With the ongoing push for cleaner emissions and improved fuel economy Woodbine Manufacturing launched a business in North America that will offer lightweight aluminum liftgates.
Anteo USA will debut three aluminum medium to heavy-duty liftgate lines: Tuckunders (REP Series), Retractables (F3RE Series) and Cantilevers (F3CL Series). Each liftgate line comes with standard and optional features and range from 2,500 to 6,600 pounds of lift capacity.
“Vehicle owners want their equipment to be as lightweight as possible, in order to maximize fuel and payload efficiencies,” said Allen Birmingham, Director of Sales for Woodbine Manufacturing.
“The liftgates offered by Anteo USA are the lightest and sleekest in their class, while also meeting the durability and serviceability needs of the American market,” Birmingham said.
Over the past 20 years, fleets have been looking to increase their use of new technologies, including lightweight materials, to boost their overall fuel efficiencies due to increased regulations and fuel cost.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have enacted greenhouse gas emissions regulations on commercial vehicles that require manufacturers to develop and sell technologies to improve fuel efficiency by 2030.
According to the North American Council for Freight Efficiency, fleets have increased their average fuel efficiency from 6.10 MPG in 2003 to 7.30 MPG in 2017 with the adoption of fuel saving technologies and lightweight materials.
Last year Woodbine Manufacturing, the parent company of Tommy Gate liftgates, purchased an equity stake in Italian liftgate manufacturer Anteo S.P.A.
“Anteo is a thriving global company in its own right, with successful distribution throughout the world. We wanted to be a part of that story, and the opportunity to introduce Anteo products to American liftgate users was especially exciting,” said TJ Blandford, CEO of Woodbine Manufacturing. “The products are phenomenal, and when you combine that with Woodbine’s ability to service and support upfitters, fleet managers, and end users, we think there’s something really special there. This is an exciting milestone for the liftgate industry.”
To view all the Anteo USA liftgate offerings, please visit usa.anteo.com.
