Freightliner is selling its American LaFrance fire and emergency vehicle operation to Patriarch Partners LLC.
Eaton Corp., makers of VORAD collision warning systems, recently was awarded a $6.7 million contract by the U.S. Department of Transportation as part of a $31.6 million program to develop crash-avoidance technologies.
Detroit Diesel has launched G2 – or the Guild 2.0, designed to deliver service excellence through technician training, testing and rewards.
Volvo Trucks North America’s New River Valley plant in Virginia recently was named the winner of the 2005 Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award for Manufacturers.
On-Site Fuel Service, which provides mobile fueling services in the southeastern United States, has acquired the assets of Southern Fueling.
Hendrickson’s FireMaax air-ride suspension is available on Pierce Manufacturing’s fire apparatus. Also, International Truck and Engine now offers Hendrickson’s Airtek front air suspension and HTB 400LT lightweight rear air suspension on 9200i and 9400i trucks.
Utility Trailer recently was recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of the fastest-growing private companies in Los Angeles in 2004. The company says its revenue grew 73.5 percent for the three-year period ending that year.
Pulltarps Manufacturing has acquired a 30,000-square-foot facility, to be used for distribution, in North Baltimore, Ohio.
Omaha Standard, which manufactures truck bodies, hoists, liftgates and accessories, soon will complete construction of a 205,000-square-foot facility in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Kemlite, a Crane company, has changed its name to Crane Composites. The company will continue to manufacture fiberglass-reinforced plastic panels.
Cummins to demo 2010 emissions reduction
Cummins recently announced that it will participate in a partnership led by the California South Coast Air Quality Management District to demonstrate an emissions control system meeting the EPA 2010 on-highway standard.
The plan is to fit an ISL, 9-liter EGR engine with a diesel particulate filter (DPF) and a nitrogen oxide (NOx) adsorber. An adsorber collects the pollutant on the outside of its internal medium. How the unit will be purged was not specified.
The demonstration setup must reduce particulate matter (PM) emissions to 0.01 gram per brake horsepower hour (g/bhp-hr) and NOx emissions to 0.2 g/bhp-hr. The project, says Cummins, is focused on emissions reduction for waste collection vehicles operating in urban areas, and will include a durability evaluation.
The company is quick to point out that, while this project highlights one particular technology, there are others, and that selective catalytic reduction (SCR) remains a viable solution for 2010, when combined with cooled EGR. Cummins says it intends to announce a 2010 technology decision later this year.
Henkel launches Loctite contest for techs
Rocky Hill, Conn.-based Henkel Corp. has launched an applications contest for its Loctite brand in the automotive and heavy-duty aftermarket.
The contest, which is open to all professional technicians, runs through June 30.
Technicians who send in their most creative and innovative uses of Loctite products will get a chance to win a variety of prizes, including a race weekend travel package for two, professional tools and free Loctite products.
Technicians may enter as many times as they wish, and no purchase is necessary. Winners will be selected every month during the contest period. At the end of the contest, a panel of ASE-certified magazine editors will judge all of the monthly winners and award the grand prizes.
Technicians can submit their entries at www.1001.loctite.com. The link also provides contest details, prize descriptions and rules and regulations.
Bendix’s brake training schools join forces for 2006
Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems and Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake have announced a combined schedule for 2006 Air Brake and Foundation Brake Training Schools.
The curriculum for each school is tailored for both new and experienced technicians. The Air Brake Training School covers the fundamentals of compressed air, air system failure diagnosis and troubleshooting. The Foundation Brake Training School covers the function of each wheel-end component – including component inspection, adjustment and troubleshooting – as well as preventive maintenance.
The training schools are offered in various locations across the United States and Canada. Locations, times and registration information can be found at this site or by calling 800-AIR-BRAKE (800-247-2725) and selecting option 5. Specialized, on-site fleet training also is available.
Dedicated-rig, onboard scale
Air-Weigh’s new 5800 Series Dedicated Tractor-Trailer Scale is a load-management system that’s installed permanently in the dash, and calibrated to each suspension on the vehicle. By running the trailer suspension air line to the dash, says Air-Weigh, there’s no need for a separate trailer scale.
With no operator interaction required, the 2-inch gauge automatically shows steer, drive and trailer weights, and a single button press displays GVW and payload weights. A standard 12V alarm output allows connection of an in-dash or exterior light or buzzer to warn of near-legal or over-legal weights on any axle or total gross.
To weigh your options, go to this site.
TMC founding fathers
In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Technology and Maintenance Council, we thought we’d pay homage to the guys who started it all back in 1956. The members of the first maintenance management committee (left to right) were: F.M. “Mel” McClure, superintendent of maintenance, Yellow Transit Freight Lines, 2nd vice chairman; Donald K. Strout, superintendent of maintenance, Wilson Freight Co., 3rd vice chairman; William T. Royston, director of maintenance, Campbell 66 Express, past chairman; John H. Chafee, governor of Rhode Island; Andrew Ambli, vice president of maintenance, Briggs Transportation Co., general chairman; and Jimmie Black, superintendent of maintenance, Gordons Transports, 1st vice chairman. For more on TMC’s 50th anniversary, see “Looking great in gold,” on page 10 in January’s CCJ.
ProStar joins International’s Class 8 line
International Truck and Engine Corp. announced that ProStar is the official name of its new 2007 Class 8 tractor. Developed with input from dealers, the product name was chosen to reflect both the customer and International, according to the company. ProStar is the first of multiple International product introductions planned for the next several years that will follow this new strategy.
International says the “Pro” prefix represents the professional driver for whom this product has been developed, and underscores the engineering that went into responding to the key market demands currently facing these professionals, such as driver retention, fuel economy, uptime and out-of-motion costs. The “Star” suffix aligns with the parent company, Navistar.
“We’ve made a $300 million investment in the innovation of this new product,” says Dee Kapur, president of Warrenville, Ill.-based International Truck Group. “A new product is the perfect opportunity for us to introduce a new name. It reflects our understanding of our customer needs and evokes the heritage, pride and Americana that is our brand.”
International will unveil ProStar at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Ky., scheduled for March 23-25, and shipments to dealers will begin in the first quarter of 2007.
Initial production will be based on 122-inch BBC (bumper-to-back-of-cab) tractors with a high-rise sleeper configuration; the second phase of production will include additional BBCs and sleeper configuration options. The truck will be produced at International’s assembly plant in Chatham, Ontario, Canada.
Equipment Puzzler
Back in December, we asked, “How many retreaded tires were sold in North America in 2004?” Arnold Barbour, operations supervisor for the Borough of Chambersburg, Pa., e-mailed, “Approximately 18 million.” According to the Tire Retread Information Bureau, he’s absolutely correct, so he’ll receive a chrome CCJ pen and Air Brake Book.
Also a winner is Michael Grasso – safety director for Port Crane, N.Y.-based MWH Constructors – for sending in this month’s Puzzler. You can join their ranks if you’re the first to e-mail Paul Richards with the correct answer to the Puzzler below, or if you send in a Puzzler of your own and we use it.
This month’s Puzzler: What is a safe, effective method of removing a rock stuck between a dual tire/wheel assembly?
