11/2/09
Source: http://www.trucknews.com/issues/ISArticle.asp?id=95919&issue=02112009
Dr. Reiner Beutel has been named Chief Executive Officer of SAF-HOLLAND Group GmbH.
His predecessor, Rudi Ludwig, announced he will retire from day-to-day operations, with expiration of his contract, on February 28, 2009. Ludwig will remain on the Board of Directors of SAF-HOLLAND S.A to provide strategic direction and guidance for the company.
Dr. Reiner Beutel, 49, assumed the position of CEO on February 2, 2009, in order to ensure a smooth transition of management. He has held Board of Directors seats for Haldex AB, KUKA AG and Mirror Controls International. Prior to this, as CEO and CFO of Schefenacker AG in Schwaikheim, Germany, his responsibilities included the operational and financial realignment of this international automotive supplier.
Dr. Beutel began his career after studying business administration in Germany and the USA. He earned a doctorate with a focus on strategic planning and controlling in 1986 while working as a business consultant at A.T. Kearney GmbH. Beginning in 1989, he spent fifteen years at the Robert Bosch Group, where he served in a variety of positions with increasing management responsibility, his final position being President, Chairman and CEO of the Bosch Power Tools division in Illinois, USA.
“Dr. Reiner Beutel will strengthen our company as a proven industrial management expert with international experience, who will continue the growth and globalization strategy initiated by Rudi Ludwig and advance SAF-HOLLAND’s development under new economic conditions,” commented Dr. Rolf Bartke, Chairman of the Board of Directors.
The remainder of the SAF-HOLLAND Group GmbH’s Management Board remains the same, with Wilfried Trepels as CFO, Sam Martin as COO, Detlef Borghardt as Head of the Trailer Systems Business Unit, Jack Gisinger as Head of the Powered Vehicle Systems Business Unit and Steffen > Schewerda as Head of Group Operations.
With more than EUR 800 million in sales and approximately 3,000 employees, SAF-HOLLAND S.A. is a global manufacturer and supplier of product systems and components primarily for trailers as well as trucks, buses, and recreational vehicles.
14/2/09
Source: http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009902140329
ArvinMeritor is laying off 47 hourly workers at its heavy truck axle parts plant here effective Monday.
Company spokeswoman Krista Sohm said workers were informed of the cuts this week.
She said the layoffs are the first the plant has had since it opened in 1982.
“This obviously is driven by the economic situation and the impact it's having on the commercial vehicle industry,” she said Friday.
The plant will have about 500 permanent workers after the cuts take effect, she said. Workers are being given a severance package.
ArvinMeritor, which is based in Troy, Mich., makes parts for cars and trucks and has been hit hard by declining auto sales and slumping demand for heavier trucks that use parts like those made in Fletcher.
The company recently reported a loss of $991 million for the fourth quarter of 2008 compared with $12 million for the fourth quarter of 2007. Much of the decline related to one-time items, but the loss from continuing operations was still 77 cents per share, down from a profit of 8 cents a share in the year-ago quarter.
The company said in December that it had cut its North American work force by 11 percent in the previous three months.
Its stock closed regular trading Friday at 91 cents, down 11 cents a share on the day and well off its 52-week high of $18.11. Standard & Poor's further reduced its rating of ArvinMeritor bonds late Thursday afternoon, saying the company is likely to face cash-flow issues this year and next.
Charles McClure Jr., the company's chairman, president and CEO, told analysts Feb. 4 that the company is running its business on the assumption that heavy truck sales will fall 27 percent this year compared with 2008.
22/1/09
Source: http://www.jacksonsun.com/article/20090122/BUSINESS/901220309
Dana Corp. has laid off 60 of its hourly and salaried employees from its manufacturing plant in Humboldt.
The reductions leave a total of 225 workers at the plant that manufactures axles for medium- and heavy-duty trucks.
The layoffs come as Dana struggles worldwide to reduce manufacturing costs in the wake of falling demand for its products, wrote Chuck Hartlage, spokesman for the company, in an e-mail to The Jackson Sun.
The company's 2008 third quarter earnings release states that Dana Corp's. sales fell 9 percent, to about $1.93 million, compared with the same period in 2007, "primarily because of lower vehicle production in North America."
Hartlage did not comment on any possible severance package being offered to those employees being laid off.
He also was unable to say if the Humboldt plant was one of up to 10 plants Dana is considering closing this year and in 2010, according to Dana's third-quarter 2008 report found on the company's Web site.
"We have not identified these facilities yet," he wrote.
The company's third quarter report also states that Dana will reduce its workforce by 5,000 this year, instead of a previously announced 3,000.
Gibson County's November unadjusted unemployment rate was 9.9 percent, an increase of 2.7 percent from last November's adjusted rate. The continued loss of jobs in the county is beginning to cause a strain on families and businesses, said Gibson County Mayor Joe Shepard.
"When a small community of people lose their jobs," he said, "it affects a whole lot more than those who lose the job, because it is a trickle-down effect."
Last year, Dana laid off 33 percent of its U.S. hourly employees and 25 percent of its U.S. salaried employees in response to the U.S. and global automotive slow down, Hartlage wrote.
Dana acquired its Humboldt plant through the acquisition of Eaton Corp.'s heavy-axle business in 1998. Dana closed its warehouse in Humboldt about a year ago. The company operates several facilities in Crossville, Gordonsville and Paris.
10/2/09
Source: http://news.prnewswire.com/ViewContent.aspx?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/02-10-2009/0004969706&EDATE=
Resists micro-abrasion which can lead to accelerated corrosion and rust-jacking
- Three-year, 300,000 mile warranty against rust-jacking
ArvinMeritor, Inc. (NYSE: ARM) today introduced remanufactured brake shoes with PlatinumShield(TM) coating, which provides superior protection against corrosion and rust-jacking. Remanufactured Meritor shoes with PlatinumShield coating provide a three-year, 300,000 mile warranty against rust-jacking.
The aftermarket shoes -- platinum gray in color -- were introduced here at the Technology & Maintenance Council of ATA, and subsequently at the annual meeting of Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week, Feb. 17.
The PlatinumShield coating was developed by ArvinMeritor brake engineering to resist micro-abrasion caused by the movement of the brake lining against the shoe table during normal use. Rust-jacking occurs when rust forms on bare shoe metal under the lining, causing the lining to lift and crack.
Starting in May 2009, the remanufactured brake shoes with PlatinumShield coating will be standard on all Meritor remanufactured production shoes with "MA" and "R" prefixes; Meritor MG1, MG2L, MG2, CG, and MET OEM aftermarket shoes; and Fras-Le F550, F555, F577, F560, F587, F787T, and Combo shoes.
"While rust-jacking has been a recurring industry issue, it's a fact that the increased use of harsh liquid chemicals as winter road solvents can accelerate the formation of rust on shoe metal where the paint has been worn away," said Doug Wolma, general manager of remanufacturing for ArvinMeritor's Commercial Vehicle Aftermarket (CVA) business. "PlatinumShield is a technologically-advanced coating process that provides North American truck operators with the highest level of protection possible."
This technology breakthrough is the result of ArvinMeritor's investment in an improved paint facility at its modern 275,000 sq. ft. Plainfield, Ind., remanufacturing facility. Used shoes are shot-blasted and proceed through a five-stage wash and pretreatment process with iron phosphate before the PlatinumShield coating is applied.
"PlatinumShield coating represents an entirely new process for protecting brake shoes and delivering the performance customers expect," said Paul Nyers, marketing manager for ArvinMeritor CVA. "The real benefit to our customers is lower overall maintenance costs. The elimination of premature brake jobs resulting from cracked liners will make fleets using these shoes more competitive."
In testing to evaluate surface rust after more than 400 hours of exposure to salt and road solvents, remanufactured shoes with PlatinumShield achieved the highest possible ASTM(1) scale rating of 10 (less than .01 percent surface rust). Shoes from two competitors advertising rust-jacking protection features had ASTM ratings of 1 (50 percent surface rust) and 2 (33 percent surface rust).
In addition to brake shoes, ArvinMeritor remanufactures axle carriers, transmissions, brake calipers, trailer axles, steering gears and drivelines. The company entered remanufacturing in 1982 with the production of axle carriers at its Florence, Ky., national parts distribution center, and has since moved that operation into the Plainfield remanufacturing center.
To address new truck-trailer brake applications, ArvinMeritor will make the PlatinumShield anti-rust jacking coating available to all OEM customers later in 2009.
30/1/09
The demand from operators for new stock is still there, according to trailer manufacturer Schmitz Cargobull, but finding credit is a real problem.
Derek Skinner, technical director at Schmitz, says there is still a need for trailers in the industry, but with third-party credit scarce the manufacturer's own finance facilities are in demand.
"We try to offer an alternative - we are not a bank, Cargobull Finance is more asset management. We are more favourable towards funding the asset as it is ours and we can remarket it," he says.
Operators are still keen on technology and Schmitz's Load Spread Program (LSP) is proving popular. The system, launched at IAA Hannover last year, helps make sure that vehicles carrying diminishing loads don't overload any one axle.
"Everyone is interested in the various-height concept, as it can be reduced to suit a specific load, you can lift one side and load," says Skinner.
"The pillarless Freepost trailer, currently going through its paces at MIRA Proving Ground, is due to be launched in late April. We have made it lighter and stiffer in the roof, plus we are sympathetic to the chassis because it is ours and not supplied by a third party.
"In the UK, people want more pillarless trailers for loading and health and safety there is a big market for it," he adds.
4/2/09
Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/02/05/stories/2009020550960200.htm
Suresh P. Iyengar
Mumbai, Feb. 4 Even as car sales have shown signs of revival in January, truck sales plunged 65 per cent to 9,258 units against 26,564 units in the same period last year, as truckers were unable to expand their fleet due to deepening economic slowdown.
Truck sales have dropped despite lowering of auto finance rates by banks, said Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT).
Leading heavy commercial vehicles manufacturers include Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Mahindra and Mahindra, Swaraj Mazda, Volvo and Eicher.
Tractor trailer (30-49 tonne) — used mainly to transport high density cargo such as cement, foodgrains, pulses, fertiliser, timber, ores and steel —witnessed a huge drop of 88 per cent to 279 units against 2,320 units sold in the same period last year.
Sales of multi-axle vehicles (25.2-31 tonne), which are used for transporting general goods and construction projects, sunk 77 per cent to 2,814 units from 12,057 units. Tipper trucks sales were down as majority of housing and other construction projects have virtually come to a halt, said Mr S. P. Singh, Senior Fellow and Coordinator, IFTRT.
Medium commercial vehicle (15-16.2 tonne) sales dipped 48 per cent to 3,026 units against 5,818 units last year. MCVs are mostly used on hilly terrains and narrow highways to carry general mixed and parcel cargo.
Hit by the slowdown in infrastructure projects, tipper trucks ( 16.2-25.2 tonne) used in the construction and infrastructure sectors saw sales dropping 53 per cent to 2,537 units (5,368 units).
Continuing its downtrend, light commercial vehicle sales dropped 32 per cent to 1,746 (2603 units).
IFTRT is an independent body that analyses the factors impacting the sales of trucks and goods carriages.
4/01/09
Source: http://trailer-bodybuilders.com/aftermarket/arvinmeritor-first-quarter-earnings-0204/index1.html
ArvinMeritor, Inc. today reported financial results for its first fiscal quarter ended Dec. 28, 2008, with sales from continuing operations of $1.4 billion, a decrease of approximately 18 percent from the same period last year.
The loss from continuing operations, before special items, was reported at $56 million, or $0.77 per diluted share, compared to income of $6 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, a year ago.
Special items for the quarter reflect non-cash charges including valuation reserves for certain deferred tax assets, other asset impairments primarily related to LVS, restructuring charges and certain costs incurred in anticipation of the previously planned spin-off or sale of the LVS business.
EBITDA, before special items, was $10 million, down $72 million from the same period last year. This decrease is primarily due to lower production volumes in most original equipment manufacturer market segments globally.
Free cash outflow was $386 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2009 compared with free cash outflow of $305 million in the same period last year. The decrease in free cash flow reflects lower cash earnings, higher inventories due to the dramatic rate of unplanned production declines, and previously announced settlement payments to resolve claims with certain unions and customers.
"Although significant volume declines and charges associated with the LVS business negatively affected our results this quarter, we are aggressively executing a series of actions to help mitigate the effects of the ongoing economic crisis," said Chip McClure, chairman, CEO and president.
"Through continued focus on reducing costs, strengthening the aftermarket business and gaining new military contracts, the Commercial Vehicle Systems (CVS) business performed well. Despite the severe downturn in heavy truck markets in most regions of the world, the CVS team was able to offset the negative volumes with minimal impact on performance. These results clearly underscore the validity of our aggressive Performance Plus cost savings and growth initiatives."
ArvinMeritor has implemented a number of initiatives to help manage cash, and is prepared to take additional actions if needed. Initiatives in process include:
- Implemented workforce reductions of more than 1,500 employees.
- Extended shutdowns and reduced work weeks at all plants.
- Reduced and rebalanced capital spending.
- Initiated a 10-percent salary reduction for all U.S. executive-level employees; and a 5-percent reduction in salary for all other U.S. salaried employees, in addition to similar actions in other parts of the world.
- Eliminated matching contribution to the U.S. 401-K.
- Suspended merit increases for fiscal year 2009.
- Reduced discretionary spending by approximately 30 percent year-over- year.
- Reduced Board of Directors annual compensation by 10 percent.
- Suspended quarterly dividend.
As previously announced, economic conditions do not support the company's strategy to divest the entire LVS business at this time. "Due to continued deterioration in the global markets, it is now our priority to complete the divestiture of these businesses separately at acceptable returns to shareowners," said McClure.
In January, the company executed multiple actions to reduce fixed costs within the LVS business, which are expected to result in $57 million in annual savings. These actions included the elimination of the LVS divisional organization, resulting in a headcount reduction of more than 100 positions. The Body and Chassis businesses are now being managed to realize maximum cost efficiencies, with additional actions currently under consideration.
The Wheels business, located in Brazil and Mexico, will be retained by ArvinMeritor.
3/2/09
Source: http://trailer-bodybuilders.com/aftermarket/arvinmeritor-centennial-milestone-0203/
ArvinMeritor, Inc., today announced its centennial heritage anniversary at the company's annual shareowner meeting at its headquarters in Troy, Mich..
The company will commemorate this historic milestone throughout 2009 at events and product exhibitions , which will be marked with the launch of several "next generation" products from axles to brakes to hybrid drivetrain applications.
"ArvinMeritor's longevity is based on a rich heritage of product performance, customer service and engineering expertise," said Chip McClure, chairman, CEO and president of ArvinMeritor. "These characteristics, combined with our commitment to develop industry-leading products and provide customized services to meet the needs of our customers around the world, describe our long history of 'forward thinking.' "
Since the company's earliest roots as Timken-Detroit Axle in 1909 - through its evolution as Rockwell, Meritor Automotive and ArvinMeritor - it has been a supplier of commercial and light vehicle systems, modules and components to the global transportation industry.
ArvinMeritor has a family of brands, including: Meritor, Euclid, Meritor WABCO, Gabriel, Mascot and Trucktechnic.
9/1/09
Source: http://www.hendrickson-intl.com/mediacenter/PressReleases/Default.aspx?id=226
Hendrickson trims 90 more pounds from its popular PARALIFT™ lift axle system with the production launch of the refined PARALIFT PST™ this month.
Fitting PARALIFT with a new axle, Hendrickson retained the rugged durability and versatility of the 20,000-pound, steerable lift axle system while improving driveline clearance and wheel cut.
“The new PARALIFT PST steerable lift axle revolutionizes this product category with superior performance and the versatility of adjustable frame widths and ride heights,” says Paul Brown, marketing manager of Hendrickson Auxiliary Axle Systems. “All of PST’s advantages substantially help improve the bottom line for fleets and operators, lowering both cost and weight.”
The PST comes with a Westport axle and D22 spindle resulting in a 90-pound weight reduction making the system one of the lightest in its class. Models are available for a wide variety of Class 8 truck chassis.
To enhance driveline clearance and extend wheel cut to 25 degrees, the axle seats are re-designed and the stabilizers moved inside the tie rod and connected to the axle brackets.
PST retains the many popular advantages of previous PARALIFT models including adjustability of frame width and ride height allowing fleets, aftermarket installers and body builders to apply one unit to meet a wide variety of truck configurations.
The proven parallelogram design maintains proper wheel tracking and ensures lift plates remain parallel for longer air spring life. PARALIFT’s trailing arm beams feature an efficient, single-paddle, z-beam configuration.
PARALIFT PST delivers 12 inches of total travel with nine inches of lift in ride heights from 9.5 to 13.5 inches, all in a 28-inch package space. Zero-torsion, trailing-arm bushings help eliminate bushing wind-up and allow for the two lift-spring configuration.
