Pick your part

Automechanika Johannesburg 2015 attracted the biggest and best from the automotive aftermarket supply arena. In fact, over 600 exhibitors packed the halls at the Johannesburg Expo Centre …

We could never bring you news on each and every one of the over 600 companies, but there were a few notable developments at the show that are very important indeed.

The first of these is the local launch by ZF of its Lemförder brand, which falls into the ZF Services portfolio under the guidance of Fabio Dinino. (Incidentally, ZF Services won a Gold Award for excellence in stand design and construction at Automechanika 2015.)

Worldwide, Lemförder is a strong and well-established brand in the independent spare parts arena. The company was founded in 1947 and taken over by ZF in 1984.

“Launching Lemförder is an exciting event for ZF. These are original equipment (OE)-quality replacement parts,” says Dinino. It’s interesting to note that more than 50 vehicle manufacturers use Lemförder components as OE.

“Lemförder quality also equals safety; we don’t compromise on either,” Dinino continues. “We supply safety-critical components. Defects on these components can be both dangerous and expensive. We meet all European quality standards and guarantee that high-quality materials are used and that quality checks are undertaken at every point of assembly. The manufacturing facilities are fully automated to reduce the chance of defects. Lemförder components provide phenomenal wear characteristics.”

The Lemförder product range is being launched to the South African market in three phases for both light- and heavy-duty applications. Phase one – launching now – will serve selected vehicles from the major European passenger vehicle brands.

Phase two – launching in the third quarter of 2015 – will cater to the commercial vehicle industry. Phase three will introduce parts for more European, Japanese and Korean passenger vehicles.

“Our focus is to provide a complete vehicle repair and replacement solution. The approach is to begin with fast-moving, vehicle-specific parts,” explains Dinino. To begin with, 1 600 parts in the light- and heavy-duty categories will be launched. Ultimately Dinino expects to offer around 10 000 components.

“We’ve identified areas where there are large volumes of vehicles, and started there as a launch platform. So, in Phase two, for commercials, we’ll introduce parts for Iveco, MAN, Mercedes-Benz, Scania and Volvo/Renault. As we get fleet information from our customers, we will expand the range and bring in additional components.”

According to ZF, Lemförder steering parts, for instance, have prevailed in the truck and bus market thanks to their zero maintenance, low weight, individual and space-saving design, as well as long service life. Its chassis components are said to increase payload, reduce fuel consumption, and optimise driving support.

All Lemförder replacement parts carry a 12-month/unlimited mileage warranty, irrespective of vehicle or application.

“Where we have an OE offering we’ll also have an aftermarket offering of both complete repair and replacement kits, as well as individual components,” concludes Dinino.

From replacement parts to lighting components, Torre Automotive was keen to “light the show” with its VisionX range of mining, military, engineering, industrial, security, agricultural and off-road LED lights.

“VisionX, a brand from the United States (US), has the biggest range of LED lights in the world. They are well suited to the harsh conditions typically found in industrial and mining environments and are used by numerous organisations around the world, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the US,” says Leonard Chester, product manager of Torre Automotive.

According to Chester, LED lights provide a 70-percent reduction in power consumption over current conventional lighting systems. “There is a 26-percent increase in light output and an 80-percent decrease in light pollution based on stray light lost into the surroundings areas.”

He adds: “LED lamps also reduce CO2 emissions. Changing just one single conventional bulb to an LED bulb can keep half-a-ton of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. What’s more, LEDs are 98-percent recyclable.”

Also at the show, with exciting news, was Tenneco South Africa, which manufactures Monroe and Rancho-branded shock absorbers locally. The company announced an agreement with Bridgestone South Africa Retail, which sees Monroe becoming the exclusive supplier of shock absorbers to Bridgestone’s 240 SupaQuick stores nationwide.

“Our wide range of suspension products includes shock absorbers for passenger, off-road and commercial vehicles, as well as protection kits, mounting kits, steering dampers and MaxLift and Monroe Springs,” says Philip Lutz, marketing manager aftermarket ride control, southern Africa.

“We have shock applications covering one of the widest range of vehicles in South Africa, aided by the fact that Monroe is the only approved local supplier of shock absorbers to the new car manufactures in the country,” he adds.

South Africa benefits from the experience of the Monroe Engineering and Technology Centre (METC) in St Truiden, Belgium, one of Tenneco’s global research and development and advanced engineering hubs.

Tenneco’s fully integrated, electronically linked global engineering and manufacturing facilities use advanced engineering and test capabilities to provide product reliability, endurance and performance. These full-service engineering and development centres span five continents and allow Monroe to bring new products and the latest technologies to market quickly.

Supplier development manager for Bridgestone South Africa Retail, Martin Kieser says: “World-leading quality and after-sales service is how I would describe the Bridgestone South Africa Retail and Tenneco partnership.

Having the best quality product available, at one of the biggest aftermarket automotive fitment centres, benefits the consumer and instils ‘peace of mind’. This partnership is also a clear indication of the company’s commitment to our customers, both internal and external.”

Through its newly formed division – Bridgestone Commercial – the Bridgestone Group was also one of the valued sponsors of the FOCUS Conference and Truck Test Results function – one of the many functions that took place at Automechanika Johannesburg this year. You can read all about it on page 10.