MADRID, Spain, May 10, 2006 – Tenneco Inc., manufacturer of Monroe® shock absorbers, was awarded yesterday the Innovation Award for its Expert Suspension Tester at the Motortec show in Madrid,. Developed in conjunction with Actia Muller Services, this new suspension tester allows professionals to rapidly assess the condition of a shock absorber to help provide greater safety on the roads.
“We are extremely pleased to be recognized with this award” said Alex Gelbcke, Vice President Aftermarket Europe. “Thanks to our collaboration with Actia Muller Services, we developed a suspension tester that allows us to quickly diagnose worn shock absorbers.”
The award, given out in the category of Equipment and Tools for Worshops and Installers, was judged by a panel of leading experts from technological centers, university technical institutes, consultancies and the technical media. Criteria for the award were the testers' innovation, functionality and optimum design and quality.
The new Expert Suspension Tester consists of a low-profile adjustable measurement bench onto which the vehicle is driven for a test. The three-minute test is designed to analyze the response of the shock absorber around the resonance frequency – the most critical frequency in terms of road holding. The results from this test are used to diagnose if the shock absorber is worn and needs to be replaced.
The Expert Suspension Tester has been subject to numerous tests at the Monroe Engineering & Technical Center in St. Truiden, and its efficiency has been further evaluated during road shows in France. Eight mobile testers were used with a range of French customers including distributors, wholesalers, installers, fast fitters and auto centers. During 400 diagnostic days, more than 4000 cars were inspected and 16,000 shock absorbers checked. Out of these tests, 39% of the cars inspected in France revealed worn shock absorbers.
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Tenneco is a $4.7 billion manufacturing company with headquarters in Lake Forest, Illinois and approximately 19,000 employees worldwide. Tenneco is one of the world's largest designers, manufacturers and marketers of emission control and ride control products and systems for the automotive original equipment market and the aftermarket. Tenneco markets its products principally under the Monroe®, Walker®, Fonos®, Gillet™ and Clevite® Elastomer brand names. Actia Muller Services with headquarters in Luce in France was created on the 22nd of October 2003 as a result of a merger between Meiga and Muller Bem, recently bought out by the Actia group. With 180 employees to satisfy the needs of 20,000 customers worldwide, the company has been involved in car repair for almost one century. First with the brand Muller Bem which was created in 1919 and then with the tools of its mother company, Actia is a pioneer in electronic diagnosis. |