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	Fleetguard's New Air Intake Systems
	16 MAY 05 -- In response to the growing trend of smaller engine compartments and the need to reduce maintenance and operating vehicle costs, Fleetguard Inc. is releasing a new line of patented air intake technology called OptiAir™ systems. The state-of-the-art technology addresses key requirements of all global original equipment manufacturers, including: • Smaller air systems to address shrinking engine compartments • Longer filter life to extend service intervals • Integrated precleaner to help extend filter life • Lower system restriction to deliver maximum engine performance • Reduced maintenance time to increase vehicle uptime "OptiAir™ addresses all these requirements in delivering up to 50% longer filter life and up to 60% lower system restriction, all in a smaller package size than other existing radial seal air systems," said John Rees, Global Air Filtration Product Manager for Fleetguard. "OptiAir™ is the next level in technology development for air intake design and systems." According to Rees, "The new OptiAir™ design is the result of listening to our customers. Customers said they needed smaller systems with longer service intervals and lower system restriction to address Tier 3 engine applications. With a complete line of OptiAir™ systems to address these applications in both medium and heavy duty work environments, we're excited about how this new line will be received by our customers and the market in general." Two key design elements in OptiAir™ technology are increasing both the effective filter media area of the filter and increasing the outlet area. The effect of these design elements results in delivering significantly higher capacity while reducing the initial restriction of the system. In the OptiAir™ systems, the effective media area has been increased up to 30%, and the outlet area has been increased up to 60% versus conventional radial seal designs. These improvements dramatically improve the overall performance of the systems and allow the system to handle a broader range of CFM flow requirements present in most new Tier 3 engine applications, Rees explained. The new line includes seven different air intake systems handling engine requirements from 50 to 1100 CFM. Each system is available with or without a safety element and the smaller systems, Series 400, 500, 600, and 800, provide outlet options of either a straight or 90 degree elbow. An air precleaner is incorporated in every OptiAir™ system to help increase the overall filter life. In certified test laboratory conditions using "real world" operating environments, OptiAir™ systems were tested for restriction, capacity, vibration, impact, assembly, backfire, clamp testing and filter durability in competitive tests using other conventional radial seal designs. The results proved that OptiAir™ consistently outperformed all other comparable products on the market, Rees said. Additional features designed into the OptiAir™ systems include a user-friendly Twist-lock cover design and a service label incorporated in the cover of the housing. The Twist-lock feature allows the system to be serviced easily and eliminates the possibility of cover clips breaking or rusting during operation. The service label allows the technician to easily determine what filter element is needed to service the system by showing the replacement filter element part numbers on the label. According to Rees, "we made the OptiAir ™ systems easy to service by technicians and reduced the maintenance time required." The new OptiAir™ systems will start to be released in March of 2005. All seven systems, representing 22 different potential design applications, will be released by the end of the year. Fleetguard Inc. is a wholly owned business unit of Cummins Inc. and the world's leading designer and manufacturer of heavy-duty air, fuel, hydraulic and lube filtration, chemicals and exhaust system technology products for diesel and gas powered equipment. Fleetguard cares about maintaining a cleaner, healthier, and safer environment. Going beyond compliance, Fleetguard proactively seeks improvements to products and processes and offers environmentally friendlier product choices for all major engine systems. Fleetguard's homepage on the Internet can be found at www.fleetguard.com. In North America, customers can call Fleetguard Customer Assistance at 1-800-22FILTER (1-800-223-4583) for more information.