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Do you know what is stopping you?

19th March 1983, Page 36
19th March 1983
Page 36
Page 37
Page 36, 19th March 1983 — Do you know what is stopping you?
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Bendix is very worried by the number of badly reconditioned brake units that are being returned to it for overhaul. Tim Blakemore has been hearing some horror stories WHEN ANY original equipment manufacturer begins to complain about the standard of work of rival reconditioners — the ones they call spurious — it must expect cries of "sour grapes" from some quarters.

Bendix, the Bristol-based manufacturer of air brake systems and equipment, was prepared for that when it began to advise operators of the potential dangers involved in using non-genuine service exchange air brake components, but it considers the subject to be too important to back away from just because to highlight it might attract cynical criticism.

Brian Parsons, Bendix publicity manager, keeps a file of newspaper cuttings with headlines such as "Death lorry's brakes were faulty" and "Lorry brakes efficient". and the macabre statement at the front of this file informs everyone who reads it that "44,400 children were killed or injured in road accidents in Great Britain during 1981."

"If one of those casualties was caused through a faulty braking system, it is one too many in our view," said Brian, with obvious sincerity.

What really concerns Bendix is the condition of some of the badly reconditioned units that are eventually returned to Bristol for overhaul. Spring brake actuators are the main villains of the piece and Brian can tell horror stories of anti-explosion washers having been replaced by mild steel washers (totally unsuitable, and dangerous) and even of a broken main spring having been welded and refitted.

He has also seen a reconditioned side-by-side type foot valve which was so out of balance that 3 0 psi was the minimum pressure at one side and there was no air pressure at all at the other. Since most brake applications are used to gently slow a commercial vehicle and require a pressure of less than 25psi, quite apart from the dangerous imbalance, this vehicle's brakes would have had quite frightening characteristics. hese are extreme cases. Often the difference between a reconditioned and a remanufactured unit (that is, one reconditioned by its original manufacturer) is not so easy to spot. A reconditioned spring brake actuator might, for example, have had a used main spring refitted to it. Bendix admits that, even so, the chances are that the spring will not fail in service. But it just might, and that is a chance that Bendix for one is not prepared to take.

"If we know the kind of work any given vehicle is doing, that is short haul, multi-drop delivery, or long distance, for example, we could predict fairly accurately what the life expectancy of a spring would be. All springs have a finite life. But nobody can tell you how long a used spring will last the second time around without knowing how long it has been in service, and what its work cycle has been. That is why we always fit new springs to remanufactured spring brake units."

Though Bendix is long established as one of the two leading suppliers of original equipment air-braking equipment in the country (the other being Clayton Dewandre), it was not until 1980 that it became seriously involved in remanufactu ring.

That was when the Aftermar ket Division was set up and the premises at Fishponds (separate from Bendix's main Kingswood, Bristol plant), were first occupied.

The move followed a market survey which convinced the Bendix management that the company needed to abandon the small-scale service exchange scheme it operated at that time and move seriously into remanufacturing.

There were strong commercial reasons for doing so. The price of new units had reached a level that made them uncompetitive when compared with the steadily increasing number of reconditioned units available.

Moreover, the number of brake equipment manufacturers on the scene was also on the increase and Bendix's market share was beginning to fall.

A market requirement for low price, high quality remanufactured products was identified and judging by the way this part of Bendix's business has grown, the decision was the right one.

The 70 Bendix employees at the Fishponds plant currently remanufacture around 1,000 units a week, three quarters of which are spring brake actuators. The remainder are compressors, control valves and air driers.

Allowing for probably a broadly similar number of remanufactured units coming from Clayton Dewandre that leaves a substantial number of the estimated 100,000 replacement spring brake actuators which are sold in the UK each year coming from other sources — many of which, Bendix is convinced, have inferior quality control.

The full retail price of a new spring brake unit will be about £100, though many operators will pay a lot less than that after discount. A unit that has been remanufactured by Bendix (or Clayton) will sell for about f40 — a price that reflects the keen competition to supply these fastmoving items.

Surprisingly, the final selling price of spurious reconditioned units are not always very much less than the oe manufacturers' products, though they are likely to be cheaper to produce, and generally sell to motor factors for between 5 and 30 per cent less than the Bendix of Clayton product.

It is clear then that certain motor factors are enjoying an artificially high profit margin on these spring brakes and when some of them look remarkably (and perhaps illegally) similar to the genuine articles (Bendix and Clayton both paint their remanufactured units in distinctive colours, the Bendix one being a gold hammer finish) it is not easy for a busy fleet operator to know exactly what he is buying.

Many a fleet engineer would tell you that he has had sterling service from various so-called spurious replacement parts but I am sure that no responsible engineer would be able to sleep at night with the thought that one of his vehicles might be fitted with a braking system component that was sub-standard.

As far as replacement brake parts are concerned the best advice I've heard is: "If in doubt, don't use it."


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