California Air Resources Board Awards IMPCO's
Engine Systems Division with Executive Order
Certification Approval Seen as Key Milestone
In Opening up of $100 Million Market by 2004
CERRITOS, Calif., Feb. 1 IMPCO Technologies, Inc.
today announced that IMPCO is in a leading position as the
first company to receive approval from the California Air Resources Board
(CARB) for industrial engine emission certification. The company's Engine
Systems Division located in Sterling Heights, Michigan has received the first
Executive Order for an Emissions Certified Engine package under California's
new emissions regulation affecting off-road large spark-ignited engines used
in industrial equipment applications. The new CARB regulation requires
engines used in industrial equipment to meet low-emission levels through the
use of closed-loop fuel systems and catalytic converters, and to meet
durability requirements in the form of an extended emissions warranty.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990921/IMPCOLOGO )
The Executive Order allows IMPCO engine packages to be sold into
California or incorporated into new off-road (industrial) equipment that is
sold in California starting in 2001.
California is legendary for having the world's strictest automotive
tailpipe emission regulation standards. The new regulation is the continuing
implementation of California's Air Resources Board "Blueprint" for reducing
emissions entering the environment. The state started with reducing harmful
emissions from factories many decades ago, then began impacting automobiles
which has successfully reduced air pollutants by millions of tons per year.
The state has moved on to all forms of internal combustion engines:
industrial, watercraft, motorcycle and others, in an attempt to significantly
reduce air pollution. The latest regulation affects off-road industrial
equipment such as forklifts, and requires original equipment manufacturers
(OEM) to certify the engines used in the equipment, or use certified engine
packages in their equipment if they plan on selling their products in
California.
The engine package, based on a General Motors Industrial Powertrain
3.0 liter four-cylinder, was engineered for propane, integrated for
application and tested and validated at IMPCO's Engine Systems (ES) Division
World-Headquarters located in Sterling Heights, Michigan. The ES facility was
established in 1998 to support the market's growing demand for
emission-reduced propulsion systems.
Mr. Brad Garner, Director and General Manager of IMPCO's Engine Systems
Division said, "The significance of this achievement cannot be overstated.
IMPCO is the first company to meet and exceed the state's new emission
regulation by several orders of magnitude. The benefits of this system for an
industrial equipment manufacturer are tremendous in terms of speed to market,
engineering time, cost savings and environmental stewardship."
"The bottom line for manufacturers is if they (OEMs) wish to sell their
products in California after the year 2001, they must use certified engines in
a percentage of their products. They can either perform the certification
process themselves, or simply purchase a complete unit from IMPCO. It should
be noted that in 2004 the regulation not only becomes more stringent in terms
of engine durability, but requires certified engines to be used in the
majority of equipment sold into California as well as the nation," Mr. Garner
added.
"Our team of engineers has been developing the systems and engines to meet
the regulation for over two years. Our goal was and remains, to develop an
engine system that is both very low in emissions and extremely durable. As an
example, the regulation requires the engine not to exceed 3.0 grams of
hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen during the certification test -- we
certified at 0.2 grams. Such low emission numbers are a true indication that
the regulations can be satisfied while retaining the customer's requirements
for performance, drivability and economy."
Engine Systems is currently developing fuel systems and engine packages
required for the ever-increasingly demanding emissions regulation. This
regulation is scheduled to be implemented in 2004 -- the same year in which
the regulation becomes national through the Environmental Protection Agency.
For more information regarding the new certified 3.0 liter engine, or any
one of the engine packages offered by the Engine Systems Division, please
contact Roger Burrows directly at +1-810-264-1200.
IMPCO is the leading resource of advanced fuel storage, fuel metering and
electronic control systems for fuel cells, microturbines and internal
combustion engines enabling them to operate using economical, clean-burning
fuels such as hydrogen, propane, natural gas, landfill-gas and methanol.
IMPCO designs each system to optimize efficiency and performance while
reducing emission to the lowest-levels. IMPCO supplies systems to original
equipment manufacturers in the automotive, industrial, materials handling and
power generation industries. We support the global aftermarket through a
network of more than 400 Distributors and Service Parts Organizations.
Headquartered in Cerritos, California, IMPCO has 17 offices / facilities
worldwide including: North America, Pacific Rim and South America. It
operates in the Netherlands, France, Germany and the United Kingdom as
IMPCO-BERU Technologies, B.V. IMPCO can be found at http://www.impco.ws
Certain matters discussed in this press release contain forward-looking
information that involves risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially from current trends. These include, among other
things, the growth of the alternative fuels and fuel cells market, OEM
automotive product sales, competition, the Company's ability to design and
market viable advanced fuel metering, fuel storage or electronic control
products, the Company's ability to meet OEM specifications and other such
risks as cited in the Company's 2000 annual report on Form 10-K and other
documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
