Ridge Partners with Aerospace Company to Improve Truck Aerodynamics

Photo: National Research Council of Canada

Ridge Corporation has partnered with the aerospace technology company FlexSys to help improve truck aerodynamics devices, reducing drag and improving fuel efficiency.

FlexSys is a Michigan-based company that has been developing advanced aircraft wing technologies with the Air Force Research Laboratories and has validated concepts through both NASA flight tests and on private jets.

The company's technology involves variable geometry control surface mechanisms that use the inherent flexibility of aerospace materials to continuously reshape optimal aerodynamic profiles. Ridge wants to incorporate this dynamic technology into its devices to produce, resilient, low-complexity, cost-effective devices that improve fuel savings over currently available technologies.

“Ridge's goal is to incorporate this new technology as a complement to our own engineering expertise and our ability to quickly move new technologies to market,” said Gary Grandominico, Ridge CEO.

The two companies have agreed to join forces to combine the latest aerospace technologies with the real-world requirements of the trucking industry.

“We have found a strong partner in Ridge Corporation and are looking forward to applying our technology to the field of truck aerodynamics,” said Dave Hornick, FlexSys COO.

Related: 7 Ways Aerodynamics Save Fuel

Follow @HDTrucking on Twitter

Choptank Transport Helps Mentor Future Leaders

Choptank employee volunteers for the Junior Achievement program: (L-R) sitting: Jennifer Max, Lisa Padgette, Morgan Watkins, Morgan Chatkewitz, Pam Hutchinson. Photo: Choptank

When it comes to improving the image of the trucking industry and getting young people interested in pursuing careers, it's hard to beat the personal approach of being involved with your community's youth. It's summer vacation now, but it's a good time to start thinking about how you could get more involved this next school year.

Choptank Transport, a Preston, Maryland-based third-party logistics company, has worked with the Character Counts program for the past decade teaching local children about the six pillars of character. Volunteers are asked to speak for 15-20 minutes once a week throughout the school year. The topic of discussion rotates around the six pillars of character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. The role of the volunteer is to help reinforce these character traits along with the school with real-life examples and varied perspectives.

Matt MacCoy, a Choptank Transport area sales manager, has done it for several years and last year taught a third grade class at Preston Elementary. “I love coaching,” he says. “It is easy to talk about the six pillars because they all relate in some way to what we do here at Choptank, so conveying real world examples from the workplace is easy.”

This year, Choptank also started working with Junior Achievement. The program focuses on youth financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship, and this spring, 13 Choptank Transport employees signed up to volunteer to teach JA's hands-on, age-appropriate lessons.

This was the first year the JA program was available in Choptank's home county, according to Choptank spokesperson Harriet Mills. “There is a lot of excitement and enthusiasm about this program because leadership and mentoring are a big part of our work ...Read the rest of this story

Economic Watch: Slowing Factory Activity Leads to Growing Concerns

A preliminary report released Monday showed a drop in a key benchmark for future business spending, as total orders and shipments of durable goods were mixed, according to the Commerce Department.

New orders for "core capital goods minus aircraft" in the U.S. fell 0.2% in May from the month before, the largest drop since December and well below analysts' expectations. Shipments of these items fell 0.2% last month following a small April rise.

The shipments figures are used by the federal government in calculating its measurement of the nation's gross domestic product, the widest measure of how the overall economy is performing.

The same report also showed total new orders for durable goods (items designed to last three years or more) fell 1.1% in May from the month before, the second straight monthly decline and the biggest drop since November.

Shipments increased 0.8%, the first rise after two consecutive monthly drops, but it's not expected to be part of an improving trend.

Rather, this suggests that the early year surge in overall factory activity is fading, according to Tim Quinlan, senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities.

The difference between monthly survey data (such as regional surveys from the Institute for Supply Management) and the relatively weak numbers for core capital spending remains wide and is an indication the factory sector will slow, he said.

According to Reuters, this report has added to growing worries that an acceleration in economic growth in the second quarter may not be as robust as expected. Recent numbers on retail sales, manufacturing production and inflation have been disappointing, and housing data has been mixed the past couple of months.

MarketWatch reported this most recent decline in factory activity may be due to businesses that were eagerly anticipating tax and regulatory relief from the Trump administration may now be taking a more wait-and-see attitude, ...Read the rest of this story

Wabco extends global supply deal with Daimler Trucks

Wabco Holdings Inc. said it's extended a long-term supply agreement with the truck division of Germany's Daimler AG for new heavy-duty automated manual transmission (AMT) control technology to support truck production mainly in Europe, North America, Japan, and South America.

Daimler Trucks, Daimler AG's truck division, operates five distinct brands serving different segments of the global commercial vehicle market: Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner, FUSO, Western Star and Bharat Benz.

read more

Purkeys develops liftgate charging system

For commercial trucking fleets, break-downs and road calls due to dead or uncharged batteries are a costly issue that can cut into fleets' profit margins and drivers' accumulated hours of service.

Purkeys announced it has developed two distinct liftgate charging systems, the DIRECT and the SELECT. Larry Rambeaux, Purkeys' National Fleet Representative, says that even with a liftgate charging system, a truck's battery has to be in proper working order to maintain charge.

read more

Schneider opens new facility in Phoenix

The sunny Southwest just got busier with the recent grand opening of a new Schneider facility in Phoenix, AZ. Schneider said it is responding to industry demand by significantly investing in this fast-growing region.

The Phoenix facility will accommodate Schneider's dry van truckload, team drivers, intermodal and specialty dedicated fleets and bring new truck driver job opportunities to the area.

read more

‘Everyday Heroes’ Kenworth T680 sold to J&L Transportation

The “Everyday Heroes” Kenworth T680 was auctioned off at Ritchie Bros. in Phoenix. The winning bid was submitted by Mike Jimenez, owner of Phoenix-based J&L Transportation, which resulted in $89,000 netted in support of Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT), a non-profit organization devoted to stopping human trafficking by educating, mobilizing, and empowering the nation's truck drivers and rest stop employees.

read more