Great Dane this year is celebrating 120 years of delivering innovation, premium service and quality equipment.
The anniversary celebration included a special display showcasing the company’s history in the transportation industry at the 2020 Technology and Maintenance Council (TMC) Annual Meeting and Transportation Technology Exhibition in Atlanta GA.
“For 120 years, Great Dane has been committed to providing its customers with the premium products and services they need to get the job done,” said Chris Hammond, Great Dane’s executive vice president of sales.
Great Dane’s TMC exhibit featured three pieces of equipment— a 53-foot Champion Composite dry van trailer, a 48-foot Champion Sheet-and-Post dry van designed for Transervice, and a 20-foot Sahara dry freight truck body—and highlighted recent innovations like its FleetPulse smart trailer telematics system, Streamline aerodynamics prototype, AdvantEDGE Aftermarket Parts and Service program, and Pre-Owned Trailers program.
“Innovation is one of the many keys to our 120-year legacy of success,” Hammond said. “By keeping our eyes on current trends and keeping our ears open to what our customers are asking for, we have been able to identify problems and create innovative solutions. The latest of these solutions being our FleetPulse telematics system and our Streamline aerodynamics prototype.”
FleetPulse is a fully integrated, comprehensive solution for trailers, and is the first and only trailer telematics system developed by a trailer OEM. Great Dane teamed with supply partners and customers to ensure the system and the data it provides are robust and capable of adapting to shifting needs and trends, Great Dane said. Beyond simply a GPS, FleetPulse’s system of built-in sensors collects precise measurements from the trailer’s components, keeping watch over key indicators of a trailer’s health and status, such as tire inflation systems, open doors, cargo weight, burned-out lights, ABS fault codes and actual mileage.
“FleetPulse is laying the foundation for technologies beyond telematics,” said Mike Molitor, Great Dane’s director of business development. “The transformational shifts that will occur in our industry, such as autonomy, electrification and smart distribution centers, will require the trailer to be designed and wired differently than it is today.
“We’ve built FleetPulse with these technological advances in mind.”
Streamline is a simple, lightweight and fuel-efficient aerodynamics prototype designed to improve profitability and efficiency for long-haul trailer fleets. It is designed for 53-foot dry or refrigerated trailers and includes aerodynamic side skirts, rear fairings and mud flaps. The rear fairings are mounted on the sides of the trailer, so they are compatible with either roll-up or swing doors.
“The Streamline system was created to make the jobs of key fleet employees, including maintenance managers and drivers, easier,” Lee said. “We designed a simple, easy-to-maintain system that not only meets advanced aerodynamic requirements for regulations in 2021 and beyond but is also capable of improving fuel efficiency by more than 7%.”
Great Dane’s AdvantEDGE Aftermarket Parts and Service program connects members to a nationwide network of authorized service locations. Members have access to 24-hour emergency roadside assistance, controlled ordering and invoicing, up-front estimates, competitive labor rates, and signature parts price protection.
The company also recently bolstered its Pre-Owned Trailers program, which utilizes its nationwide network of branches and dealerships to help customers quickly and easily expand or reduce their fleets to meet business demands.
“No matter what challenges we have faced during our long tenure, we have never wavered in our commitment to providing the highest-quality products on the market, using the finest components, and true American craftsmanship,” Hammond said.