February
16, 2004 08:00 ET
Gage
Sponsors Clean SAE Snowmobile Challenge
FERNDALE, Mich., April 3 -- Gage Products Company
for the second consecutive year will be the official fuel
sponsor for the fifth annual SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge
at Michigan Technology University (MTU) in Houghton, Mich.
Sixteen student teams from universities in the U.S. and Canada
will compete in the six-day event (March 15 - 20) with snowmobiles
modified to reduce noise and emissions levels. MTU is hosting
the competition for the second consecutive year.
Gage,
a leading global supplier of test fuels, paint solvents and
paint-system recycling programs for the automotive industry,
will provide specially blended fuel for the event and present
an award for best overall fuel economy.
“We
are excited that Gage will again play an important role in
this competition,” said Jay Meldrum, director of the Keweenaw
Research Center, a lead organizer for the program. “Gage will
help to ensure a better playing field for the competitors
by donating specially blended fuels and measuring the fuel
economy of each snowmobile.”
The
goal of the competition is to develop snowmobiles that are
acceptable for use in environmentally sensitive areas. Snowmobiles
entered in the program are required to run quiet and emit
significantly less unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide
than conventional snowmobiles.
Technical
inspections and team check-ins take place on Monday, March
15. An endurance and fuel economy event will be held at Copper
Harbor, Mich., on Tuesday and continue through Wednesday.
Cold start, noise, braking and emissions tests will take place
on Thursday and Friday. Other events include design presentations
and static displays, as well as acceleration and handling
competitions.
Teams
registered for the international competition include United
States entries from Clarkson University (Potsdam, NY), Colorado
State University (Fort Collins), Idaho State University (Pocatello),
Kettering University (Flint, MI), MTU, Minnesota State University
(Mankato), Montana Tech (Butte), SUNY-Buffalo, University
of Maine (Orono), University of Wisconsin-Madison, University
of Wisconsin-Platteville and last year’s winner, University
of Idaho (Moscow). Canadian entries include, Ecole De Technologies
Superieure (Montreal, Québec), McGill University (Montreal,
Québec), University of Alberta (Edmonton, Alberta),
and the University of Waterloo (Waterloo, Ontario).
The
team with the most fuel-efficient snowmobile at the 2004 event
will receive the “Gage Products Best Fuel Economy” award at
a banquet in Houghton on Saturday, March 20.
“Gage
is pleased to be a sponsor of a program that both encourages
student excellence and benefits the environment,” a Gage spokesman said.
“Based on the success of last year’s event, we are expecting
an even better competition this year.”
A
specialist in the production of test fuels for the automotive
industry, Gage has provided its customers with more than 1,000
different test-fuel blends over the past six years. Gage’s
custom-fuel customers include Bosch, Visteon, TI Automotive,
Inergy Automotive Systems, Eaton Corporation, Detroit Testing
Services Group and Stant Manufacturing.
Headquartered
in Ferndale, Michigan, Gage also has operations in Germany,
the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Brazil and Mexico.
The company is a leader in the field of sustainable manufacturing
and solvent remanufacturing systems. Its paint-system solvent-recovery
processes are used in a majority of North America’s automotive
assembly plants and have attracted the attention of European
and Asia-Pacific manufacturers as well.
Additional
information about Gage is available on the Internet at www.gageproducts.com.
Source:
Gage Products Company
CONTACT:
Company Contact: Tom Murray of Gage Products Company, Phone: 248-691-6737, Email: tmurray@gageproducts.com
; or Media Contact: Larry Weis
of AutoCom Associates, +1-248-647-8621, E-Mail: lweis@usautocom.com
, for Gage
Products Company
|
