Eaton Corp. has announced the sale of its Vorad (vehicle on-board radar) system to Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC. The Vorad collision warning system is radar-based and used by commercial vehicle original equipment manufacturers, major trucking fleets and specialty vehicle manufacturers, Bendix said.
“The Vorad product name and product technologies will complement our existing portfolio of safety technologies, including Bendix ESP Electronic Stability Program and our Adaptive Cruise Control,” Scott Burkhart, vp & gm of Bendix’s controls business, told FleetOwner. “The addition of Vorad – including Smartcruise, Blindspotter, and Backspotter technologies – helps to support our customers with both passive and active safety systems.”
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Bendix said that the system would maintain the Vorad name, in addition to the Smartcruise, Blindspotter, and Backspotter brand names. Burkhart noted that customer preference remains a key driver in technology use, and the Vorad product name and product technologies complement Bendix’s existing safety technologies portfolio.
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“Bendix is firmly committed to improving the safety on our nation’s highways; to reducing the number of fatalities and serious injuries in commercial vehicle related accidents; and to providing an economic payback to our end-users, through a complete range of foundation brake and electronics-based safety systems,” Burkhart added. “This move is another important step in our overall business growth plan.”
As part of the agreement, Eaton’s Roadranger marketing organization will continue to market and support the Vorad system in North America to OEMs, fleets and in the commercial vehicle aftermarket. However, Burkhart noted that Roadranger will only represent the Vorad product line, and Bendix’s other electronics-based safety technologies will continue to be represented in the marketplace by the Bendix sales team.
The Vorad system will not be the only collision warning system provided by Bendix. The company also offers the X-Vision collision avoidance system in the aftermarket. According to Burkhart, X-Vision is an infrared vision system that extends nighttime visibility from 350 feet using standard beam headlights to 1,500 feet. He said it was developed specifically for trucks, buses and other commercial vehicles.
The move is the second safety technology acquisition for Bendix in the past month, as the company acquired SmarTire Systems Inc. in December, immediately incorporating SmarTire’s assets into its electronics business unit.
