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Why do Volvo's workers in Sweden rate professional uniforms, while their assembly team members in the United States of America do not? http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44758-the-volvo-group-truck-plant-in-tuve-sweden/#comment-330083

Volvo execs talk growth, dedication to technology Truck News / May 12, 2016 The key to being successful in trucking? Keep up with technology and keep up with your customers – at least, that’s what Volvo executives say. At its New River Valley truck manufacturing plant in Dublin, Va. on May 11, Goran Nyberg, president of Volvo Trucks North America and Claes Nilsson, Volvo Group executive v.p. and president of Volvo Trucks, gave trade journalists an inside look at how Volvo would be moving forward in 2016 and beyond. And they were specific: Volvo would be focusing on technology and their customers in the future. Volvo Trucks North America came out of 2015 with record numbers – achieving all-time highs for US, Canada and NAFTA Class 8 retail sales. “But 2016 has started off a bit more challenging than we expected,” Nyberg said. “I would say the first quarter and the beginning of the second quarter is a bit soft. We have to adjust and level ourselves with the new normal.” Both Nilsson and Nyberg confirmed that they expect the industry to see 250,000 Class 8 net orders this year. To continue it’s growth, Nilsson said it wants to position itself as a technology leader. “We really want to be a technology leader,” he said. “In terms of innovation…we have launched a number of features which have been technology leading. Right now we are focusing on some interesting areas of technology like platooning, autonomous vehicles and alternative fuels.” Volvo has also launched a number of new products as of late, Nyberg added that are both technologically advanced, and add value to its customers. “We have launched new features and values to our customers,” Nyberg said. “As you know we upgraded our engine platforms, we upgraded our transmissions, not only with the crawler gears, but improved gear shifting all with the focus on delivering better fuel efficiency and also the new technology platform for the future.” Nyberg said that he believes the next big “game-changer” in the industry will be connectivity and how it will help advance predictive maintenance efforts. “We are looking more at predictive maintenance – proactively being able to predict the faults that are about to happen,” Nyberg said. “Traditionally, the transportation industry has been designed to react when an unplanned event happens. We are moving the game to be ahead the ball and try to predict and prevent things from happening. And when they happen we are proactive.” He pointed to the company’s new Uptime Centers that have been designed to triage trucks to get them on the road faster. This year the company put in place a formal certification for those Volvo dealerships who were getting the job done right. “We have launched the concept where we certify our dealers and we call them Certified Uptime Centers,” he added. “That’s more than just a rubber stamp or plaque on the wall. (There’s) a three-phased way to certified a dealer. We are looking at the whole of the market process…parts availability, workshop planning, triage…This will be a win-win situation…It will help us to better communicate to our customers so when a truck goes down, if it’s a quick fix, we can turn it around. But if it’s a major event, we can communicate to them that it’s a major event and tell them they need to put in a spare truck. Communication is key. Trucks will break down in the future. But it’s about how efficient we can be to turn that truck around and maximize our uptime.” Platooning is also on the company’s radar. In 2015 Volvo invested in truck platooning pioneer Peloton Technology and now says it has a platooning product they are working with. The pair said it anticipates to showcase these developments soon – mid-June – in San Jose, Calif. In terms of customer-focus, Nilsson said it’s a matter of gaining customer satisfaction by having the right product offering. “I would like to see us taking a bigger share of the (North American) market,” he explained. “But I would really like us to own that with customer satisfaction and having the right product offer and making sure that we are very efficient in what we’re doing and how we take care of our customer…and how we deliver products and how we deliver spare products and everything else. But it’s also in my point of view very much about attitude and personality.” Nilsson said that it makes a world of difference when you compare a workshop manager who is thinking about the customer versus one who isn’t. “What is nice about our industry, is we are still in a relationship industry,” he said. “We’re looking for people that like to take care of the customer.” At its New River Valley plant, Volvo is also building a separate Customer Experience Center. It broke ground in September 2015 and will feature a product showroom spotlighting the complete lineup of Volvo heavy-duty truck, engine and transmission models. It will also have training rooms and a theatre. The grand opening for the new centre, that is still being built, is set for 2017. “We are moving forward,” Nyberg said. “We are happy to celebrate the record year. Is it good enough? Of course it’s not. More is better. We believe that we can, especially with the addition of product features, address a wider audience with our product lineup.”

In the days of the former Mack Trucks, our plant employees were professionals.........and they looked it. And that's why Allentown was "The Truck Capital of the World". .

Would you spend $150,000 on a truck built by these people? Volvo is too cheap to provide them with work uniforms in the spirit of professionalism? OHSA will be paying a call when that woman's tank top gets hooked and dragged away. Billy Bob, who doesn't miss any meals, appears to be struggling. Truck assembly professionals? I think not. .

Heavy Duty Trucking / May 12, 2016 As Volvo Group spent the last four years consolidating and streamlining its operations after previous acquisitions that included Mack, Renault and UD, “maybe we became a bit too internally focused,” Claes Nilsson, executive VP of Volvo Group and president of Volvo Trucks, told reporters at Volvo Trucks North America’s Dublin, Va., plant this week. But a recent reorganization and a new emphasis on brand organization is helping put more focus back on the customer, he said. “We want to much more focus on business, on customers, and seeing that the different brands really can grow our business,” said Nilsson, who is based at Volvo's headquarters in Sweden. He met with trucking media in the middle of an ambitious week-long U.S. tour to meet dealers and customers. The U.S. and North America, he noted, are one of Volvo’s biggest markets and also one where there is plenty of opportunity for growth. Although Volvo Trucks North America had a record-setting truck sales year in 2015, it ended the year with a 12.5% market share in Class 8, putting it in fourth place just behind Peterbilt and just ahead of International, according to data from Ward’s. “I would like to see us taking a bigger share of the market… focusing on customer satisfaction, making sure we have the right product offer, making sure we are very efficient in what we’re doing, taking care of customers at the dealers, how we deliver spare parts and everything else,” he said. He emphasized the importance of Volvo’s people in this effort, noting, “it’s also very much about attitude and personalities.” The People Make the Difference When asked later to expand on that thought, Nilsson noted, “In our organization, people really enjoy meeting our customers, whether that is in service or parts sales or truck sales,” or on plant tours. “In our industry we’re still in a relationship industry, so the relations between our people and our customers is still very important. The difference between a workshop manager who is thinking every day about the customer vs. one who is just there to make a living, it’s such a huge difference. We’re looking for people that really like to take care of the customers, that go that extra mile for the customer.” Goran Nyberg, president of Volvo Trucks North America, added that as a European and world traveler, “Coming to North America, the service business here when you come to hotels or restaurants is second to none,” he noted. “That’s the mentality we like to see in the dealer network. It is a cultural change – we are not just there to sell and repair trucks, we are there to please the customers' needs. To always put the best for a customer first and then figure out how you make that benefit for yourself. That’s easier said than done. I think it’s a brave move, but we are brave people.” Franky Marchand, who heads up plant operations under the title of ‎Logistics VP, Volvo Group Trucks Operations in Americas, also emphasized the people at the plant. “It’s all about our people,” he said, adding, “we have an unusual link with the customers, a love for the customer,” that he believes is somewhat unusual. During plant tours, visitors are led right into the thick of things and are encouraged to talk to employees on the line. Not only does this give customers a better understanding of what goes into the building of their trucks, but the thinking is that the more the plant workers interact with the people they are building trucks for, the more attention they’ll pay to putting out a quality product and the more pride they will have in it. Customer Focus Some of the ways Volvo is working focusing more on the customers, discussed by Nilsson and other Volvo execs during the briefing, included: Technology: “We really want to be a technology leader,” Nilsson said, talking about areas such as connectivity, platooning, and autonomous vehicles. “I think connectivity and electronics in the vehicles will also give a lot of opportunities to improve productivity for our customers.” New features: Volvo recently upgraded its engine platforms and its I-Shift automated transmission, with a focus on delivering better fuel efficiency as well as being prepared for the 2017 greenhouse gas regulations. It’s also been rolling out features and products for the vocational market such as crawler gears on the I-Shift. Customer experience: As previously announced, Volvo is building a new Customer Experience Center on the site of its New River Valley plant. This will be located near the Customer Experience track that opened in late 2014. Volvo’s plant is already a popular destination for customers, who get a closer, more interactive look at the process than at most other manufacturing plants. “Last year over 8,000 visitors in this facility. And there’s no Disneyland here; they came here just to see us,” Marchand said. Factory upgrades: The factory is in the process of upgrading all its welding equipment, replacing the robotics with the latest technology. And starting in September, Volvo will move to a new paint process that Marchand said will be “the most advanced paint system in the industry.” While the new technology will reduce paint waste and cut electricity use at the plant in keeping with Volvo’s focus on the environment, the benefit for customers will be a better, more uniform film thickness and better gloss levels and “distinctness of image.” Dealers: Even before the recent restructuring, Volvo Trucks North America had already been making signifiant investments in the dealer network, some of that done in conjunction with sister company Mack. Geofencing around dealers allows the company to keep track of when trucks arrive and when they leave. A new Certified Uptime Center certification program will recognize dealers with a next-level of uptime support, including parts availability and fast turnarounds. Nyberg added that the company does not expect 2016 truck sales to match the highs of 2015, but still is projecting Class 8 sales overall to reach 250,000 trucks. He said there are some 60,000 trucks in excess inventory at dealers of all makes, including Volvo, which does present a challenge. Despite a soft first quarter and beginning of the second as far as truck sales, Volvo expects the third and fourth quarters to be stronger, and Nyberg noted, “We see a good upswing in quote activity in vocational and vocational related business.” This is one area where Volvo has been working to make inroads, with new products, features, and attending shows such as World of Concrete where it had not typically been an exhibitor. “I think uptime combined with a fuel efficient truck is a key ingredient for success going forward,” Nyberg said. “We will of course continue to design our products around our core values” of quality, safety, and care for the environment. .

Can Tire Balancing Save Fuel? Heavy Duty Trucking / May 11, 2016 Can tire balancing save fuel? The people at IMI Products, developers of Equal and the new Equal Flexx tire balancing compounds believe it can. And to prove the point, they hosted a press day at their Chambersburg, Penn., offices so reporters could see the results for themselves. The way IMI explains it, properly balanced tires require less energy to keep in motion, and dynamic balancing can help reduce vibration that contributes to rolling resistance. Balancing tires, they say, helps keep them in service longer and allows fleets to get every mile out of every 32nd of an inch of tread rubber. And that's the biggest contributor to fuel savings. Tires that wear more evenly and run out right down to the last 32nd (or some predetermined pull-point) are in the fuel economy sweet spot of the tire longer. This allows fleets to take greater advantage of the thinner more efficient tread for more miles before the tires need to be removed. Of course, if all the tires on the truck wear truer right down to the end, not just the steer tires, all the tires can contribute to improved fuel efficiency. "Fleets are looking for longer tire life and balancing is one way to deliver on that," said Derek Forney, associate product manager at IMI. "The added benefit with such a program is the improved fuel economy over the full life of the tire." Forney described two major fleets' balancing programs that both led to greater tire life and improved fuel economy. One was Nussbaum of Hudson, Ill. Following a test involving several test and control vehicles that ran 140,000 miles over the same 1,400-mile route, Nussbaum saw a 20% improvement in tire life and a 3% fuel economy gain. The only difference between the test and control trucks was the test group had Equal balancing compound at all wheel positions including the trailer, while the control truck did not. IMI estimates the total annual savings can be $5,500 compared to a one-time cost of $450 to add Equal Flexx to tires at all wheel position on a truck. That figure includes about 25% longer tire life and 3-5% in fuel savings. But how does it drive? Equal Flexx is the latest balancing product from IMI. It was announced in February, but the first orders are to begin shipping this month. Flexx is a combination of balancing compound and vibration damper. It's a blend of material that has been in development for several years. Steve Ludwig, senior product development engineer at IMI, said they tested more than 50 individual materials and blends of material to arrive at the optimum performer. "We were looking to see how the product felt to a driver as well as how it performed from a data standpoint," he said. "We had the truck fitted with wireless vibration sensors so we could see how the product was performing. The driver didn't know which of four test materials he had on the truck, but he chose Equal Flexx and our data backed up his subjective opinion." Reporters saw the data point on the chart and heard from the drivers on how they felt about the product, but we also had a chance to experience it for ourselves. On a pair of nearly identically spec'd trucks on loan from Penske Leasing, one truck's tires were treated with Equal Flexx, the other's was not. After driving in the truck for about 20 minutes, the difference between the two was pretty obvious. "We doubled the vibration damping characteristics compared with the original Equal product," said John Tak, IMI's director of marketing and product development. "Net, net, this product delivers 15% better performance than its predecessor. It delivers the lowest tire wear, the lowest rolling resistance due to reduced vibration, and the most fuel economy improvement potential. We can say that because we tested it." IMI has loads of test data to share and even a few testimonials from the fleets that tested and proved the product. Give them a call or look them up online if you want to learn more about the fuel savings potential of all-position wheel balancing. Photo gallery - http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/story/2016/05/can-tire-balancing-save-fuel.aspx

Truck News / May 12, 2016 Slumping truck sales have not kept Western Star from growing its market share and sales numbers so far this year. Kelly Platt, president of Western Star, said she believes the truck maker she oversees is the only one to have sold more trucks through the first few months of this year than last, when overall Class 8 truck demand was considerably stronger. And this despite the fact orders from Western Canada’s oilpatch – where Western Star has predominantly been strong – have dried up as oil prices have plunged. Platt, when addressing truck journalists during a press briefing here this morning, noted her thoughts are with those displaced by the Fort McMurray wildfires. “Our thoughts are certainly with those folks this week, as they fight that horrific fire and we hope there are Western stars up there helping them do that,” she said. Even with the oilpatch in a rut, Western Star has grown its North American market share. This year, said Platt, the company will sell twice as many trucks as it did in 2010. Canada still represents about 30% of its build, with 65% of sales coming from the US and 5% from Australia. Platt said Western Star owned 5.6% of the vocational market in 2015, up from 4.5% the year before and 3.8% in 2013. In Canada, its market share ranges from 8-11% and in some regions is greater than 25%, Platt noted. Its overall North American market share is 3% year-to-date, up from 2.6% through the same period last year and 1.9% in 2010. Platt chalked the growth up to an expanding dealer network and versatile product line. “Our product line is diverse and comprehensive and fully capable of appealing to any truck customers,” she said. Sales have been buoyed with the release last year of the Western Star 5700XE, the truck maker’s first aerodynamic highway tractor. Dealers have 100 demonstration units out in the field and fleets that have purchased the trucks are seeing fuel economy of better than 7 mpg, Platt said. One Winnipeg fleet was so enamored with the truck it changed its corporate logo to complement the truck’s styling. “They said it changes their image in the business,” Platt said. Through mid-March, Western Star had delivered 750 5700XEs to 331 customers. Many fleets, Platt said, are using it as a reward truck for their best drivers. Mike Guarino, on-highway and municipal segment manager with Western Star, acknowledged the company was the last OEM to develop an aerodynamic on-highway tractor. But being last had its benefits, and he said he’s convinced the company got it right. “We saw a need in the marketplace and decided to do it and do it the right way,” he said. Western Star says testing has shown the 5700XE has the second best fuel economy in the segment, behind only the Freightliner Cascadia. Other trucks have better aero, Guarino admitted, but he said that’s more than offset by efficiencies provided by the integrated Detroit powertrain. The 5700XE can only be had with Detroit power, something Platt said has not been a detriment. Eaton transmissions and the Detroit DT12 automated manual are available.

Heavy Duty Trucking / May 12, 2016 The Iowa 80 Trucking Museum has been selected as a lunch stop for the Hemming’s Motor News Great Race, a cross-country road rally of antique vehicles that will include Iowa 80’s own 1938 Kenworth as the only semi-tractor in the competition. The Great Race is a time/speed/endurance road rally for vintage automobiles manufactured at least 45 years ago. The 2016 event will be run over nine days starting in San Rafael, Calif., on June 18 and ending on June 26 in Moline, Ill. Nearly 100 racers will enjoy lunch on the lawn adjacent to the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum on June 26, between 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. The public is invited to view the cars while the racers stop for lunch before heading into downtown Moline, Ill. Iowa 80 Truckstop hosted fuel stops for the Great Race in 2005 and 2013. "We ran our 1938 Kenworth in the Great Race for over 10 years in the 1990s and early 2000s, so we know many of the racers and Great Race staff,” said Delia Moon Meier, senior vice president of Iowa 80. “We are happy to be able to host them for lunch at our museum this year. We hope to see many familiar faces." .

Heavy Duty Trucking / May 12, 2016 Western Star Truck Sales, Inc., announced its new Extreme Duty (XD) Offroad package and the launch of the MBT-40 Transformer chassis. The Western Star XD Offroad package is engineered specifically for extremely rugged environments and is available on both 4900 and 6900 models. Vehicles spec’ed with the XD Offroad package deliver maximum driver safety and comfort while providing customers with a low cost per ton product for offroad applications. Western Star plans to open the XD Offroad package up to other models in the future. The 6900XD Offroad MBT-40, dubbed the Multi-Body Transformer for its ability to quickly change from one fully functional in-cab controlled body application to another, is the first XD Offroad series offering from Western Star and a new concept for off-road equipment markets. The PALFINGER G68 hooklift has a lifting capacity of 68,000 pounds and a new transformer package and is designed to replace the need for having multiple pieces of dedicated off-road equipment on a job site that sit for long periods of time when not needed. The unit is equipped with a generic in-cab control system and a self-adapting hydraulic system that also allows the operators to quickly and easily swap the controls of multiple body applications as well. The MBT-40 features multiple hydraulic air and electrical connections, which allow it to connect and power a variety of body needs from powerful flow controlled hydraulic motors and pumps to heavy high flow tip cylinders. “The MBT-40 package is a game changer in construction applications for its ability to be multiple pieces of equipment in one chassis,” said John Tomlinson, XD and vocational sales manager, Western Star. “The development of this platform was all about finding better economic ways of filling needs for our customers. Offroad chassis equipment can be expensive to buy and maintain and new emissions levels are making the investment even more costly.” The 6900XD is available in both 6x4 and 6x6 configurations. For more information, go to www.WesternStarTrucks.com. .

Volvo's Mack brand website states: The mDRIVE HD heavy-duty automated manual transmission is standard on the Mack Granite and Titan by Mack trucks, and is available for the Mack Pinnacle,TM so you can roll over your toughest challenges. I've no idea what the "TM" means, poor English on their part. http://www.macktrucks.com/powertrain-and-suspensions/transmissions/ The brochure states: Mack’s mDRIVE HD is “built light to make Mack Granite and Pinnacle models even more productive while helping Titan by Mack do the heavy lifting”. http://www.macktrucks.com/~/media/files/brochures/mack_mdrive_hd_crawl_sellsht.ashx?as=1 Why don't you place your order with the good folks at Watts Mack ?

Fleet Owner / May 12, 2016 Volvo Trucks is in the midst of several upgrades to its New River Valley (NRV) assembly plant, including the addition of a new $32.5 million paint wing due to open in September, the installation of 38 new assembly line robots by summer, as well as continued work on the facility's customer experience center, being built next to the 1.1-mile long test track that runs alongside the NRV plant. Slide show - http://fleetowner.com/equipment/upgrading-volvos-nrv-plant#slide-0-field_images-191371

Transport Topics / May 12, 2016 Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA) is laboring diligently to persuade federal and state regulators to ramp up standards on greenhouse-gas emissions in an orderly fashion so as not to scare off fleets from buying more fuel-efficient trucks that will be produced to comply with the Phase 2 rule expected later this year. The company’s top executives told reporters and editors here May 11 that they are “doing a lot of lobbying to address the challenges and benefits” associated with the GHG proposal. VTNA President Göran Nyberg said the lobbying is important because a mandate that is too aggressive could cause a pre-buy sales boom in 2019 and 2020 before Phase 2 takes effect, and then a sales bust in 2021 as fleets try to avoid the new anti-carbon dioxide controls. “It’s nice to have a peak record for sales, but then it becomes very cold,” Nyberg said characterizing the problems with a boom-bust cycle. In April in Austin, Texas, Mack Trucks global President Dennis Slagle — a colleague of Nyberg’s within Volvo Group — responded to a question and said Phase 2 is a matter of concern, but at the Volvo event here, Nyberg raised greenhouse gases as an issue near the beginning of his remarks. Nyberg said VTNA takes greenhouse-gas emissions seriously and is eager to make more fuel-efficient trucks, as fleets always have an appetite for them, but the strategy should be to make vehicles that have market appeal so customers want to “get onboard early and not hold back” on adoption. Phase 2 of greenhouse-gas regulations aimed at heavy- and medium-duty trucks came out as a joint proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in June 2015. Phase 2 will affect truck trailers made in 2018 and trucks in the 2021, 2024 and 2027 model years, requiring them to be more fuel-efficient as a means to emitting less carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Phase 1 started in January 2014, and the second and final segment of the first phase begins Jan. 1, 2017. Nyberg also posed some challenges for government regulators, asking them to allow 6x2 powertrain configurations, particularly in Canada; eliminate the requirement for side mirrors; and speed up the adoption of platoon and autonomous trucks.

Fleet Owner / May 12, 2016 The two Volvo Trucks executives also believe North America remains a top growth market. Claes Nilsson, tapped to be executive vice president of the Volvo Group and president of its global Volvo Trucks unit back in March, and Gӧran Nyberg, president of Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA), believe that North America still remains a region that offers “the biggest opportunity” for future truck sales as well as for “organic growth.” In a sit-down with reporters at Volvo’s New River Valley (NRV) assembly plant here in Dublin, VA, Nilsson and Nyberg – currently in the midst of a 12-city U.S. tour of Volvo facilities, dealerships, and top customers – think that the Volvo brand remains relatively “young” in North America, compared to its much longer-term presence in other global markets, and thus has more room to grow. “The last four years we’ve focused on consolidation and synergies within our global organization; so we’re much more cost efficient but maybe we became too internally focused,” Nilsson said. “Now we’re really looking for organic growth and we really see North America as a most important market in parallel with Europe; it offers the best growth opportunity.” Nyberg noted that while Volvo is sticking to its 250,000 total Class 8 sales prediction for North America in 2016, he stressed that the market “is a bit more challenging” now after first and second quarter order rates became “a bit soft” in his words. “If you look at warranty registrations, you can defend that 250,000 [Class 8 unit] prediction,” he added. “But order intake points to considerably lower volume.” Nyberg pointed out that North American Class 8 inventory also is high, at roughly 60,000 units, with Magnus Koeck – VTNA’s vice president, of marketing & brand management – noting that order intake “will stay soft if that inventory is not pushed out.” Still, Nyberg expects third and fourth quarter order rates to “be somewhat stronger” compared to the start of this year, pointing out that comparisons with 2015 are difficult due to record-setting sales numbers posted last year. “Even as we level ourselves with this ‘new normal’ in orders, we will still see a top 10 or top 15 year in truck sales for 2016,” he said. Other items touched on by Volvo executives during the roundtable meeting: Nilsson said “attitude and personality” will be key attributes for the organization going forward. “We want to be a true customer service company; this is still a relationship business,” he explained. “We’re looking for those determined to go the extra mile for customers.” Nilsson emphasized that Volvo “wants to be a technology leader” and believes truck “connectivity” will be a major future focus for fleets and truck makers alike – especially in terms of how “connectivity” translates into more predicative and proactive maintenance, resulting in more vehicle uptime. Nyberg noted that impeding greenhouse gas (GHG) rules “create an opportunity” to win more business. They will also “force the industry to find every single opportunity for fuel efficiency.” As a result, he thinks 6x2 suspensions will gain more traction in the U.S. market to the level of automated manual transmissions (AMTs). But Nyberg also thinks it will take 5 to 7 years for 6x2s to reach the “market penetration” levels now being experienced by its I-Shift AMT. When it comes to platooning and autonomous vehicles (AVs), Nilsson said AVs will be deployed first but in “non-public” worksites such as mines and construction zones. “AVs will be commercialized far quicker in areas outside of public roads,” he said. What will hold platooning back is not the technology but the “legal challenges” faced by truck platoons when deployed on public roads. Turning back to GHG rules, Nyberg noted that Volvo and other OEMs are asking for a slower pace. “If we mandate too many improvements at the same time – aerodynamics, emissions, waste-heat recovery, etc. – my gut feeling is that the industry will more reluctant,” he stressed. “A step-by-step approach will lead to greater acceptability.” But the key to all of the industry’s GHG efforts, Nyberg emphasized, is finding value for customers. “Yes, we need to meet the regulations, but we need to find enhanced value for customers,” he noted. “We’ll work with the regulatory and legislative hurdles but at the end of the day what will drive our efforts is finding benefits for customers in all of this.” .

Former senator: Release the uncensored truth about 9/11 By Bob Graham – The Washington Post / May 11, 2016 Bob Graham, a Democrat, represented Florida in the U.S. Senate from 1987 to 2005. Nearly 15 years after the horrific events of 9/11, President Obama must decide whether to release 28 pages of information withheld as classified from the publicly released report of the congressional inquiry into the terrorist attacks that killed thousands of Americans. On April 10, the CBS program “60 Minutes” aired a story about the missing 28 pages. I was one of several former public officials — including former House Intelligence Committee chairman and CIA director Porter Goss (R-Fla.) ; Medal of Honor recipient and former senator Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.); former Navy secretary John Lehman; and former ambassador and representative Tim Roemer (D-Ind.) — who called on the White House to declassify and release the documents. Two days after that broadcast, I received a call from a White House staff member who told me that the president would make a decision about the 28 pages no later than June. While that official made no promises as to what Obama would do, I viewed the news as a step in the right direction. My optimism about the administration’s action on this critical issue was short-lived. On May 1, when CIA Director John Brennan appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” I watched with astonishment as he argued that the 28 pages should not be released because the American people are incapable of accurately evaluating them. When asked by host Chuck Todd to make the case against releasing the information, Brennan replied, “I think some people may seize upon that uncorroborated, unvetted information that was in there that was basically just a collation of this information that came out of FBI files, and to point to Saudi involvement, which I think would be very, very inaccurate.” With all due respect, that argument is an affront not only to the American public in general but also to all those who lost family members, loved ones and friends on that fateful September day in 2001. Americans are fully capable of reviewing the 28 pages and making up their own minds about their significance. As co-chair of the Joint Inquiry Into the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001, I have read the 28 pages. My oath of confidentiality forbids me from discussing the specifics of that material. But while I cannot reveal those details, I strongly believe the American people deserve to know why this issue is so important. All of the references below are from the declassified, public version of the Joint Inquiry’s final report. For the first time in more than 200  years, Congress merged two standing committees from different houses of Congress: the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. The Joint Inquiry had an impressive staff selected due to its members’ experience serving or overseeing key intelligence agencies. The first order we gave was for the intelligence agencies to preserve any information that might be useful in understanding what happened before, on and after 9/11. While reviewing these files, our experienced staff found documents that raised concerns about the possible involvement of foreign individuals and foreign sources of support for the hijackers. In several instances, agency leadership conceded that they became aware of this evidence through the probing of the Joint Inquiry staff. On Oct. 10, 2002, then-FBI Director Robert Mueller testified, “I think the staff probed and, as a result of the probing, some facts came to light here and to me, frankly, that had not come to light before, and perhaps would not have come to light had the staff not probed.” The fruit of that probing constitutes the bulk of the material that remains classified. Our final Joint Inquiry Report, released in July 2003 minus the missing 28 pages, reprimanded the agencies for a lack of attention to and action on information in their own files. This data included “information suggesting specific sources of foreign support for some of the September 11 hijackers while they were in the United States.” At the time, “neither CIA nor FBI officials were able to address definitively the extent of such support for the hijackers.” Given the magnitude of the potential risk to national security, the Joint Inquiry found that gap in intelligence coverage “unacceptable” and referred the information summarized in the 28 pages to the FBI and CIA for investigation “as aggressively and as quickly as possible.” The release of the 28 pages would allow the American people to evaluate important questions, such as: ●Should we believe that the 19 hijackers — most of whom spoke little English, had limited education and had never before visited the United States — acted alone in perpetrating the sophisticated 9/11 plot? ●Did the hijackers have foreign support? If so, who provided it? ●Brennan stated the 28 pages contain information that is “uncorroborated, unvetted” and “inaccurate.” What is the investigatory basis for his conclusion? ●Has the 13-year delay in empowering the American people with the information in the 28 pages affected national security, delayed justice to the families of the nearly 3,000 Americans killed on 9/11 or undermined the confidence of the American people in their federal government? Former Illinois governor and two-time presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson put it best: “As citizens of this democracy, you are the rulers and the ruled, the law-givers and the law- abiding, the beginning and the end.” That unique status gives the American people all the authority and capability needed to review the 28 pages and determine the truth. It is long past time they had the opportunity.

Clinton Charity Aided Clinton Friends The Wall Street Journal / May 12, 2016 A $2 million commitment arranged by the nonprofit Clinton Global Initiative in 2010 went to a for-profit company part-owned by friends of the Clintons The Clinton Global Initiative, which arranges donations to help solve the world’s problems, set up a financial commitment that benefited a for-profit company part-owned by people with ties to the Clintons, including a current and a former Democratic official and a close friend of former President Bill Clinton. The $2 million commitment was placed on the agenda for a September 2010 conference of the Clinton Global Initiative at Mr. Clinton’s urging, according to a document from the period and people familiar with the matter. Mr. Clinton also personally endorsed the company, Energy Pioneer Solutions Inc., to then-Energy Secretary Steven Chu for a federal grant that year, said people with knowledge of the endorsement. The company, whose business plan was to insulate people’s homes and let them pay via their utility bills, received an $812,000 Energy Department grant. Mr. Chu, now a professor at Stanford University, said he didn’t remember the conversation. The Clinton Global Initiative is a program of the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation. The foundation has been a focus of criticism this political season over donations received from governments and corporations that had business before Mrs. Clinton when she was secretary of state and that could be affected by decisions she would make as president. The foundation has said it “has strong donor integrity and transparency practices.” The Clinton Global Initiative’s help for a for-profit company part-owned by Clinton friends poses a different issue. Under federal law, tax-exempt charitable organizations aren’t supposed to act in anyone’s private interest but instead in the public interest, on broad issues such as education or poverty. “The organization must not be organized or operated for the benefit of private interests,” the Internal Revenue Service says on its website. Energy Pioneer Solutions was founded in 2009 by Scott Kleeb, a Democrat who twice ran for Congress from Nebraska. An internal document from that year showed it as owned 29% by Mr. Kleeb; 29% by Jane Eckert, the owner of an art gallery in Pine Plains, N.Y.; and 29% by Julie Tauber McMahon of Chappaqua, N.Y., a close friend of Mr. Clinton, who also lives in Chappaqua. Owning 5% each were Democratic National Committee treasurer Andrew Tobias and Mark Weiner, a supplier to political campaigns and former Rhode Island Democratic chairman, both longtime friends of the Clintons. The Clinton Global Initiative holds an annual conference at which it announces monetary commitments from corporations, individuals or nonprofit organizations to address global challenges—commitments on which it has acted in a matchmaking role. Typically, the commitments go to charities and nongovernmental organizations. The commitment to Energy Pioneer Solutions was atypical because it originated from a private individual who was making a personal financial investment in a for-profit company. Asked about the commitment, foundation officials said, “President Clinton has forged an amazing universe of relationships and friendships throughout his life that endure to this day, and many of those individuals and friends are involved in CGI Commitments because they share a passion for making a positive impact in the world. As opposed to a conflict of interest, they share a common interest.” A spokesman for Mr. Clinton, Angel Urena, said, “President Clinton counts many CGI participants as friends.” Mrs. Clinton’s campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment. A Clinton Foundation spokesman, Craig Minassian, called the commitment an instance of “mission-driven investing…in and by for-profit companies,” which he said “is a common practice in the broader philanthropic space, as well as among CGI commitments.” Of thousands of CGI commitments, Mr. Minassian cited three other examples of what he described as mission-driven investing involving a private party and a for-profit company such as Energy Pioneer Solutions. Ms. Eckert, one of those identified as a 29% owner of Energy Pioneer Solutions in 2009, didn’t respond to requests for comment. Ms. McMahon, listed as another co-owner, said in an interview she didn’t know how the commitment to the company came to be made as she wasn’t involved. Ms. McMahon, 56 years old, described Mr. Clinton as “a family friend.” Mr. Kleeb, who is the company’s chief executive as well as founder, said Ms. McMahon recruited Mr. Weiner as an investor. Mr. Weiner has a company, Financial Innovations Inc., that makes campaign souvenir items such as coffee mugs and pens. Mrs. Clinton’s current and 2008 presidential runs have paid Mr. Weiner’s firm about $4.2 million, federal reports show. Mr. Weiner was among the first state Democratic officials to endorse Mr. Clinton for the presidency some 25 years ago. He has been a major donor to the Clinton Foundation and also to the campaign of Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, another Clinton friend, foundation and Virginia records show. Mr. Weiner declined to be interviewed. The other 5% investor, Mr. Tobias, has been the Democratic National Committee treasurer since 1999. He said he spent $450,000 for equity in Energy Pioneer Solutions and lent it $650,000. “With my modest initial investment, I wound up owning a small percentage of the company,” Mr. Tobias said in an email. “It grew, because ultimately, between loans and equity investments, I’ve wound up putting a little more than $1 million into this effort.” Mr. Tobias, a best-selling personal-finance writer and long-standing Clinton Global Initiative member, said he invested “because I would love to see the world more energy-efficient and hoped to make some money doing that.” Records of the Clinton Foundation show he has given it between $250,000 and $500,000, the same donation level shown for Mr. Weiner. The company’s Mr. Kleeb said he knew the DNC treasurer from his own runs for office and invited him to invest. Mr. Kleeb won Democratic nominations in Nebraska for the U.S. House in 2006 and the Senate in 2008, but lost. His wife, Jane Kleeb, led opposition to the Keystone XL Pipeline and now heads a group called Bold Alliance opposing large fossil-fuel projects. The Clinton Global Initiative, at a Sept. 23, 2010, gathering in New York, announced a $2 million commitment to Energy Pioneer Solutions from Kim Samuel, a Canadian academic, philanthropist and a director and owner of the Samuel Group of Companies, which includes steel businesses. She appeared on stage. A spokesman for Ms. Samuel, a longtime member of the Clinton Global Initiative, said she ultimately chose not to give the full $2 million. This is a “personal financial matter and a personal investment,” said her spokesman, Alan Peck. “Following the initial September 2010 announcement and subsequent due diligence, the actual investment was $500,000 made by Ms. Samuel to Energy Pioneer Solutions on July 25, 2011.” Mr. Tobias, the Democrats’ treasurer, said in an email a day after a Journal interview that he, too, contributed to the commitment. The 2010 announcement of it cited only Ms. Samuel. Mr. Kleeb said the commitment announced was achieved, and he raised $2 million. He didn’t specify where the money came from. The commitment was a late addition to the agenda for the September 2010 conference, internal Clinton Foundation documents reviewed by the Journal show. According to one document, about two weeks before the conference, Ms. Samuel contacted an official in the Clinton Foundation’s commitments office and said Mr. Clinton wanted to feature her commitment to Energy Pioneer Solutions at that month’s gathering. Ms. Samuel’s spokesman didn’t respond to a question about that. One of Mr. Clinton’s top advisers at the time, Doug Band, tried to prevent the commitment from being added to the agenda as an onstage event in the weeks prior to the conference, according to a document reviewed by the Journal. The commitment was entered into a database on the Clinton Global Initiative website. A few months later, it was removed. The reason was to avoid calling attention to Mr. Clinton’s friendship with one company co-owner, Ms. McMahon, and to protect the integrity of Mr. Clinton and the Clinton Global Initiative, according to people familiar with the matter. The Clinton Foundation spokesman said the information was withheld at the request of Ms. Samuel, the announced provider of the commitment. Her spokesman didn’t respond to a question on that. After the Journal asked about the absence from the database, the Clinton Foundation said it was making a policy change and would publish all previously unpublished commitments and all future ones. At the U.S. Energy Department, which had a grant program to encourage innovative approaches to weatherizing low-income people’s homes, giving a grant to a for-profit company was rare but permitted, said T.J. Hansell, a former contractor to the agency who worked on the program. An Energy Department spokeswoman declined to comment. An Energy Department news release in 2010 announcing a grant to Energy Pioneer Solutions called it “a women-owned small business,” repeating language in the company’s application, which the Journal obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. Mr. Kleeb, the company’s founder and 29% owner, didn’t respond to a question on why it described itself as women-owned. On occasion, Mr. Clinton has trumpeted the company’s work. Speaking in 2011 to an Omaha-based syndicated radio show called The Todd-N-Tyler Radio Empire, Mr. Clinton said: “There’s a group there called Pioneer Energy Solutions that retrofits housing—they’re in and out in a day…Eight hours and they’re out of there.” Mr. Clinton also cited the operation, without naming the company, in his 2011 book “Back to Work.” Mr. Tobias, the Democratic treasurer, said he discussed Energy Pioneer Solutions frequently with Mr. Clinton. “I wasn’t surprised that President Clinton was psyched about the potential for EPS and making America’s housing stock more efficient, cutting CO2 emissions and lowering consumers’ energy bills,” Mr. Tobias said. Energy Pioneer Solutions has struggled to operate profitably. It lost more than $300,000 in 2010 and another $300,000 in the first half of 2011, said records submitted for an Energy Department audit. Mr. Kleeb noted that losses are common at startups. The audit found deficiencies in how the company accounted for expenses paid with federal grant money, Energy Department records show. The company addressed the deficiencies, and a revised cost proposal was approved in 2011, said an Energy Department spokeswoman, Joshunda Sanders. Recently, Mr. Kleeb laid off most of his staff, closed his offices, sold a fleet of trucks and changed his business strategy, promising to launch a national effort instead. “We are right now gearing up to start under this new model,” he said. Asked if Energy Pioneer Solutions has ever broken even, Mr. Kleeb said, “We’re at that stage…We are expanding and doing well. We have partnerships, and it’s good.” .

The Guardian / May 12, 2016 First serious public split revealed among commissioners over the release of the secret ‘28 pages’ that detail Saudi ties to 2001 terrorist attacks A former Republican member of the 9/11 commission, breaking dramatically with the commission’s leaders, said Wednesday he believes there was clear evidence that Saudi government employees were part of a support network for the 9/11 hijackers and that the Obama administration should move quickly to declassify a long-secret congressional report on Saudi ties to the 2001 terrorist attack. The comments by John F Lehman, an investment banker in New York who was Navy secretary in the Reagan administration, signal the first serious public split among the 10 commissioners since they issued a 2004 final report that was largely read as an exoneration of Saudi Arabia, which was home to 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11. “There was an awful lot of participation by Saudi individuals in supporting the hijackers, and some of those people worked in the Saudi government,” Lehman said in an interview, suggesting that the commission may have made a mistake by not stating that explicitly in its final report. “Our report should never have been read as an exoneration of Saudi Arabia.” He was critical of a statement released late last month by the former chairman and vice-chairman of the commission, who urged the Obama administration to be cautious about releasing the full congressional report on the Saudis and 9/11 – “the 28 pages”, as they are widely known in Washington – because they contained “raw, unvetted” material that might smear innocent people. The 9/11 commission chairman, former Republican governor Tom Kean of New Jersey, and vice-chairman, former Democratic congressman Lee Hamilton of Indiana, praised Saudi Arabia as, overall, “an ally of the United States in combatting terrorism” and said the commission’s investigation, which came after the congressional report was written, had identified only one Saudi government official – a former diplomat in the Saudi consulate in Los Angeles – as being “implicated in the 9/11 plot investigation”. The diplomat, Fahad al-Thumairy, who was deported from the US but was never charged with a crime, was suspected of involvement in a support network for two Saudi hijackers who had lived in San Diego the year before the attacks. In the interview Wednesday, Lehman said Kean and Hamilton’s statement that only one Saudi government employee was “implicated” in supporting the hijackers in California and elsewhere was “a game of semantics” and that the commission had been aware of at least five Saudi government officials who were strongly suspected of involvement in the terrorists’ support network. “They may not have been indicted, but they were certainly implicated,” he said. “There was an awful lot of circumstantial evidence.” Although Lehman said he did not believe that the Saudi royal family or the country’s senior civilian leadership had any role in supporting al-Qaida or the 9/11 plot, he recalled that a focus of the criminal investigation after 9/11 was upon employees of the Saudi ministry of Islamic affairs, which had sponsored Thumairy for his job in Los Angeles and has long been suspected of ties to extremist groups. He said “the 28 pages”, which were prepared by a special House-Senate committee investigating pre-9/11 intelligence failures, reviewed much of the same material and ought to be made public as soon as possible, although possibly with redactions to remove the names of a few Saudi suspects who were later cleared of any involvement in the terrorist attacks. Lehman has support among some of the other commissioners, although none have spoken out so bluntly in criticizing the Saudis. A Democratic commissioner, former congressman Tim Roemer of Indiana, said he wants the congressional report released to end some of the wild speculation about what is in the 28 pages and to see if parts of the inquiry should be reopened. When it comes to the Saudis, he said, “we still haven’t gotten to the bottom of what happened on 9/11”. Another panel member, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of offending the other nine, said the 28 pages should be released even though they could damage the commission’s legacy – “fairly or unfairly” – by suggesting lines of investigation involving the Saudi government that were pursued by Congress but never adequately explored by the commission. “I think we were tough on the Saudis, but obviously not tough enough,” the commissioner said. “I know some members of the staff felt we went much too easy on the Saudis. I didn’t really know the extent of it until after the report came out.” The commissioner said the renewed public debate could force a spotlight on a mostly unknown chapter of the history of the 9/11 commission: behind closed doors, members of the panel’s staff fiercely protested the way the material about the Saudis was presented in the final report, saying it underplayed or ignored evidence that Saudi officials – especially at lower levels of the government – were part of an al-Qaida support network that had been tasked to assist the hijackers after they arrived in the US. In fact, there were repeated showdowns, especially over the Saudis, between the staff and the commission’s hard-charging executive director, University of Virginia historian Philip Zelikow, who joined the Bush administration as a senior adviser to the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, after leaving the commission. The staff included experienced investigators from the FBI, the Department of Justice and the CIA, as well as the congressional staffer who was the principal author of the 28 pages. Zelikow fired a staffer, who had repeatedly protested over limitations on the Saudi investigation, after she obtained a copy of the 28 pages outside of official channels. Other staffers described an angry scene late one night, near the end of the investigation, when two investigators who focused on the Saudi allegations were forced to rush back to the commission’s offices after midnight after learning to their astonishment that some of the most compelling evidence about a Saudi tie to 9/11 was being edited out of the report or was being pushed to tiny, barely readable footnotes and endnotes. The staff protests were mostly overruled. The 9/11 commission did criticize Saudi Arabia for its sponsorship of a fundamentalist branch of Islam embraced by terrorists and for the Saudi royal family’s relationship with charity groups that bankrolled al-Qaida before 9/11. However, the commission’s final report was still widely read as an exoneration, with a central finding by the commission that there was “no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually” provided financial assistance to Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network. The statement was hailed by the Saudi government as effectively clearing Saudi officials of any tie to 9/11. Last month Barack Obama, returning from a tense state visit to Saudi Arabia, disclosed the administration was nearing a decision on whether to declassify some or all of the 28 pages, which have been held under lock and key in a secure room beneath the Capitol since they were written in 2002. Just days after the president’s comments however, his CIA director, John Brennan, announced that he opposed the release of the congressional report, saying it contained inaccurate material that might lead to unfair allegations that Saudi Arabia was tied to 9/11. In their joint statement last month, Kean and Hamilton suggested they agreed with Brennan and that there might be danger in releasing the full 28 pages. The congressional report was “based almost entirely on raw, unvetted material that came to the FBI”, they said. “The 28 pages, therefore, are comparable to preliminary law enforcement notes, which are generally covered by grand jury secrecy rules.” If any part of the congressional report is made public, they said, it should be redacted “to protect the identities of anyone who has been ruled out by authorities as having any connection to the 9/11 plot”. Zelikow, the commission’s executive director, told NBC News last month that the 28 pages “provide no further answers about the 9/11 attacks that are not already included in the 9/11 commission report”. Making them public “will only make the red herring glow redder”. But Kean, Hamilton and Zelikow clearly do not speak for a number of the other commissioners, who have repeatedly suggested they are uncomfortable with the perception that the commission exonerated Saudi Arabia and who have joined in calling for public release of the 28 pages. Lehman and another commissioner, former Democratic senator Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, filed affidavits last year in support of a lawsuit brought against the Saudi government by the families of 9/11 victims. “Significant questions remain unanswered concerning possible involvement of Saudi government institutions and actors,” Kerrey said. Lehman agreed: “Contrary to the argument advocated by the Kingdom, the 9/11 commission did not exonerate Saudi Arabia of culpability for the events of 11 September 2001 or the financing of al-Qaida.” He said he was “deeply troubled” by the evidence gathered about a hijackers’ support network in California. In an interview last week, congressman Roemer, the Democratic commissioner, suggested a compromise in releasing the 28 pages. He said that, unlike Kean and Hamilton, he was eager to see the full congressional report declassified and made public, although the 28 pages should be released alongside a list of pertinent excerpts of the 9/11 commission’s final report. “That would show what allegations were and were not proven, so that innocent people are not unfairly maligned,” he said. “It would also show there are issues raised in the 28 pages about the Saudis that are still unresolved to this day.” Asked on Thursday if he had any comment on Lehman’s claim about individuals working for the Saudi government, White House press secretary Josh Earnest gave a two word answer: “I don’t.”

In a low-boy tractor application, you would want the just introduced heavy duty 13-speed mDrive (a rebadged Volvo I-Shift AMT with crawler gears). The weak link is, it's a single countershaft design, AND it's designed so that you can't work on it.....literally (you have to do remans). http://www.macktrucks.com/~/media/files/brochures/mack_mdrive_hd_crawl_sellsht.ashx?as=1 * Old hands, note that Volvo's Mack brand mDrive HD sales brochure doesn't list any gear ratios! AND, regarding the legacy Maxitorque transmissions from the former Mack Trucks, Volvo doesn't even offer a brochure anymore (http://www.macktrucks.com/powertrain-and-suspensions/transmissions/maxitorque/). Just a brief mention......no picture much less a promotional video. Truth be told, with the introduction of the vocational I-Shift, Volvo can't wait to phase out the Maxitorque transmissions.

It's sounds like you're speaking of this..........http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44493-roadside-access-to-worldwide-expertise/#comment-328684

Business Wire / May 12, 2016 Chinese truckmaker JAC on May 10 completed delivery of a US$274 million order for 5,239 heavy trucks to Venezuela. On the morning of May 10th, the final shipment arrived into the South American country. In July 2014, JAC signed purchase contract with Venezuela’s land transport department and CORPOVEX S.A. for tractors, dump trucks and water tankers. It is the largest Chinese truck export order to date. JAC has been active in Venezuela since 2006 selling primarily light and medium trucks. Note: JAC is producing light truck engines under license from Navistar's Brazilian MWM engine subsidiary. .

We offered some heavy axles in Australia. .

MAN Truck & Bus Press Release / May 11, 2016 Driving made safe with active roll stabilization Continuous damping control (CDC) enables rolling and pitching movements to be stabilized using the continuously variable electronic control of the shock absorber hardness. This prevents the development of rolling and pitching movements while cornering, changing lanes and braking. .

MAN Truck & Bus Press Release / May 11, 2016 The second generation of MAN EfficientCruise is a GPS-controlled cruise control and enables an anticipatory driving strategy, thanks to automatic speed control incorporating optimised gear selection that takes into account crests, downhill and uphill stretches. The result in all operating ranges is a pattern of speed that achieves the lowest fuel consumption. .

MAN Truck & Bus Press Release / May 11, 2016 Braking and moving-off functions for off-road operation The electronic brake system for off-road operation improves handling in difficult terrain. Besides the paver brake, the hill holder and ASR functions for simplified moving-off as well as ABS for off-road operation for braking on loose surfaces and the turning brake are described here. .

MAN Truck & Bus Press Release / May 11, 2016 Intelligent braking and moving off with networked systems The electronic brake system EBS enables the optimization of braking and moving-off procedures of commercial vehicles. The anti-lock braking system keeps the vehicle directionally stable even under emergency braking conditions and can reduce the braking distance. ASR prevents the drive wheels from spinning when moving off and accelerating. .