Exhibitor numbers were down, interest in Luvata was up
In November Luvata participated in the Automotive Aftermarket Producers Expo (AAPEX), which takes place every year in Las Vegas and where the traditional National Automotive Radiator Service Association (NARSA) convention now plays an integrated part.
One of the many visitors at the Luvata booth was José Quinones, President of Proveedora de Herramientas y Accesorios para Radiador (PHAR) in Monterrey, Mexico. Climex World, a wholly owned subsidiary of PHAR, has invested in a new factory just outside Monterrey for their CuproBraze® production line. All of the new equipment is installed and they are working on the final adjustments. The first new CuproBraze product off the line is expected to be charge air coolers for heavy trucks.
Fr left: Linda Quinones, Ulf Anvin, José Quinones, CEO of PHAR and Climex World, José Quinones jr. and Peter Morsing of Luvata, Sweden.
Expo Recap
Ulf Anvin, Market Segment Manager with the Luvata Sales, Inc. in Bloomingdale, Illinois, has many years of experience with Engine cooling solutions in the North American market. Anvin indicates, “There were fewer exhibitors than previous years in the NARSA part of AAPEX, but a larger percentage of Chinese and Korean exhibitors. The number of visitors interested in Luvata’s products and technologies was surprisingly high and with so many additional products available during the ‘Automotive week’ it seemed as though more international visitors from South America, Europe and Asia were drawn to Las Vegas this year.”
Hopeful outlook for 2010
Talking about the North American market Ulf Anvin says that 2009 was a very tough year for his customers, but he is hopeful the situation will be better in 2010.
“In 2009 customers had to deal with sales that went down dramatically, while at the same time the expectations from their customers increased. Without any delivery forecasts our customers were expected to deliver finished products with a lead time down to just two weeks, in combination with high material prices and low raw material inventories. This changed the whole business model for many of our customers.”
Ulf Anvin continues, “As we begin 2010 the market is still trying to find its direction. Customers who have been able to qualify for the military segment are holding up well, while the domestic production of off-highway and agricultural vehicles is still depressed. Customers involved in generator sets and other diesel engine applications are waiting for the decisions concerning the pollution control regulations for 2011 engines. They expect 2010 to be a year with a lot of ‘prototype building’ with current production volumes.”
Ulf Anvin and Karin Hansen, Sales Manager
Anvin concludes, “What appears to be the bright spot in the market, is the aftermarket. With lower investments in new trucks and construction equipment the need to replace heat exchangers will increase during the hot summer.”
Three production facilities
In addition to the Luvata Sales office near Chicago, Luvata has three manufacturing locations that supply the North American Engine Cooling market including Finspång in Sweden, Zutphen in the Netherlands, and Buffalo, New York in the U.S.