Mack Trucks is hitting October, like, well, a Mack truck. The Greensboro, N.C.-based manufacturer has unloaded a flurry of news in the past week to coincide with the American Trucking Associations' Management Conference & Exhibit in San Diego this week.
Here’s a roundup to keep you apprised:
Fuel-efficient fairings
The Mack Anthem can already achieve an impressive 10.4 MPG at the high end, leveraging engineering innovations powered by its MP8HE engine and Mack mDRIVE automated manual transmission. Adding new optional extended fairings to the chassis channels air more smoothly around the rear axles and leads to as much as a 0.5% increase in fuel efficiency, the company said
“The cost of fuel is among the biggest expenses our customers face, which is why we are relentless in our pursuit of ways to improve efficiency,” said Roy Horton, Mack Trucks director of product strategy. “The extended chassis fairings are another tool we have to boost efficiency and help lower our customers’ total cost of ownership.”
Besides saving on fuel costs, the fairings act as steps to improve driver access to the back-of-cab area to access and connect or disconnect trailer air supply lines.
Driver Awareness
For the 19th straight year, Mack sponsor the ATA Share the Road program. Through this series of educational presentations, drivers with more than 1 million accident-free miles serve as industry ambassadors deliver safety talks and demos to students, the media and policy makers to help them understand how to coexist on America’s streets and highways.
The drivers show actual stopping distance, where truckers’ blind spots are, and other critical safety tips, using an Anthem 70-inch Stand Up Sleeper, donated by Mack. The truck also comes loaded with advanced safety tech including the Mack Road Stability Advantage by Bendix to prevent rollovers and jackknifes, and Bendix Wingman Fusion cameras and radar to prevent collisions and alert lane drifting
“This truck is attention-grabbing, which allows our Share the Road professional truck drivers to effectively convey their safety messages to students, young drivers, the media, and the general motoring public,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “We are so appreciative of Mack Trucks for continuing to raise the profile of this important program to help save lives.”
Paint jobs
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so the company has rolled out the Pink Lady , an Anthem painted hot pink to show its support for those affected by breast cancer. One in eight women will develop the invasive form, with 268,600 new cases in 2019 alone. If caught early and the cancer has not spread from the breasts, the five-year survival rate is 99%. So even a small gesture such as pink truck may motivate a woman driving by to make a mammograms appointment.
Mack, which last year donated a Mack Anthem 70-inch Stand Up Sleeper covered in a camouflage wrap to the ATA Workforce Heroes program, announced the truck has visited nine locations, from schools to career fairs to military bases, in pursuit of military veterans to recruit into the trucking industry. Vets get the benefits of good pay, having a meaningful mission, and some much needed private time on long stretches of quiet highway, while fleets get highly trained, loyal employees with excess amounts of grit and stamina.
“Drivers are getting asked questions about trucking while fueling up at truck stops, getting saluted while driving down the road and being asked to take pictures with prospective industry recruits in front of the truck,” said Spears. “This Mack Anthem is creating exactly the type of momentum we hoped to see out of this program and we’re very thankful for Mack Trucks’ support.”
The ATA also announced Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company donated a 2020 4000D-X Composite TBR dry van trailer " emblazoned in veterans recruitment and workforce development images " for the program.
"With almost 1 million veterans in the U.S., the trucking industry is an opportunity for them to easily transition into the workforce," said Craig Bennett, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Utility.
