Nashville Inventor Sees Win at PACE Awards

Window Lift Technology System Wins Auto Industry's Prestigious PACE Award

NASHVILLE, Tenn., April 20 -- Score one for the little guy with the big idea! Nashville inventor Dr. Paul J. Fenelon and Mertech Intellectual Properties, the company marketing his new Dual Rack and Pinion (DR&P) window regulator technology, have come away as big winners in the new product category at this year's PACE Awards.

For an individual inventor and a small company promoting a new technology in a land of corporate and automotive giants, Fenelon's PACE Award victory may be likened to an industry version of the Miracle on Ice at the 1980 Olympics or the Jets beating the Colts in Super Bowl III.

The annual PACE Award competition was established in 1994 by Automotive News and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, and has become a powerful industry credential for new products and technologies, especially those relating to such critical issues as reduced cost, lower weight, greater efficiency and longer-term reliability. Fenelon's invention impacts all of those areas.

The DR&P technology represents a radically different approach from conventional window lift systems currently used in most vehicles, according to Fenelon. "It has about half the number of parts as the systems currently in use," he said. "It also generates less stress, requires less energy, and has less weight."

In fact, the DR&P technology could remove up to ten pounds from a typical 4-door vehicle - and with improved efficiency and longer life. For the ecology-minded, every pound saved also means less fuel required to power the vehicle. For manufacturers it means fewer moving parts and more part commonality from one window regulator, door mounting system and vehicle to another. And for consumers, it means another step toward improved performance and longevity for window lift systems in their vehicles.

Perhaps the great irony in the story is that Fenelon, a material scientist and inventor, only began tinkering with the window lift system after his own car developed a recurring problem for which his local dealer was unable to provide a permanent fix. The rest, as they say, is history. Says Fenelon, "I was surprised myself when I realized that the window lift system I'd invented was a much simpler design than the one on my car, and one that would also meet or exceed all the criteria the industry demands."

Fenelon already holds worldwide patents on his Dual Rack and Pinion technology. To date, doors from two dozen different vehicle models and types have been successfully retrofitted with the DR&P Regulator, which demonstrates the system's adaptability for a wide range of makes and models. What's more, the parts are often interchangeable from one DR&P system to another. This commonality means greater part production efficiency, lower inventory requirements, less tooling costs, plus it shortens the time necessary from the concept stage to production.

The bottom line, according to Ronald Sohr, President of Mertech Intellectual Properties, is that the DR&P technology has made its mark and is destined to have major implications for the global automotive industry.

"With some 50 million power regulators manufactured annually in the U.S. and 156 million produced worldwide," Sohr noted, "the technology has the capacity to generate tremendous savings for automakers everywhere."

According to Sohr, winning the PACE Awards for best product is indeed a giant step in that direction, as it effectively positions the technology within the automotive industry and marks the DR&P system as an important product for the future. Per Sohr, this Technology is sophisticated and advanced because of its simplicity.

"The automotive industry rarely sees a single new technology with the potential to generate the overall savings this one can deliver," said Sohr. "This technology's success in winning this important award is truly a phenomenal achievement."

For more information regarding the Dual Rack & Pinion Regulator, call Mertech at (615) 333-9500 or visit http://www.dualrackandpinion.com/.