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"Greening" of Commercial Vehicle Industry Makes SAE International's 2011 Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress One of Best Ever


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WARRENDALE, PA--Oct. 31, 2011: It was green, cutting-edge, and crowded.

SAE International's Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress, which wrapped up at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill., was one of the best attended in the eight-year history of the conference.

The two-day conference saw 1,138 attendees pass through the door and more than 80 vendors on the floor. The theme of the event was "Global Technologies for CO2 Reduction/Fuel Economy Improvement on Commercial Trucks and Busses." Executive Leadership for the event was provided by Daimler Trucks North America LLC.

"What we're seeing is the progressive development of the world's premier conference for commercial vehicles," said Greg Muha, manager of SAE International's Commercial Vehicle and Defense Sector. "Daimler is a world-class leader in our field and we appreciate the dedicated efforts of its leadership team in making this year's event a great success. Having a company like Daimler take a leadership role only enhances the reputation of the conference."

Dr. Wilfried Achenbach, Senior Vice President, Engineering and Technology and Landon Grogan, Director €“ Engineering Services and Vehicle Integration, both of Daimler Trucks North America, served as executive co-chairs for the 2011 Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress.

The two-day event was designed to provide valuable, cutting-edge information to commercial vehicle engineering professionals, many of whom often work across multiple disciplines. The interactive panel discussions and technical sessions were created to meet the diverse needs of those professionals. Highlights from the event included:

  • Global Leadership Panel: Engine and engine component manufacturers addressed the challenges companies face to meet CO2 reduction and fuel economy improvement goals.
  • Blue Ribbon Panel: A panel of industry experts discussed commercial vehicle integration for military bases and homeland defense applications.
  • Vehicle Focus Executive Panel: The panel addressed challenges in the commercial vehicle arena related to the need for improved fuel economy and freight efficiency.
  • Buckendale Lecture and Reception: "The Naturalistic Study of Distracted Driving: Moving From Research To Practice," which was presented by Richard Joseph Hanowski, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.

The SAE 2012 Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress and Exhibition will be held Oct. 2-4 in Rosemont, Ill. Executive leadership for the 2012 event will be provided by Navistar. Ramin Younessi, Group Vice President, Product Development and Strategy, Navistar Truck Group, will serve as executive chair for the event.

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 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.