2017 BONNELL EQUIPMENT EXPO
Bonnell Industries just hosted its biannual Equipment Expo on June 7 and 8 in Dixon, Illinois. Located at 1385 Franklin Grove Road, Bonnell’s Expo brought in just under 1,000 people to enjoy the event and 40 exhibitors displaying products. These expos are held to introduce customers to Bonnell’s vendors and their new product advancements.
Bonnell’s own equipment featured at the show included 30 fully equipped snow and ice fighting trucks, two industrial leaf vacuums, two road drags, and a grader. Among those 30 trucks were a new 2017 Mack and two new 2017 Ford-550s—all three are for sale by Bonnell and are ready to be customized with snow and ice equipment. The company has more brand new trucks becoming available soon. Bonnell upfits and sells these trucks to make the purchasing process simpler on its customers.
Do you ever have questions at events, but can’t seem to find anyone with the knowledge? At the Bonnell Equipment Expo, all you have to do is turn around and grab a guy in orange and gray. The staff, who is more than willing to help, has the knowledge to answer all questions.
On top of good service was an amazing catered lunch. Fey’s BBQ from Sandwich, Illinois, caters every Expo Bonnell Industries has hosted and will continue to do so in the future of Bonnell’s events. The president, Joe Bonnell, says, “At Bonnell Equipment Expo, we get to enjoy a great BBQ, but most of all we look forward to bonding and fellowship with our customers and vendors.”
The next Bonnell Equipment Expo will be held in June of 2019. Follow Bonnell Industries on Facebook to keep up-to-date on Bonnell news and events. Bonnell Industries is a leading truck equipment distributor in Northern Illinois. Utilizing its nationwide distribution network allows Bonnell to be a major countrywide supplier of snowplows, spreaders, leaf vacuums, and road maintenance equipment for municipalities.
www.bonnell.com
MUNCIE POWER PRODUCTS CONTINUES TO INNOVATE
Muncie Power Products, Inc. continues to innovate with updates to current products—the 82 Series, CS40/41 Series, and CS10/11 Series power take-offs—within the last year.
In the first quarter of 2017, updates were made to Muncie Power’s 82 Series. A new housing was created, allowing for a five-assembly to be offered in addition to its one- and three-assembly options. In addition, the five-assembly has allowed for clearance for direct mounting a piston pump. Muncie Power’s 82 Series’ dual, air-shift cylinder was also changed to fit the Eaton UltraShift PLUS transmission.
www.munciepower.com
INTERNATIONAL TRUCK ANNOUNCES NEW AXLE OFFERING
International Truck announces the availability of the heavy-duty Fabco FSD-20K axle option on the International® WorkStar® models. The International WorkStar 7400 and 7500 models will feature the Fabco FSD-20K right-hand offset axle as a new option.
“As we focus on growing our market share in the vocational segment and catering to the needs of our customers, we’re excited to offer this new axle in partnership with Fabco Automotive,” says Mark Stasell, vice president, Vocational Truck Business, International Trucks. “This is just one example of our plans to continue to invest in our vocational truck line this year. Listening to TEMs and providing the specific features they need for their applications is a key part of our strategy to be the ‘chassis of choice’ in this market.”
The new offset bowl axle offering gives TEMs the flexibility to increase load capacity to 20,000 lbs without sacrificing ground clearance or cab height. The Fabco front driving axle reduces ride height compared to center bowl drive axles by greater than four inches.
Fabco Automotive Corporation is a designer, manufacturer, and distributor of drivetrain systems, power transmission gearboxes, and related components serving commercial, industrial, agricultural, and military vehicle markets worldwide.
www.internationaltrucks.com
XL HYBRIDS ANNOUNCES NEW CUSTOMERS FOR XLP™ PLUG-IN HYBRID UPFIT ON FORD F-150
XL Hybrids, Inc. announces new fleet customers who intend to purchase its XLP™ plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) upfit solution for Ford F-150 pickup trucks. The Fleet-Ready™ technology is the industry’s first ship-thru upfit on ½-ton pickup trucks from a leading OEM. XLP will provide a 50 percent improvement in miles driven per gallon for major fleets across the United States, as well as significant reductions in CO2 emissions.
“Our plug-in hybrid technology is an upfit on the reliable, road-tested, and popular Ford F-150,” says Clay Siegert, XL Hybrids’ co-founder and chief operating officer. “With the OEM powertrain intact, fleet customers will maintain OEM warranty and service. Those are two of the benefits of XLP and the reason major fleets are placing order commitments to be among the first to get this PHEV pickup truck.”
Three of the latest companies that intend to add XLP F-150s to their fleet include the City of Long Beach, California, Southern California Edison (SCE), and Tampa Electric (TECO). They join the previously announced customers, NV Energy®, DTE Energy®, San Diego Gas & Electric Company®—which recently signed a memorandum of understanding to purchase 110 units—Liberty Utilities®, and Hawaiian Electric Company® looking forward to accepting XLP ship-thru deliveries beginning fourth quarter 2017.
The XLP technology will be installed in MY17 and MY18 Ford F-150 pickups with the 2.7-liter EcoBoost engine and Ford’s Auto Stop-Start technology. The XLP will also be available for the upcoming MY18 Ford F-150 pickup with the new 3.3-liter base engine featuring Ford’s Auto Stop-Start technology.
Installation of the XLP PHEV system can be completed in just hours on ½-ton pickup trucks as a Ford ship-thru upfit. Featuring a volume-production ready, high-voltage lithium battery pack, XLP will accommodate full charging overnight with Level 1 and less than three hours for Level 2 charging using an industry-standard J1772 plug interface. The XLP technology leaves the OEM’s engine, transmission, fuel system, and exhaust system completely intact. Fleets will maintain the complete OEM warranty, and get a three-year/75,000 mile warranty from XL Hybrids on the XLP powertrain. The XLP system will have no special maintenance requirements.
XLP will also include the XL Link™ Cloud-based big data analytics system, which measures mpg performance and reports carbon dioxide emissions reductions. The proprietary XL Link vehicle connectivity is a continuous data link from every vehicle, collecting millions of operational data points, allowing analysis and reports on key performance indicators.
XL Hybrids is the leader in connected fleet electrification solutions for commercial and municipal fleets, with technology that delivers increase in mpg and reduces carbon dioxide emissions. Recognized as one of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company, XL Hybrids supports such customers as The Coca-Cola Company and other major fleets.
www.xlhybrids.com
CURT GROUP ADDS TRUCK TOOLBOX LINE AND MORE USA MANUFACTURING CAPABILITIES
CURT Group, a portfolio company of Audax Private Equity and a leading sales, marketing, engineering, and distribution company of towing products and truck accessories, announces that it has entered into an agreement to acquire United Welding Services (UWS) from Thule, Inc. (subsidiary to Thule Group AB). Headquartered in Perry, Florida, UWS is a leading American manufacturer of storage solutions and truck accessories for professional tradesmen and truck enthusiasts. The transaction is expected to close in June, 2017.
This acquisition complements CURT Group’s expanding brand portfolio and truck accessory product lines. UWS is an iconic brand known for manufacturing high-quality, American-made products. As a member of the CURT Group family of brands, they offer several exciting US-based manufacturing capabilities, as well as a full product line of cross-bed truck boxes, chest boxes, transfer tanks, hitch carriers, and ladder racks.
“The acquisition of UWS marks another milestone moment in CURT Group’s history. It not only adds a new product line, customer base, and manufacturing capacity, but we are also gaining a talented and motivated team that is aligned with the CURT Group culture of the customer is king and our associates are our greatest asset,” says CURT Group CEO, Rock Lambert. “This acquisition reaffirms our strategy of being a leader in aftermarket truck and towing accessories. We want to offer our customers a portfolio of the industry’s leading brands with the broadest product offering in the automotive, truck, and Jeep accessories market.”
In addition to a full line of towing and truck accessory products, CURT Group will be able to offer UWS customers an expanded distribution network. The expansive network of warehouses strategically located throughout the US and Canada will make UWS products more accessible than ever before.
“Becoming part of the CURT Group family is extremely exciting for UWS, and it is the perfect partnership given the adjacency of our products and customer channels,” says Jimmy Giddens, vice president, UWS. “Together, as part of CURT Group, our combined organization will be able to offer the marketplace world-class products and service, unmatched capabilities, scale and distributive manufacturing, and industry-leading turnaround times.”
www.uwsta.com
GM SEES STRONG SALES NUMBERS IN FIRST HALF OF 2017
GM Fleet had exceptionally strong commercial and government sales in May, with deliveries up 16 percent vs a year ago. Deliveries to daily rental customers were down 36 percent. GM has been systematically reducing daily rental deliveries for three years to help support strong resale value.
“A lot of news stories talk about lower auto sales, but the industry’s decline is primarily due to lower daily rental sales,” says Ed Peper, US vice president, GM Fleet. “We believe retail and commercial deliveries are going to remain strong as we move into the second half of the year, because the things we want to see ‘high’ are high and ‘lows’ are low.”
Mustafa Mohatarem, GM’s chief economist, notes that the US economy is operating near full employment levels, wages are rising, interest rates and fuel prices remain low, and consumer confidence remains high.
One of GM’s strongest performers with commercial customers is the Chevrolet Silverado, which was up 26 percent. “The total cost of ownership of a Chevrolet can be thousands of dollars less than a competitive vehicle when you factor in net acquisition cost, fuel economy, maintenance, and additional warranty value,” Peper says. Already this year, GM has expanded its fleet telematics offerings to include both Telogis and Spireon, and it has worked with AT&T to make unlimited 4GLTE data available in OnStar-equipped vehicles with data pooling and simplified billing.
www.gmfleet.com
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MODERN WORKTRUCK SOLUTIONS: JUNE 2017 ISSUE
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