China's 1.2 Billion Population Is Stage for IMPCO Expansion

28 September 2000

    SEATTLE, Sept. 28 IMPCO Technologies, Inc.
announced that they are working with major Chinese OEM Diesel Engine
manufacturers to expand sales of their alternate fuel products in China.  With
China's population surpassing 1.2 billion, reducing air pollution in large
Chinese cities caused by diesel trucks and buses is the major objective.
    (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990921/IMPCOLOGO )
    Dr. Loren Gettel, Director of IMPCO's Heavy Duty Fuel Systems division,
located in Seattle, Washington said, "We have been working with four of the
largest engine manufacturers in China including the Jinan Diesel Engine Works,
Shengli Power Machine Factory, Wuxe Diesel Engine Works, and Yulin Diesel
Works.  All of these major Chinese heavy-duty engine manufacturers have
programs to develop spark ignition alternate fuel versions of their most
popular diesel engines."
    IMPCO has been supplying fuel system technology to allow these engines to
operate efficiently and with minimum emissions.  Jinan, Shengli, and Wuxe have
been concentrating on a spark ignition engine based on the Cummins 5.9 liter
diesel engine.  A natural gas or LPG version of this engine is ideally suited
for medium size buses and trucks.  IMPCO has also been working with Yulin to
develop a 7.8 L turbocharged LPG bus engine.  A demonstration bus is currently
operating and the preliminary results are most encouraging.  Production of
this low emission bus is planned to start in 2001 with initial volume planned
for six hundred buses.  The buses will enter service in Beijing and Tanjin.
    "China is on the cutting edge using alternate fuels as a means of reducing
exhaust emission, dependency on imported oil and lowering transportation
costs.  China is among the first countries to look into the future and see
where alternate fuels can lead them.  As the population continues to rise past
1.2 billion people, the market potential becomes enormous," Dr. Gettel added.