further enhance savings.” Both of these features will be made available to customers at no charge at the same time they come in for the regeneration programming.

Fleet owners and owner-operators can take advantage of the modifications by scheduling a visit to any Detroit Diesel dealer or distributor to have their EPA ’07 Series 60 engine reflashed at no cost beginning July 1. Any EPA ’07 Series 60 produced after July 1 will be programmed automatically for the modified regeneration cycle, the company says.

After crossing the $4 mark for the first time last week, the national average retail price of a gallon of diesel soared 8.4 cents for yet another record high of $4.143 for the week ending Monday, April 21. The price, which follows last week’s increase of 10.4 cents, is $1.292 higher than the same week last year, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

All regions tracked by DOE saw increases. The largest increase, 10.7 cents, was found in the New England region, where week-over-week prices climbed to $4.346. The smallest price increase, 7.2 cents, was in the Rocky Mountain region, where week-over-week prices rose to $4.111.

The nation’s most expensive diesel, $4.370, was found in the Central Atlantic region, where prices soared 10.4 cents. The nation’s least expensive diesel, $4.077, was found in the Gulf Coast region, where prices climbed 7.7 cents.

Chevron’s Delo brand of engine oils, lubricants and coolants, has announced the latest member of its product family, Delo Heavy Duty EP. Formulated with Chevron ISOSYN base stocks, Delo Heavy Duty EP greases are designed for heavy- to severe-duty on- and off-highway construction and maintenance vehicles, including tri-axle dump trucks, cement mixers, overweight truck and trailer combinations, logging, heavy machinery haul trucks as well as a wide variety of off-road applications, including construction, surface and underground mining and agriculture, says the company.

Delo Heavy Duty EP greases are said to display strong water washout and spray-off resistance properties in wet, off-road environments and offer shock load extreme pressure (EP) protection. These properties make the product ideal for use with pins and bushings on dump beds, buckets, loaders, shovels and continuous miners, shaker screens, crushers and conveyors, says Delo.

Two versions of the new grease – Delo Heavy Duty Moly 3% EP and Delo Heavy Duty Moly 5% EP – also are available. These greases will work in a wide range of applications where 3% and 5% molybdenum content is required to meet OEM warranty specification requirements.

Webb Wheel Products Inc. announced today, April 17, that it will take immediate actions to mitigate the risks associated with skyrocketing global metals prices. Effective immediately, Webb will move to a monthly pricing schedule for all product lines, reflecting unprecedented increases imposed by the metals market in the purchase price of its products.

“Castings are a significant part of our total product costs,” says Pedro Ferro, president of Cullman, Ala.-based Webb Wheel Products. “Webb has been working closely with our casting suppliers to monitor the scrap market trends. In the first quarter of 2008, scrap prices have increased 88 percent, and we have experienced further alarming increases since the first of April.”

The costs for raw materials used in producing castings for the wheel-end industry have escalated at an unprecedented rate due to the increasing world demand for available scrap, according to Webb; rising prices for these commodities is fueled further by a weak U.S. dollar and limited supply. Webb says it will continue to monitor this situation closely to mitigate, wherever possible, the impact this pricing change will have on its customers.

“It’s unfortunate, but we have no reason to believe the extreme scrap market volatility will subside any time soon, thus making the immediate pricing changes necessary,” Ferro says.

Webb Wheel Products is a Marmon Highway Technologies company that manufactures hubs, brake drums and rotors for medium- and heavy-duty trucks, trailers and buses. MHT announced April 10 that it would increase prices immediately to manage skyrocketing global metals costs.

MHT companies, under many brands – Fontaine, Webb, Leland, Perfection, Triangle, Fleetline, Nuline and Hogebuilt – engineer, manufacture and supply a broad range of products to the highway transportation industry, including brake systems, transport trailers, fifth wheels, leaf springs, spray suppression equipment, specialty drive axles, truck modifications and clutches.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established a website, www.smartwayfinancecenter.com, to assist trucking customers with financing for SmartWay-approved technologies to save fuel and reduce pollution.

EPA doesn’t provide the actual financing; the agency has contracted with iBank to coordinate with private-sector lending institutions that were selected for their understanding of owner-operators’ and small fleets’ needs. EPA and iBank created a standardized application form that will be circulated to all lenders in the applicant’s area. A toll-free number also is available, 877-767-8875.

Products eligible for SmartWay financing include idle-reduction technologies, aerodynamics, wheels and tires, and fuel-efficient tractors and trailers.

Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC and Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake LLC are warning the public of a second fraudulent sweepstakes that has appropriated the companies’ identities. Working with law enforcement officials, the companies have uncovered the second scam in less than a month to distribute prize letters and fake checks to consumers across the country.

The companies – which first warned its employees, customers, and other consumers about an initial fraudulent sweepstakes scam on March 24 – has now been alerted to a second round of similar fraudulent activity. The parties responsible for the second scam distributed award letters and fake checks to consumers through the U.S. Mail, claiming that recipients were winners of a global monthly sweepstakes. The letter provides a phony reference number relating to the claim and urges recipients to cash the enclosed checks and call a non-Bendix number to find out how to claim the remainder of their monetary prize.

“The illegal and inappropriate use of our corporate identity is very unfortunate,” says Anthony LaPlaca, Bendix’s general counsel. “Bendix and Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake are in no way responsible for, or associated with, this activity. Although these documents may appear to be authentic, it is vital for the public to know that the award letters and the checks used in these activities are fraudulent.”

Bendix is working closely with the appropriate federal, state, and local legal authorities in their ongoing investigation of this matter. The company continues to respond to calls to its facilities throughout North America from recipients of the letters. The number of consumers who have received the letters is unknown, but Bendix confirms that individuals from across the United States have reported receiving the fraudulent sweepstakes mailing. Recipients are not limited to those in the commercial vehicle industry in which the companies do business.

The latest fraudulent checks include both the Bendix and Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake logos and display the “Mellon Bank” name. The checks accompany letters printed on fake letterhead for “Asus Financial Inc.,” a company that does not exist. An example of the new round of the fraudulent sweepstakes award letter – along with copies of the initial scam materials – is posted on the Bendix Web site at www.bendix.com.

Bendix advises recipients of the fraudulent mailing to follow these guidelines:
· Do not call the numbers provided in the letter.
· Do not attempt to cash the fraudulent check.
· Alert your local authorities that you have received the fraudulent mailing.
· If available, send copies of the fraudulent documents to Bendix for use in the investigation. Documents can be sent to the companies’ headquarters, c/o the Bendix Legal Department, at Bendix Commercial Vehicles Systems LLC, 901 Cleveland St., Elyria, OH 44035.

American Trucking Associations (ATA) Chairman Ray Kuntz on Wednesday, April 16, asked a Senate panel to make fundamental changes to federal surface transportation programs to allow the trucking industry to move freight more efficiently.

Testifying before the Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Kuntz — chairman and chief executive officer of Watkins and Shepard Trucking in Helena, Mont. — said key program changes will improve the nation’s global competitiveness, reduce fuel consumption and lower vehicle emissions.

“Currently, our country appears to be facing an economic slowdown, we are in the midst of an energy crisis, and an environmental crisis is looming,” Kuntz said. “A long-term plan to rebuild our highway infrastructure and reduce congestion will stimulate our economy, reduce fuel consumption, reduce our carbon footprint and ensure our nation’s ability to compete in a global economy. The correct path, though not easy, seems clear.”

Kuntz asked the subcommittee to dedicate additional resources for repairing critical highway freight bottlenecks, address rural highway needs and ensure that the public interest is protected by limiting tolling and private financing as a means of funding infrastructure projects.

He also highlighted the need to fund congestion relief efforts and recommended the creation of a new program that would keep congestion relief funds separate from the overall highway trust fund. He recommended reforms to federal truck size-and-weight limits that give states more flexibility to make common-sense changes to their own regulatory regimes.