We fully stand behind the APRA (Automotive Parts Remanufactures Association) when they sent a letter to all 100 members of the U.S. Senate and 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives. APRA President Bill Gager asked them to seriously look at remanufacturing as a way to create jobs.

Gager stated, “Nothing creates good permanent jobs like the remanufacturing industry. So, as you (Congress) begin to deal with job creation in today’s economy, we would encourage you to seriously look at how public policy may be used to help the remanufacturing industry expand here in the United States.”

APRA estimates that there are more than 500,000 jobs in the remanufacturing industry and they include products as diverse as automotive and truck parts, toner cartridges, electronic equipment, cell phones, office furniture, locomotive, electrical transformers, air conditioning compressor units for office buildings,off-road construction equipment, agriculture and mining equipment, hydraulic pumps for all types of applications, and the list goes on.

Gager added, “Just about anything that is manufactured can be remanufactured, adding a second or third life to capital goods.”

Gager concluded, “Trade promotion, tax credits, job creation incentives and targeted grants are some ways to help the remanufacturing industry expand. We ask all members of Congress to join us in our mission of job creation.”

ISS has seen first-hand how warranty remanufacturing can create American jobs, because we have done it. Over the past 15 years our instrument, audio, BCM, and circuit board remanufacturing and exchange facilities have tripled in volume, adding numerous great employees to our own team. Our specialty is combining warranty remanufacturing and customer-pay remanufacturing, but we have seen both sides grow for us.

ISS does not pick favorites in deciding between build-new manufacturing and remanufacturing. Every client we speak with has unique needs in its supply chain. (Sometimes, we find that a mix of both can be the most cost-effective solution, where we both manufacture components and use those components for remanufacture.)  But we are happy to see the attention shift a little toward an industry that is by nature both green and focused on American job creation.

How can we help you find a solution for your company? Contact Us today!

The relative cost to implement this technology into existing chips is fairly small relative to the gain in market share it may realize. Thus, business is booming in this area.  In one high-end manufacturer that we are aware of, the security technology appears in all the following parts:

• Key/Lock Alarm System
• Steering Lock
• Shifter Lock
• Pushbutton Start System
• Engine PCM
• Instrument Cluster
• Transmission Shift Actuator
• Transmission TCU

Typical Vehicle Network

How this Impacts the Auto Industry

In many cases this prevents that part from being remanufactured or even re-used in the aftermarket. This drives parts business away from independent aftermarket suppliers and toward the vehicle OEM-authorized distribution network, where both the OEM and the Tier-One suppliers can capture more market.

Obviously, many in the aftermarket see this as a major threat. Salvage shops and parts repair shops, that make their livelihoods off high-value parts like transmissions seem the most threatened at the moment. But even major parts distributors must wonder how long before starter motors, alternators and other parts need a specially coded computer chip to function properly. However worrying it may be to them, though, the practice is perfectly legal. And for profit-motivated OEM’s looking to both horizontally and vertically integrate, it’s inevitable.

This of course does not mean that the OEM can simply charge whatever it wants for replacement parts. The aftermarket is adaptable so some levels of reverse engineering are going to be inevitable. More importantly, though, in today’s competitive auto industry Total Cost of Ownership is more than a buzzword. Consumers want vehicles that are affordable to maintain, and no Vehicle Manufacturer can afford to be known for outrageous repair prices. These codes are a path to replacement parts market share, not a license to print money without regard to the vehicle brand. Driving down costs for the OEM and the consumer is a major focus at ISS. As is the drive to improve quality.

Scott Haugen, President at ISS, puts it best: “ISS sees the rise of this technology as an opportunity. We operate as both a Tier-One/service parts supplier, and as a Factory Authorized Remanufacturing Center. On the Tier-One side, it opens us up to a larger customer base, as we are the ones working with the Manufacturer to supply specially coded replacement parts. On the remanufacturing side, we work with the OEM to ensure parts are properly coded during the remanufacturing and exchange process.

“For both, we offer the highest quality of parts manufacturing and remanufacturing processes available anywhere, ensuring TS-level quality for both the Vehicle Manufacturer and the end consumer.”

For more than 60 years, our clients have often found us to be the shortest, easiest, most high-quality path for the VM and our Tier-One colleagues to capture aftermarket parts market share. We view this lockout technology to be an excellent means to that end.

For more information on how we can help you in the future contact us today!
Source: APRA

While attending the Work Truck Show, I spoke with Carla Anglin, Director of Business Development for BrandFX Body Company. BrandFX has been producing lightweight composite truck bodies for decades. The BrandFX truck body line has provided fleets a highly effective means of fuel and maintenance savings since their beginning in 1984; before U.S. dependency on foreign oil was a political talking point and before government subsidies provided thousands of dollars for alternative fuel systems. BrandFX Body owner, Lee Finley said, “We were green before green was cool”.

When asked about the NTEA Work Truck Show Carla mentioned, “The NTEA is a valuable resource for BrandFX, we look to them for everything from representing the interests of our industry to congress, market information, even for training resources”. BrandFX is a MVP verified member of the NTEA, and is involved in the Green Truck Summit. The Work Truck Show is a convenient way for them to meet with distributors, announce new products and raise awareness of their product offerings.

As the focus to reduce oil consumption continues, BrandFX believes their product is “An idea whose time has come”, as today’s market is motivated to seek out lightweight solutions. This wasn’t always the case. In the early days, BrandFX composite truck bodies were valued for being rust free and allowing fleets to reduce their total GVW to avoid Frost Law restrictions. While alternative fuels and support infrastructure are being developed, lightweight composite offers immediate sustainable solutions in fuel efficiency and maintenance that business and government fleets can incorporate for profitable, sustainable fleet operations. Lighter truck bodies allow for smaller chassis, and a compounding effect in light-weighting that yields tremendous budget efficiencies over heavier trucks. This is a proven cost benefit, no matter what changes come in the form of alternative fuels.

The Department of Energy’s current efforts to help boost fuel economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions is taking shape in a number of markets and applications. Most efforts are focused on passenger vehicles, but efficiency demands are coming for heavy-duty commercial trucks and trailers. Some of these initiatives include light-weighting, aerodynamics, alternative fuels, and new power train technologies.

The landscape will be changing in the next decade. Fleet managers are concerned about large investments into new technology, when perhaps other technologies will prove to become the mainstream. In other words, you would hate to have a fleet of Betamax, only to be up-staged by VHS, then DVDs and now streaming video…

Matt Koehmstedt is the Aftermarket Business Unit Manager for ISS. For more information about manufacturing fuel gauges and sensors, visit Instrumentsales.com. Truck fuel sensors and truck gauges can be found at PartDeal.com.

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When Audi recently unveiled its R18 ultra and R18 e-tron Quattro LMP1 prototypes, it also used the occasion to present a number of forward-looking technologies. (This is in addition to another recent presentation involving OLED lighting and advanced collision avoidance.) The latest crop of gadgetry includes wireless vehicle-battery charging, predictive suspension systems, advanced lightweight materials, and more. Read on for all the details:

Wireless Charging: The adoption rates for electric cars are still as low as their range is limited, but Audi is making a serious effort to ease one of the most annoying aspects of EV usage: the constant need to recharge. Together with Boston-based WiTricity here in the U.S., the brand is working on wireless inductive charging. (WiTricity announced a similar partnership with Toyota last year.) The primary coil is placed on top of or under the parking surface; the secondary coil is installed on the underbody of the car. A driver then parks the car directly over the primary coil, and vehicle battery packs can thus be recharged wherever the (costly) infrastructure is installed: at work, while shopping,  and, of course, at home. The technology was showcased in Audi’s Urban Concept, which was unveiled at Frankfurt last year, and we hear the odds are improving in favor of a limited-production run of the radical two-seater. That’s good news, whether they’re charged wirelessly or not.

Garage Parking Pilot: Using this tech, a driver will stop their car in front of a properly outfitted structure, get out, and then tell the car via smartphone to park. After that, everything is handled by the car itself: Utilizing its electrically boosted steering and by-wire throttle, it moseys into an assigned parking spot. Since the driver already has exited the vehicle, the cars can be parked extremely close together, enabling more vehicles to fit in a parking structure. This could be a pretty big deal in a lot of ultra-crowded European and Asian cities. We’ve seen the system in operation, and it works.

Predictive Suspension: Similar to the operation of Mercedes-Benz’s “Magic Body Control”(which we drove some time ago on a prototype S-class), Audi’s predictive suspension scans the road ahead to pre-alert the car’s electronically controlled suspension, which can then adjust for the type and severity of upcoming road imperfections. Audi says that it will adopt “nothing less but a no-compromise solution,” which we take to mean a system that operates flawlessly, so we are curious to discover how such setups deal with short, high-frequency bumps as well as road speeds of 100 mph and beyond.

Multi-Touch and Gesture Controls: Moving beyond the touchpad of its current MMI system, which allows written inputs via fingertip, Audi aims to introduce multi-touch controls that allow you to zoom in or out of maps and menus with pinch gestures, as well as scroll through lists with your finger, like on your smartphone or tablet. The company also is working on a gesture-based system, whereby you don’t actually touch anything to swipe through menus and interact with media, which appear on regular screens or on one or more head-up displays. As our personal gadgets have shown, touch controls are­ intuitive and can enable a wide range of functionality, so we say bring those on. Gesture-based inputs sound pretty cool, but until we can be convinced that swatting at a fly won’t turn on our secret Barry Manilow albums, we’ll temper our excitement.

Lightweight Materials: In terms of weight reduction, the company has made impressive progress with the current A6 and the upcoming A3, both of which can weigh between 100 and 200 pounds less than their predecessors. Looking farther ahead, Audi highlighted two interesting technologies: ultra-light aluminum strips with carbon-fiber backing and fiberglass springs. The carbon-fiber-enforced metal strips could be used in many places in the car where thin but strong materials are ideal, such as roof pillars or doorsills. The strips are still in the research phase, however, as Audi currently is working on methods to bond the materials together using the carbon’s own resin rather than glues, rivets, or screws. The fiberglass springs, on the other hand, are just about ready for series production and will first appear on the R8 e-tron electric sports car. The cost of the fiberglass pieces is still 120 percent of steel springs, but they are 40 percent lighter and have no corrosion issues.

Source: Car & Driver

Dub boxes are lightweight enough to be towed by many vehicles, compact enough to be stored in a
garage, the exterior and interior decor is entirely customizable and the layout can be altered to suit the
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Heather Bauccio commented, “We believe our Dub boxes offer an attractive price point so everyone
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supporting our local economy really means something to the buyer.”
Shane Medbery added: “At Dub box we believe there is a niche for campers and trailers in this size.
They are larger than teardrop trailers, but not nearly the size of a typical tow behind camper. We think
their compact size coupled with the opportunity for customization makes them desirable in so many
situations.”

To learn more visit www.dub-box-usa.com.

 
U.S. construction equipment exports increased 43 percent in 2011 compared to the previous year for a total $23.5 billion of machinery shipped to other nations, according to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). This follows growth of 28 percent in 2010 after a 2009 decline of 38 percent in the depths of the recession.