Gordon Virginski, vice president, OEM and dealer programs at FlowBelow, speaking at TMC.FlowBelow Aero Inc. announced Sunday at ATA’s Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) Annual Meeting in Atlanta that its products are now a factory option for new Volvo Trucks and have been added to the Alliance Parts product catalog.
Regarding the Volvo agreement, FlowBelow says its products have been available for Volvo truck models through the aftermarket Volvo Direct Ship Program since 2017, but Volvo Trucks is increasing their support of and access to the products by offering them to customers from the factory.
“The aerodynamics of our trucks have a significant impact on fuel efficiency and our customers’ bottom line, which drove us to collaborate with FlowBelow,” said Allison Athey, product marketing manager, Volvo Trucks North America.
The FlowBelow and Volvo Trucks engineering teams worked together to develop a custom-mounting system for the drive wheel fairings.
“We worked directly with Volvo Trucks engineers to create the most effective and durable solution specific to their VNL and VNR models. We were able to reduce complexity while maintaining strength and durability,” said Kyle Walker, vice president, engineering, FlowBelow.
FlowBelow also announced Alliance Parts customers will have access to all parts manufactured by FlowBelow beginning in April, including proprietary first-fit drive wheel fairings and wheel covers for Freightliner and Western Star models, as well as all-makes FlowBelow replacement and retrofit parts. Alliance Parts said its customers will be able to order product to be drop-shipped to their locations in as little as 24 hours. Replacement parts as well as full wheel cover kits and fairing kits will be available, enabling fleets to quickly fix damaged equipment or retrofit existing Class 8 trucks with aerodynamic components.
“Adding FlowBelow to the line-up of parts available thru Alliance Parts has been an important initiative for us,” said Gordon Virginski, vice president, OEM and dealer programs, FlowBelow. “We want to ensure end-users of our products have many channels available to them to get the parts they need quickly and at a competitive market price.”
“We strive to provide our dealer network with product lines that meet the needs of the market. With the tens of thousands of trucks running these aerodynamic products, adding this offering to our catalog makes good sense,” added Dale Thomas, product manager, Alliance Parts. “We see a growing need to support aerodynamic components in the Class 8 truck market, as owners look for ways to improve the performance of their older model vehicles.”
FlowBelow also announced Sunday the appointment of Richard Ruebusch as its new CEO. Ruebusch joined the company in December.
“I’m excited to join FlowBelow Aero Inc. in this important time of the company’s growth,” he said.
