Gage Sponsors SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge

FERNDALE, Mich., Feb. 8, 2005 -- Gage Products Company will be the official fuel sponsor for the sixth annual SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge taking place March 14-19 at Michigan Technological University (MTU) in Houghton, Michigan.

Thirteen student teams from universities in the U.S. and Canada will compete in the six-day event with snowmobiles modified to reduce noise and emissions levels. MTU is hosting the competition for the third year in a row.

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. The company has been a Clean Snowmobile Challenge sponsor for three consecutive years.

"Gage has become a valuable partner in this competition," said Jay Meldrum, director of the Keweenaw Research Center, lead organizer for the program. "By using Gage's consistent fuel blends, we can provide a level playing field for competitors and also gather some valuable data to take back into the classroom to improve performance and fuel efficiency and reduce pollution."

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 14. An endurance and fuel-economy event will be run from Calumet to Copper Harbor, Mich., on Tuesday. Cold start, noise and emissions tests will take place on Thursday and Friday. Other events include design presentations and static displays, as well as two new "graded" ergonomic competitions: Rider Comfort and Subjective Handling.

Teams registered for the international competition include U.S. entries from Clarkson University (Potsdam, NY), Kettering University (Flint, MI), Michigan Technological University (Houghton), Minnesota State University (Mankato), Montana Tech (Butte), SUNY-Buffalo, University of Idaho (Moscow), University of Wisconsin-Platteville, last year's overall winner the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and fuel-economy winner the University of Maine (Orno). Canadian entries include: Ecole de Technologies Superieure (Montreal), McGill University (Montreal) and the University of Alberta (Edmonton, Alberta).

The team with the most fuel-efficient snowmobile at the 2005 event will receive the "Gage Products Best Fuel Economy" award at a banquet in Houghton on Saturday, March 19. Donald R. Dixon, an MTU graduate and president of Gage Products, will present the award.

"We're happy to be a part of this valuable program that challenges students to incorporate both high performance and fuel efficiency," Dixon said. "This challenge not only encourages student excellence, but also benefits the environment."

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, Mich., Gage also has operations in Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Brazil and Mexico. The company is a leader in the field of sustainable manufacturing and solvent remanufacturing systems. In addition, Gage manufactures paint-related products and cleaners for a wide variety of industrial uses, as well as calibration and test fuels for use in the auto industry.

Additional information about Gage is available on the Internet at http://www.gageproducts.com/ . Further details about the 2005 SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge may be found at http://www.sae.org/ .