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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Snap-on introduced a new Video Inspection Scope (BK5500) that the company said allows technicians to look into areas prior to undertaking a major disassembly, potentially saving time and money.

“The Snap-on Video Inspection Scope can save a service technician countless hours of manpower because it let’s you scope out the problem quickly and efficiently,” said Dan Batassa, category manager for Snap-on. “This is truly a time-saving tool that can increase a technician’s credibility with customers because it shows what is in need of repair. No shop should be without the Snap-on Video Inspection Scope.”

Snap-on said the new tool is ideal for engine, air conditioning, under-dash, suspension and transmission work. It has a 320 x 240 display resolution with 720 x 480 video-out resolution; a 2.45-inch color LCD; and a focus range from .5 to 12 inches.

Snap-on said features of the tool include:

Chevron Products Co. said it introduced a redesigned www.DeloPerformance.com website offering an easy-to-use, comprehensive resource with the latest news and product information on Delo-branded products.

“We’ve redesigned the Web site with our customers and channel partners in mind,” said Nicole Fujishige, commercial marketing manager, Chevron Products Co. “We wanted DeloPerformance.com to address our customer’s needs and to be an important business tool for our marketers. We’ve also included real-world stories that show how utilizing Delo products can help our customer’s improve their bottom line.”

The company said new features and services on the Delo website include:

The new Auto Supplier Support Program announced last week by the U.S. Department of the Treasury will provide up to $5 billion in financing to vehicle parts manufacturers, “giving suppliers the confidence they need to continue shipping parts, pay their employees and continue their operations,” according to the government agency.

Reacting to the announcement, MEMA President Bob McKenna said, “This is a tremendous step toward stabilizing the supply base, which will benefit the domestic automotive manufacturing industry.”

The vehicle supply industry, which employs approximately 500,000 U.S. workers, is struggling with tight credit and dismal automotive production and sales volumes. According to the Treasury, “this program will help break this cycle and provide confidence in the supplier base at an important time for the domestic auto industry. It is part of the administration’s broader efforts to ensure that our Financial Stability Plan reaches the main street businesses that create good jobs for American workers.”

According to the plan:

Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems unveiled new offerings in vehicle energy management and active safety technology at the Mid-America Trucking Show last week.

The company introduced the Bendix Pneumatic Booster System (PBS), an air management system aimed at improving fuel economy and acceleration while reducing emissions. The PBS, which represents a diversification of Bendix’s vehicle air treatment business into powertrain components, is undergoing testing and field and engine benchmarking.

Placed near the air intake manifold on the engine, the PBS monitors the controller area network, or CAN, for specific signals indicating the need for system activation. Then the PBS injects compressed air from an auxiliary air tank into the engine manifold, delivering the desired amount of air the diesel combustion processes require. The system is intended to overcome turbo lag, which leads to a delay in response when a driver presses the accelerator. Two models of the PBS are available, reaching about 80 percent of engine applications from 4-liter displacement to 13 liters.

Bendix also introduced adaptive cruise control with braking. The Bendix Wingman ACB system uses a radar sensor mounted in the front of the vehicle and Bendix ESP full stability technology to assist drivers in maintaining set following distances between trucks and forward vehicles. With cruise control on and speed set, Bendix ACB warns drivers of vehicles that it is approaching too quickly and actively intervenes by reducing throttle, engaging the engine retarder and, if needed, automatically applying the foundation brakes to help maintain following distance.

Even when the vehicle is not in cruise control, the driver receives following distance alerts – a benefit in situations when cruise control should not be used, such as poor weather or congested traffic. Inclusion of Bendix ESP helps drivers mitigate rollover and loss-of-control situations in various road conditions.

Information, warnings and operation of the Bendix Wingman ACB system are incorporated into the vehicle dash. Drivers activate the system using existing cruise control switches. Truck owners can customize following distance using Bendix ACom diagnostic software (version 6.3 or higher), which also provides information on use of cruise control and on stability events.

The Bendix Wingman ACB is available for order today with vehicle delivery beginning in early 2009.

Among various other announcements on Wednesday, Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake – a joint venture with Dana – said that U.S. Xpress in 2008 had purchased 575 factory-installed ADB22X air disc brakes and planned to buy “a substantial number of additional units over the next 12 months.”

Proponents of the two 2010-compliant heavy-duty engine technologies battled at press events during the Mid-America Trucking Show last week. The alternatives will reduce particulates and NOx emissions to meet the 2010 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations.

Navistar, the lone engine maker not using selective catalytic reduction to meet the new regulations, lobbed shots at its competitors during a customer event where it debuted its 15-liter MaxxForce engine.

SCR involves complexity, payload, packaging, weight issues and hassles, Dee Kapur, president of International’s Truck Group, told attendees. “It means adding five new major emission critical components.”

Navistar’s solution – enhanced exhaust gas recirculation – means no added hardware and no new, complex electrical system, he said. For medium and severe-service, advanced EGR is “a no brainer,” he said. Navistar’s 2010 engines will produce 0.5 grams of NOx and will use EPA credits previously earned by exceeding EPA emissions goals to achieve the required 0.2-gram limit.

“SCR is not a new development,” said Chris Patterson, outgoing president and CEO of Daimler Trucks North America, during a panel discussion, in which SCR proponents sought to dispel what several participants deemed “misinformation” about the technology. Patterson cited the more than 200,000 SCR-equipped trucks Daimler has operating in Europe. The technology “has already saved our customers nearly half a billion dollars in fuel costs, compared to other technologies,” he said. Engine makers on the panel – Daimler, Mack, Volvo and Cummins – cited fuel savings around 5 percent compared to 2007 technology engines.

All engine makers use EGR technology today, said Denny Slagle, president and CEO of Mack Trucks. “It generates a lot of heat and puts stress on the engine,” he said. “We manage well today but we’ve reached the limit of what we can do using EGR.”

One of Navistar’s biggest arguments against the use of SCR is that it makes the owner and driver accountable for emissions for the first time, Kapur said, because diesel exhaust fluid must be added periodically to maintain appropriate emissions levels. That initially was a concern for the EPA, as well, said Byron Bunker, with EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality, during his panel presentation. “We acknowledged that [SCR] would bring the trucker into the program more than before,” he said. “It was a concern. But the industry has done an absolutely fantastic job of answering that concern.”

Bunker said EPA has not endorsed any one means of meeting the 2010 standards.

The DEF itself was a source of debate. Navistar officials said the fluid freezes at 12 degrees F and can become a toxic ammonia gas at 122 degrees. But Barry Lonsdale, president of Terra Environmental Technologies, a supplier of the urea used in DEF, told panel attendees that the fluid is non-hazardous based on criteria set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

“Let’s remember diesel fuel is a hazardous substance,” Patterson added. “This is relatively benign.” And if the DEF is altered by temperature or other factors “it won’t affect engine performance or fuel economy and won’t harm the after-treatment or engine,” he said.

Referring to media reports that DEF will be available at 500 U.S. fueling stations, Kapur expressed concern about adequate availability. Representatives from Pilot Travel Centers and TA/Petro who participated in the panel sought to allay any concerns. Both companies said they will begin rollout of DEF later this year. “Our plans include flexibility to meet demand when it ramps up,” said Tom O’Brien, president and CEO of TA/Petro.

Looking to the future, Kapur cited after-treatment options under development that would eliminate the need for urea altogether. But panelists dismissed such technologies. “We don’t see it [happening] on anything close to a reasonable horizon,” said Jim Kelly, president of Cummins engine business.

“Even if it is technologically viable, it would add cost and waste,” Patterson added.

VIPAR Heavy Duty announced a new program to offer Fontaine Parts Connection fifth wheels and associated parts.

“VIPAR Heavy Duty is pleased to align our distributors with Fontaine Parts Connection, an industry leader in the fifth wheel product category,” said Steve Badowski, VIPAR director of program management. “Our two organizations have a mutual commitment to add value and grow market share and this new partnership will help strengthen that effort.”

Fontaine Parts Connection is the dedicated aftermarket company of Fontaine International, the world’s largest manufacturer of fifth wheels and associated parts.

Velvac announced it acquired K-10 Enterprizes of Mission, Texas, a supplier of blind-spot safety mirror systems for heavy-duty trucks.

Velvac said it now offers the industry’s broadest line of mirror products, from unique, proprietary mirror systems for OEM vehicles to high-volume replacement mirror heads and service parts.

“K-10 strengthens Velvac’s presence in the heavy-duty truck mirror market by bringing us a premium line of hood- and fender- mounted mirrors,” said Velvac President and CEO Jeff Porter. “In addition, we felt that the combination of K-10′s OEM and fleet relationships with Velvac’s broad product line and advanced development capabilities created more ways for us to provide more value to our heavy-truck customers.”

Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO) announced the opening of a new “state-of-the-art” tire distribution center in Jacksonville, Fla., that the company said “marks the latest step in a modernization program of the company’s North America distribution center system.”

The new center has capacity for more than one million tires ranging from small passenger and industrial tires to medium and heavy-duty commercial truck tires, and will supply tires and automotive parts to Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. In addition, the distribution center will supply the entire United States with tires produced in Latin America, and the Eastern half of the United States with tires from Japan and other Asian countries.

“The strategic location of the Jacksonville distribution center not only provides a tactical port of entry for our products, it also gives us the ability to provide overnight delivery service to virtually all of the customers serviced from this center,” said Steve Shelton, vice president, Logistics Supply Chain Management, BATO. “The people, community and location of Jacksonville were critical factors in our decision to develop a center there back in early 2007. We’re very excited to call Jacksonville home.”

BATO operates seven distribution centers across North America. At more than one million square feet, the Jacksonville, Fla., facility is the largest of the company’s centers, boasts more than 200 dock doors and is capable of handling more than 50 trailer loads of product in and out of the facility daily. The center employs approximately 80 full-time employees.

The American Council of Frame and Alignment Specialists (ACOFAS) announced it was in the process of implementing new enhancements and programs agreed to during its annual business meeting, including rolling out its new 2009 Technician Training Clinic schedule and course content.

The first clinic will be held in Winston-Salem, N.C., June 8-9. ArvinMeritor instructors will cover Class 5-7 truck and bus hydraulic brake systems Monday morning and hydraulic brake ABS diagnostics and maintenance that afternoon. On Tuesday, instructors from Noregon Systems discuss and demonstrate the computer diagnostics needed for maintaining the trucks of today. The computer diagnostics will involve the chassis, engine and transmission computers, as well as the emissions, road control, crash avoidance and ABS computer systems.

Additionally, during the group’s business meeting, a Test Committee was formed that will develop tests to be given to technicians prior and after training clinics. The technicians will be awarded a Certificate of Completion after successfully completing the test.

For more information or to register, visit www.acofas.com.