Clevite

MAHLE Clevite has been involved in 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.

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Fontaine PartSource ESP™

Fontaine PartSource Easy Source Parts (ESP) makes ordering trailer parts quick and easy. With the click of a mouse you can identify the parts you need and place an order in seconds. ESP gives you more freedom to take care of your customers while Fontine PartSource takes care of your trailer parts needs. Log in today and see why more dealers are switching to Fontaine PartSource than ever before.

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Prolam — a provider of laminated trailer flooring that incorporates zig-zag joint technology — recently announced that its two major hardwood suppliers have earned Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) certification, meaning a portion of the laminated floors it produces use SFI-certified hardwood.

About 3,000 floors can be produced per year with 100 percent SFI certification, according to Benoit Risi, Prolam’s general manager. Prolam says it is the only flooring company that has this option. SFI certification is available to any land management company (10,000 acres or more, typically), forest product manufacturer, paper printer or any other company that manages for and/or uses forest products.

With more than 152 million acres certified across North America, the SFI sustainable forestry certification program is one of the largest in the world, with a standard based on principles and measures that promote responsible environmental behavior and sound forest management, including measures to protect water quality, biodiversity, wildlife habitat, species at risk and forests of exceptional conservation value.

RigMaster Power Corp. has announced that its Kansas facility — which was hit recently by a tornado — has resumed operations. The tornado that touched down in the area in the early morning of May 2 caused extensive damage to the building that housed both RigMaster’s production and parts operations; no one was injured.

RigMaster says local representatives were cooperative, taking immediate action to assess the damage and restore the facility, enabling staff to get into the building as quickly as possible. A team from RigMaster’s Toronto-based offices also was sent down to assist with the recovery process.

Production began less than two weeks after the devastation, with parts reopening a few days later. “Our people have been remarkable,” says Gary Lisson, RigMaster general manager. “The progress they made was far above my expectations, but everyone pitched in, determined to get back to normal as swiftly as possible. To get us back this quickly has been the result of the determination of each individual employee. We are very proud of them.”

Lisson says the damage was extensive, and the company suffered many losses due to damage. “But I now see this as an opportunity which has made us stronger,” he says. “During the restoration, we revamped the facility and are refocusing our operations to improve efficiencies. The dedication and teamwork of our staff, the local community and our vendors to remobilize our operations — along with the support of our dealers — has brought out the best in us, and my gratitude goes out to everyone.”

Both production and parts now are operating at full capacity, with additional resources being put in place in both operations to meet current demands, the company says.

Stertil-Koni announced the release of its new hydraulic vehicle lift product, Skylift. With Skylift, Stertil-Koni introduces a new technology: The half-scissor vehicle lift.

The new half-scissor lift has been in development for almost two years and has undergone testing prior to its release, including a 25,000 cycle testing program. Skylift is fully certified and meets all industry standards, including the ALI standard for security, safety and weight, says the company. It is also ALI/ETL compliant.

Two independent, modular lifting platforms provide under-chassis operator access, while its vertical lifting orientation saves valuable working space. The independent lift units can be easily repositioned to accommodate virtually any axle width. It can be installed in flush-mounted or surface-mounted configurations.

The Skylift is designed as a modular unit. Four legs (two under each
runway) can handle a maximum length runway of up to 45 feet. It also is built for multiple loading configurations. For instance, customers can load the lift with up to 77,000 pounds symmetrically and up to 55,000 pounds asymmetrically, says the company.

The national average retail price of a gallon of diesel soared 22.6 cents to yet another new record high of $4.723 for the week ending Monday, May 26. The price — which has climbed 76.8 cents in the last seven weeks — is $1.906 higher than the same week last year, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

The 22.6-cent increase is the third-highest single-week price increase since the Energy Information Adminstration began keeping figures; No. 1 was the week immediately following Hurricane Katrina. The second-biggest single-week spike followed about a month later in the wake of Hurricane Rita. Out of the Top 10, six are from 2008 — with No. 3-5 coming during May alone. There have been only 20 double-digit single-week increases, and nine of them have occurred this year.

The average U.S. price now has been above $4 for seven weeks. DOE’s weekly roundup of the nation’s diesel prices was delayed one day because of the Memorial Day holiday.

All regions tracked by DOE saw price increases. The largest increase by region, 27.3 cents, was found on the West Coast, where week-over-week prices rose to $4.883. The smallest price increase by region, 20.4 cents, was found in the Midwest, where week-over-week prices climbed to $4.667.

The nation’s most expensive diesel by region, $4.913, was found in the Central Atlantic, where prices soared 23.1 cents. California, which DOE tracks separately, recorded the nation’s first-ever $5 diesel price, $5.027; prices in that state rose 29.0 cents last week. The nation’s least expensive diesel by region, $4.653, was found in the Rocky Mountains, where prices climbed 21.1 cents.

Fifth-wheel manufacturer Fontaine International announced the introduction of online training through its website, www.fifthwheel.com.

The training consists of four modules:
· Product Identification: Learn to identify and differentiate between Fontaine fifth wheels, brackets and mounts.
· No-Slack II Rebuild: Learn to rebuild a Fontaine No-Slack II fifth wheel.
· No-Slack II Coupling/Uncoupling: Learn proper No-Slack II fifth-wheel coupling/uncoupling procedures.
· No-Slack II Maintenance Procedures: Learn proper maintenance procedures for the No-Slack II fifth wheel.

Fontaine says each module provides a variety of in-depth educational resources for review, including training videos, instruction handbooks, technical bulletins, illustrations and more, followed by a multiple-choice quiz. The website keeps track of which modules a participant has completed.

“Our new online training is easily accessible to anyone who works with Fontaine fifth wheels, including truck dealers, fleet maintenance managers, technicians and drivers,” says Terry Mennen, vice president of sales and marketing for Irondale, Ala.-based Fontaine International. “It’s a free resource for training new employees or as a refresher for existing personnel.”

To access the training modules, click on “Click here for new training/troubleshooting site” on the Fontaine home page, or go directly to Fontaine’s training/troubleshooting site at www.fifthwheel.com/trainintro.html.

Steve Spaulding, a 32-year Cummins veteran, has been promoted to vice president of the company’s engine business purchasing and supply chain. Spaulding most recently served as executive director of information technology and supply chain for the engine business. He will assume engine business purchasing responsibilities from Ignacio Garcia, who recently was named chief manufacturing and procurement officer. In addition, Spaulding will continue to lead the EBU IT organization until a new EBU IT leader is named and fully transitions.

“I’ve worked with Steve in various roles for more than a decade and am confident that his experience and past successes make him well suited for this new role,” says Jim Kelly, president of engine business for Columbus, Ind.-based Cummins. “Steve will provide the leadership we need to capture the synergies between purchasing and our supply chain and to deal with suppliers as we work to meet our growth targets during this time of changing and challenging economic factors.”

Spaulding joined Cummins in 1976 and has worked in EBU manufacturing, supply chain, IT and finance. He served as a plant controller and systems leader at the Jamestown engine plant and was N14 product manager at the Columbus engine plant. Spaulding helped drive the initial transition to a new team-based work system for five existing Southern Indiana plants and later led the startup of the company’s migration toward the Oracle ERP business systems.

Phillips Industries has introduced a new heavy-duty ratchetting crimper tool for professionals. It’s the only heavy-duty crimper on the market that accommodates 8 gage through 22 gage wire, says the company.

The positive lock mating mechanism ensures uniform crimp termination every time, and the easy-access terminal release switch releases if terminal or wire is inserted improperly. The new ratchetting crimper has a longer-handle design for better leverage when crimping connectors.

For more information, visit www.phillipsind.com/product.

Clevite

MAHLE Clevite has been involved in 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 ESP