TUCSON, Arizona, October 10, 2007
Walbro Engine Management Announces Plans To Expand Its Multi-Layer Fuel Tank Production Capabilities To Meet Growing Demand
Walbro Engine Management has announced plans to increase production capacity for its industry-leading multi-layer fuel tank technology to meet increasing customer demand in the global small engine industry.
"Walbro currently supplies tank systems and tank 'shells' to customers throughout the world, including the US, China and Taiwan," said Tony Martin, President and Chief Executive Officer, Walbro Engine Management. "We are now in the process of installing additional blow molding capacity in our US facilities with future plans for production in Asia. With this new equipment Walbro will be able to produce multi-layered tanks with capacities of up to 12 gallons, allowing Walbro’s customers to meet the industries’ evaporative emissions standards.”
"Unlike other low permeation technologies which must be certified, Walbro's multi-layer, co-extruded tank technology provides superior low permeation results, and the technology has been approved by both CARB and USEPA for many years. In fact it has been exempt from CARB's evaporative emissions certification requirements from the inception of the regulations. This well established and proven technology also meets USEPA Design Based Certification requirements allowing our customers to avoid costly and time consuming validation and testing. Commercial production of low cost multi-layer, co-extruded tanks is well-established and has been successfully used in the automotive industry for well over a decade," Martin noted.
"As a result, we have made significant inroads into the lawn & garden, recreational vehicle and construction industries with our multi-layer tank systems. Stricter environmental legislation is moving the industry to look for leading, cost effective technologies which address not only today’s evaporative emissions standards but those for the next 10 years and beyond."
"Walbro’s blow molded, six-layer extrusion process provides the optimal low cost evaporative emission’s solution," according to Martin. "It not only outperforms current standards but also exceeds the requirements for future regulations. Walbro tanks provide high value while achieving permeation levels less than 0.05 grams/square meter/day. Other benefits of this technology are excellent wear resistance from external abrasions and internal scuffing from fuel lines and tank filters compared to secondary coatings such as fluorination, best-in-class permeation resistance for alcohol fuels such as E85 and other fuel blends with oxygenates and excellent impact resistance compared with other plastic compounds and coating systems."
Walbro Engine Management is a global market leader of engine management systems for the lawn and garden, recreational and marine, outdoor power equipment, and two-wheel small engine markets. Walbro Engine Management manufactures ignition systems, fuel injection, air/fuel management systems and fuel storage and distribution systems. Walbro Engine Management is a global organization with manufacturing and engineering facilities in China, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Thailand and the United States, with headquarters in Tucson, Arizona. Additional information regarding Walbro Engine Management is available at www.walbro.com.
For more editorial information, please contact:
Ann M. Guernsey
Walbro Engine Management
(520) 877-3000