SAE International's Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress Set for Sept. 13-14

WARRENDALE, Pa., Aug. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- SAE International's Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress is set for Sept. 13-14 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois, featuring two-days of technical sessions, hands-on technology displays and networking among industry leaders and innovators.

Executive Leadership for the event is being provided by Daimler Trucks North America LLC in the form of Executive Co-Chairs Dr. Wilfried Achenbach, senior vice president of engineering and technology and Landon K. Grogan, director of engineering services and vehicle integration.

The Daimler team developed a theme for this year's event centered on "Global Technologies for CO2 Reduction and Fuel Economy Improvement on Commercial Trucks and Buses." This theme has a significant bottom line impact for commercial vehicle end users.

"The SAE Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress is one of the few arenas where we can really exchange opinions and have open discussion without falling into those traps where we are not allowed to talk about competitive issues," said Achenbach.  "This is very important for us as individuals, companies and a collective industry."

Added Grogan, "For nine years, we as an industry have been facing emissions regulations and technology implementation that have been driving up our costs as well as the price to our customers for our products. And from the customer's perspective, they could not necessarily see any improvement on their business side.  Now we're moving into an era of greenhouse gas regulations that will hopefully have the effect of increasing fuel economy so that there is a business advantage for our customers. That is quite a change for our industry and that will be reflected in this event."

Martin Daum, president and CEO of Daimler Trucks North America LLC, will offer a keynote address during the Industry Keynote and Awards Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 14. His presentation will revolve around the event theme on reduction of greenhouse gases and improved fuel efficiency.

"With President Obama's recent announcement regarding new fuel efficiency standards that will apply to heavy duty truck model years 2014 to 2018, the timing of Daimler's theme for COMVEC 2011 could not have been scripted more appropriately," said Greg Muha, manager of SAE's Commercial Vehicle Sector.  "The White House is saying that these new standards will save businesses billions of dollars in fuel cost, help reduce oil consumption and cut air pollution.  SAE International members and the companies they work for are right in the thick of things on this issue and in the end; they will play a tremendous role in making this a reality.  Those that attend COMVEC 2011 will have a head start in the race to that finish line."

A new featured activity at the SAE 2011 Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress is "The Daimler Truck Experience." Attendees can experience the efficiency of Daimler commercial vehicles firsthand by participating in "The Daimler Truck Experience" which will operate each day from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. A Thomas Built hybrid bus will shuttle attendees from the convention center to the closed driving course where this activity will take place.

Other highlights of the SAE 2011 Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress include four Executive Panel discussions on:

• Engine and engine component manufacturers' challenges to meet CO2 reduction and fuel economy improvement goals. Panel will be moderated by Achenbach.
• Challenges in the commercial vehicle arena relative to the need for improved fuel economy. Panel will be moderated by Grogan.
• Military-Defense Focus: commercial vehicle integration for military bases and homeland defense applications. Panel will be moderated by Paul Skalny, director of the National Automotive Center U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC).
• Electronics increasing role in improving fuel economy, fuel efficiency and reducing greenhouse gasses. Panel will be moderated by Dr. Larry Kendrick, senior principal technical consultant at The Mathworks.

For more information on the event, visit http://www.sae.org/comvec. To request press credentials for the event, email [email protected] or call 1-724-772-8522.

SAE International is a global association of more than 128,000 engineers and related technical experts in the aerospace, automotive and commercial-vehicle industries. SAE International's core competencies are life-long learning and voluntary consensus standards development. SAE International's charitable arm is the SAE Foundation, which supports many programs, including A World In Motion® and the Collegiate Design Series.  Visit SAE International's website at http://www.sae.org/  for additional information.

Contact: Shawn Andreassi of SAE International, 1-724-772-8522 or [email protected]

SOURCE SAE International