Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems announced Tuesday, Aug. 18, that the agreement to acquire select assets of SmarTire Systems Inc. was ratified formally by the shareholders of SmarTire Systems Inc. Shareholder consent for the sale – which took place during an Aug. 11 shareholder meeting for SmarTire Systems Inc. – was the final step in the approval process for the agreement, which was signed in December 2008.
“The final approval of the SmarTire asset acquisition will enable Bendix to continue to provide a full range of commercial vehicle systems solutions that improve highway safety for our customers and everyone on the road,” says Scott Burkhart, vice president – controls business unit at Bendix, based in Elyria, Ohio. “Despite current market conditions, Bendix has continued to expand its technological offerings, while diversifying its business.”
Bendix says the acquisition enables continued expansion of its electronics business portfolio, complementing other safety technologies such as Bendix Wingman Active Cruise with Braking (ACB) and Bendix ESP Electronic Stability Program. The company says SmarTire Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) by Bendix CVS – also marketed as SmartWave TPMS – is enhancing the evolving set of its chassis-based safety components. The system – released at Volvo, Navistar International and Caterpillar Inc., and also available through Paccar Parts – is designed to monitor the pressure and temperature of each tire on a commercial vehicle to provide real-time tire status information; it also is designed to warn the driver of tire-related problems before they become dangerous.
“Tire pressure and temperature monitoring systems bolster efficiencies, as well as ROI for our customers,” says Greg Tooke, product manager for tire pressure monitoring systems at Bendix. “Almost 90 percent of tire failures are a result of underinflated tires. The average cost of a tire failure is $800, and manually checking tire pressure can cost as much as $2,500 a year for one tractor-trailer. TPMS delivers a quick ROI for fleets that deploy the technology, helping them not only reduce their tire-related costs, but also improving their potential safety and operating costs. The system is easy to retrofit on almost any vehicle so the fleet can start receiving benefits almost immediately.”
