Hendrickson to Restructure Spring Business
Hendrickson International will restructure its medium- and heavy-duty spring business and close a plant on the south side of Chicago IL. The Chicago plant makes conventional, multi-leaf and taper-leaf spring products for medium- and heavy-duty trucks, as well as support members for air suspensions.
Most of the production from the Chicago plant will be moved to Hendrickson Rassini Spring (HRS), a joint venture between Hendrickson and SANLUIS Corporacion in Piedras Negras, Mexico. Some production also will be moved to a Hendrickson facility in Stratford, Ontario, Canada.
These product moves will take place over the next few months and will involve the transfer of equipment from Chicago and some renovation work at Stratford and HRS. The company expects to implement these moves and complete the closure of the Chicago facility by September 2001.
Ashland Salutes Excellence of Three Carriers
Ashland Distribution Co and Ashland Specialty Chemical Co have awarded a Carrier Excellence Award for 2000 to A Duie Pyle Inc, West Chester PA; Liquid Transport Corp, Greenfield IN; and Holland MI-based USF Holland, a US Freightways company. The three companies were selected from among the less-than-truckload and liquid bulk carriers serving Ashland Distribution and Ashland Specialty Chemical during the past year.
The Ashland Carrier Excellence Award is presented annually to carriers who exceed the Ashland target in each of six areas: error-free shipments, refusal rate, safety performance, claims performance, freight bill rating accuracy, and an overall evaluation of the carriers by Ashland Distribution and Ashland Specialty Chemical shipping facilities.
Bendix Will Fleet-Test New Air Disc Brake
Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems will begin fleet-testing its North American air disc brake, the Bendix ADB 225, in first-quarter 2001. Performance testing has shown its stopping distance meets requirements under consideration by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The ADB 225, for 22.5-inch-wheel-diameters, features a mono block caliper design that makes the brake more compact and able to fit North American truck wheel-end envelopes. This design provides weight savings, and its high overload capacity eliminates the need for anti-compounding. The ADB 225 features improved sealing over previous disc brakes, internal automatic brake adjustment, integrated pad and rotor wear sensing diagnostics, and optimized friction couple.
Production is slated for 2003. Bendix also plans to release the design for a 19.5-inch air disc brake in 2001 for smaller wheel diameters, trailers, and medium-duty vehicles.
Kenworth Names Dealer Council Members
Kenworth Truck Co has selected its Kenworth Dealer Council members for 2001. The council consists of executives from dealerships in the United States and Canada. Its goal is to promote communication between Kenworth and its dealer network.
New council members are:
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Chairman — Cooper Sykes, Cooper Kenworth, Durham NC.
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Ken Hoffman, Midwest Kenworth, Kansas City MO.
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Gary King, Edmonton Kenworth, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
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Erick Miner, Central Illinois Trucks, Normal IL.
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Jim Hartman, Truck Enterprises, Harrisonburg VA.
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Kyle Treadway, Kenworth Sales Co, Salt Lake City UT.
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Robert Sorrentino, Wisconsin Kenworth, Madison WI, who serves as the Kenworth ATD line representative.