Whenever I visit foodservice manufacturers'' factories or trade shows, I am amazed at how little engineers--the people charged with designing and improving equipment--know about the realities of how customers use and maintain equipment.Some of the blame must fall directly on manufacturers for not providing their engineers more opportunities to make field trips and site visits to operating kitchens. How many manufacturers ask their engineers and designers actually to work inside a busy kitchen for a few days so that they can fully appreciate how their equipment is used and cared for? Have you ever seen an engineer observing a service agency trying to fix the equipment they designed? Do they recognize the challenges service folks face everyday? It is clear that learning and understanding from the manufacturers'' side could be greatly improved, but receiving an education from purchasers and users is equally important.

Today, the HVAC system components are spread throughout the engine compartment, exposing them to high heat and vibration. The automotive alternator and HVAC components are often among the top five product reliability issues cited for both construction equipment and on-highway trucks.The newly developed MorElectric HVAC module system combines all the HVAC components into a new module that uses an electrically powered, hermetically sealed compressor. "Packaging all the components together," Orr said, "also allows the use of rigid refrigerant tubing, and eliminates refrigerant permeation through the hoses. We expect to achieve a 5x improvement in reliability and a 3x improvement in durability over current air conditioning systems as used in trucks and construction equipment today." The HVAC module removes the condenser from the radiator area of the engine compartment, providing more physical space, as well as eliminating the air conditioning thermal load from the radiator air stream. Cat estimates its new modular HVAC also eliminates as many as 65 parts. Field service thus becomes a simple replacement function. The module can be swapped out in less than an hour, allowing customers to quickly get back up and running, and returned to revenue service.

Just look at the new Central Commodity System (CCS) for planters and air seeders. CCS bulk tanks carry up to 100 bushels of seed, and have a central location for quick bulk refilling, so you can make the most of short planting windows.Pro-Series[TM] Row-Units, available on all CCS planters, use a maintenance-free Pro-shaft[TM] drive system for smoother operation and greater reliability. Each of our new air seeders uses the unique 90 Series Opener to put the seed right where you want it, acre after acre, in heavy residue, bare beds, and everything in between.

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