Member Article

Grayson set to unveil new technology at Busworld

A leading UK manufacturer will celebrate its biggest ever presence at Busworld Kortrijk Europe this month by unveiling two new products for the bus and coach market.

Grayson Thermal Systems will give buyers the chance to view the firm’s lightest ever E-Drive pack and a new 24v electric water pump for use on hybrid and electric vehicles.

It will also be showcasing its new battery thermal management system for full electric vehicles and updated HVAC range, including a heat and AC front box that promises to offer improved maintenance and – thanks to its lightweight aluminum frame – considerable weight savings.

The company, which employs 245 people across plants in Birmingham, Poland and North America, will also announce a new strategic distribution agreement during the show.

“Busworld is a massive opportunity for us to cement our reputation as one of the world’s leading manufacturers of cooling, heating and thermal management products,” explained Matthew Hateley, Account Manager at Grayson Thermal Systems.

“This will be our biggest ever presence at Busworld and – at any one stage – we’ll have six of our technical experts on hand to discuss client requirements and explain the new innovations we are bringing to market.”

He continued: “A lot of our major clients are here and we believe there’s a great opportunity to push the product launches into new areas to continue our sustained growth.”

Headlining the Grayson stand will be its lightest ever E-Drive cooling system for a Cummins 6.7 litre, 280 HP Euro 6 engine.

A 12-month development programme has created lightweight frames and hinged fan cowl that will improve serviceability for cleaning of the cores.

Coupled with its unique high performance tube and fin heat exchanger platform, the company can offer a reduced depth core, whilst maintaining high heat rejection, to provide further weight saving opportunities.

This cooling system is now just 74kgs (usually 95 kgs+) and contributes towards reducing CO2 emissions of vehicles. Other benefits include quieter operation against the traditional hydraulic fan drive cooling system, which is proving beneficial in European cities committed to reducing noise levels of vehicles.

Matthew added: “We will also have the first test results of our 24v electric water pump designed for use in hybrid and electric vehicles.

’The new pump, controllable via PWM and CAN, offers greater efficiency for flow versus amps than anything currently out there in the marketplace and has an anticipated motor life expectancy of 20,000 hours. This can be mounted in any orientation on the vehicle, whilst not affecting performance.

“Development is ongoing with a combination of rig testing and in-field testing on vehicles and we are currently entering pre-production with volume production due to start in early 2016.”

Established in 1978 by current Chairman Graham Hateley as a small car radiator repair business, Grayson Thermal Systems is now regarded as a world leader in the design, manufacture and supply of bespoke engine cooling, heating and thermal management products.

The company is proud of the ‘Made in Britain’ brand and serves customers in more than 20 countries across the world through its factory in Birmingham and specialist service centre at Elmdon, just off the M42/M6 link.

A number of international business units are also now in place in North America and Poland, with further satellite operations due to be opened shortly.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Russ Cockburn .