Great Western Leasing and Sales Acquires Albuquerque Dealer

Heil Stainless Steel trailer. Photo via Heil Trailer 

Flatbed and specialized trailer distributor Great Western Leasing and Sales, Irvine, California, announced it's now able to offer tank trailer sales with the acquisition of Quality Trailer sales, a full-service trailer dealership based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Quality Trailer sales offers new and used equipment sales and rentals as well as repair, maintenance, and parts solutions. It distributes trailers for a range of manufacturers, including Heil Trailer and Doonan Specialized Trailer.

"We are excited to have completed the acquisition as it expands our reach into the Southwest, an area we had targeted for growth," said Sean Norton, founder and CEO of Great Western Leasing. "The acquisition also adds Heil and Doonan to the group of high-quality manufacturers we represent and now allows us to offer tank trailer sales, rental and repair solutions to our customers."

Great Western Leasing operates a network of facilities in the western U.S. offering sales, financing, leasing and rental options for new and used trailers, as well as aftermarket trailer repair and maintenance. In addition to the new Heil and Doonan offerings, the company distributes trailers for Fontaine, Transcraft, Wilson, East, Manac, XL Specialized, and Side Dump Industries.

In July, Great Western Leasing acquired Pacific Truck & Trailer to expand its network into the Pacific Northwest. The company now offers a full suite of trailer rental and repair and maintenance solutions at each of its five locations.

Related: Great Western Adds Transcraft, Benson at Houston Dealership

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HydraGen Is Designed To Save Fuel, Lower Emissions and Increase Power

The dynaCERT HydraGen System is a carbon emissions reduction technology that produces and injects pure hydrogen and oxygen gas into a diesel engine's intake air stream, increasing the energy produced during the combustion process.

HydraGen is designed for on-road applications with Class 6-8 engines. The NASA-supported technology produces pure hydrogen and oxygen on demand through the electrolysis of distilled water.

By mixing the gases with diesel fuel prior to the combustion cycle, HydraGen increases the amount of available energy by burning diesel fuel faster and more completely. As a result, an engine can gain power and torque while also operating more efficiently.

Using a Smart ECU, the system provides a reliable and adjustable delivery of hydrogen and oxygen concentrations to ensure that the optimal ratios and percentages of the two gases are provided. GPRS capability allows the Smart ECU to be accessed by the company and licensed users for the tracking, monitoring, and future data collection of Carbon Credits.

During on-road and accredited third party testing, the HydraGen System showed up to a 19.2% reduction in fuel consumption, according to dynaCERT. It also resulted in a 10% to 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and more than a 65% reduction in particulate matter. The company also says that the system can increase engine oil life and overall engine life.

The HydraGen system is housed in a lightweight cabinet mounted to the outside of the vehicle and is designed for all-weather operations. The complete system runs directly from the vehicle's power system and shuts off automatically with the engine. It also has an independent on-off switch on the housing unit should isolation be necessary and it is protected by a 30-amp fuse. With built-in micro-heaters, the HydraGen System is protected for four season weather use.

The patented HydraGen System. Credit:dynaCERT

HydraGen is produced by dynaCERT, an energy sector ...Read the rest of this story

Clean Trucks Program

The Ports of Los Angeles and Long BeaCH are the two largest ports in the nation and combined are the ninth largest port complex in the world. The two ports handle about 40% of the nation's total containerized import traffic and generate more than 3 million jobs nationwide. Although they are the largest source of pollution in the region, they have also become models of environmental stewardship.

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Outlook: Trucking regulations and the new administration

As Donald Trump prepares to take the oath of office this month, many motor carriers are rightfully wondering how much change his administration will bring to the trucking industry.

On the one hand, Trump's unvarnished dislike of current trade agreements—the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is all but dead, and he's publicly called into question sections of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)—could potentially harm motor carriers. Much of the domestic freight hauled by trucks comes from trade activity.

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Good economy means strong truck sales: FTR

Class 8 Truck Orders to See Expected Increase

Photo: Tom Berg

Class 8 truck net orders are projected to realize a significant increase in December, according to preliminary numbers from FTR and ACT Research.

FTR had forecasted an increase in the last month of 2016 and based on early numbers, December will see a 10% gain over November. The solid order activity is in line with demand from the last two months, showing an upward trend in the Class 8 market.

Month-to-month orders in the fourth quarter were very stable when discounting the higher cancellations in October, according to FTR. Class 8 backlogs are expected to increase significantly in the month as well, which will give the market momentum heading into 2017.

“Another decent month that met expectations. Orders have been following stable, traditional, patterns for six months now, which is great news after the large drop-off in 2016,” said Don Ake, FTR vice president of commercial vehicles. “Production was weak in December, but based on the Q4 orders, it should begin a modest recovery in February.”

Despite gains, order activity was still 24% below December, according to ACT Research. Net orders were at around 164,000 units for the year, but production was aided by a large backlog at the beginning of 2016.

“The most recent economic news has been positive, so freight demand should keep orders propped up for a few more months,” said Ake. “2017 still looks to be a tough year, but now backlogs are growing and that means the worst should be behind us for now.”

Medium-duty Class 5-7 orders hit an eight-month high in December, according to preliminary numbers from ACT Research. The analysis firm is projecting 20,600 units for the month. Combining medium- and heavy-duty orders for the year, ACT expects the full year tally to reach 415,600 units.

“As December is historically the second-strongest order month of the ...Read the rest of this story

Stemco Names New Senior Level Staff Members

Commercial vehicle component manufacturer Stemco has announced the promotions of Jim Reis and Doug Hix to senior-level staff positions.

Reis has been named the vice president of strategy. He will lead Stemco's overall strategic efforts, specifically in the areas of inorganic growth. He will partner with business and functional leads to develop new market opportunities for growth and future development.

Hix has been promoted to vice president and general manager of Stemco's Brake Products group. He will work on the group's established strategy to effectively strengthen and further grow the business. Hix will report directly to Reis and work closely with him to transition into the new role.

Both men assume their new roles effective immediately.

Reis has more than 30 years of heavy-duty industry experience, most of it with Stemco, having lead the Brake Products group as vice president and general manager for the past five years.

Hix has 10 years of experience in the heavy-duty industry and has held positions in both operations and finance. At Stemco, Hix served as finance director for the past two years and served as vice president of finance.

“On behalf of Stemco, I am extremely pleased to see Jim and Doug excel in their respective positions and congratulate them on this well-deserved promotion,” said Todd Anderson, president of Stemco. “I am confident based on their tremendous amount of knowledge and credibility that these new leadership appointments will allow us to further pursue our strategy to strengthen, grow, and expand our diverse line of products within the commercial vehicle industry.”

Related: Stemco Stengthens Capabilities of Wheel End Division

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