Meijer Fleet Begins Using A-LINE CL-20 Greasable Air Disc Pin Kit

The list of major fleets that are using the A-LINE® CL-20™ greasable guide pin kit to upgrade their air disc calipers has grown to include the midwest retail giant, Meijer.

Representatives from A-LINE® Air Disc and Vanguard National Trailer met with the maintenance team at Meijer’s fleet maintenance facility in Lansing, Michigan September 14 to begin training them on how to upgrade Bendix® and Knorr Bremse® calipers, so they could be greasable during preventive maintenance cycles.

“Like most fleets, Meijer has been plagued with calipers failing prematurely due to seized guide pins,” says John Kelvin, Vice President of Business and Product Development, manufacturer of the A-LINE® CL-20™ guide pin kit. Guide pins fail prematurely because OE calipers do not allow lubrication during PM cycles. This results in insufficient lubrication in high temperature environments. Testing shows the wheel end temperatures exceed 1,500° F, while OE grease only withstands 500°F.

The CL-20™ guide pin kit is engineered to allow each guide pin to receive grease through a specially designed cap and
hydraulic stop valve. The grease flows into specially-engineered channels in the guide pins until it reaches a specified back pressure that forces the stop valve to open and prevents over-greasing. This design, coupled with A-LINE's Max-A-Sil 998™caliper grease (withstands heat of 998°F) doubles guide pin life, says Kelvin.

Meijer boasts a fleet of more than 300 tractors and 1,400 trailers that are equipped with air disc, says Kelvin. “We began the training by taking a brand-new Bendix® ADB22x® caliper and converting the pin systems to the CL-20™ greasable pin kit,” he says.

Meijer first learned of the revolutionary maintenance alternative from Colin Slade, Regional Sales Manager for Vanguard National Trailer. Vanguard is a nation-wide distributor of the CL-20 continuous lubrication guide pin kit, and A-LINE’s full product line of air disc pads, rotors, chambers and remanufactured calipers.

“When I heard about the seized caliper problem, I knew this was their solution,” says Slade.

During the hour-long training session, the maintenance team paid particular attention to the installation of the new kit, and were also pleased to learn they could receive the new guide pin kit in remanufactured calipers available from ACR Air Disc through Vanguard.

Kelvin says fleets throughout North America have expressed intense interest in the CL-20 kit. Current versions of the kit are designed for ADB22x and SK7 applications. He expects additional models to suit other manufacturers' calipers later this year.

For more information on how the CL-20 greaseable pin kit could improve air disc caliper life in your fleet, contact John Kelvin at 844-4AIR-DISC (844-424-7347).

About Meijer:

Meijer is a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer that operates more than 235 supercenters and grocery stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin. A privately-owned and family-operated company since 1934, Meijer pioneered the “one-stop shopping” concept has evolved through the years to include expanded fresh produce and meat departments, as well as pharmacies, comprehensive apparel departments, pet departments, garden centers, toys and electronics. Additional information on Meijer can be found at www.meijer.com. Follow Meijer on Twitter @twitter.com/Meijer and @twitter.com/MeijerPR or become a fan at www.facebook.com/meijer

About ACR Air Disc:

ACR Holdings, Inc. is owned by MAVAL and specializes in the innovation, manufacture, and distribution of air disc pads, chambers, rotors, remanufactured calipers, as well as other air disc accessories. It distributes its products under the brand name A-LINE® with distribution throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. The company is headquartered in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada with offices in Canada and the USA. Additional information can be found at www.ACRairdisc.com.

About Vanguard National Trailer Corp.:

Vanguard National Trailer Corp. manufactures dry freight and refrigerated, semi-trailer vans for the North American transportation industry. Vanguard offers composite sidewall as well as sheet and post dry van models, and, truckload, grocery and multi-temp refrigerated trailer models. Vanguard sells equipment and aftermarket parts through a well-developed network of independent trailer and parts distributors while also working directly with major trucking fleets. Every Vanguard trailer is designed and built to include premium performance features that provide valuable operational savings and years of trouble-free service. Additional information can be found at www.vanguardtrailer.com.

* ADB22x and SK7 are trademarks of Bendix and Knorr Bremse corporations, respectively. A-LINE and CL-20 are trademarks of ACR Holdings, Inc. Bendix and Knorr Bremse are registered trademarks of their respective corporations. The use of their names or their products in this article implies no ownership or affiliation with ACR Holdings, Inc.