March 13, 2007
GAGE PROVIDES FUELS FOR 2007 SAE CLEAN SNOWMOBILE CHALLENGE
FERNDALE, Mich. – Gage Products Company will be an official sponsor for the fifth-consecutive year of the annual Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Clean Snowmobile Challenge scheduled for March 19-24 at Michigan Technological University (MTU), in Houghton, Michigan.
The event, an engineering design competition for college and university SAE student members, is organized and sponsored by SAE and the Keweenaw Research Center of MTU. Engineering students are challenged to re-engineer an existing snowmobile for improved emissions and noise without sacrificing the performance of the original snowmobile.
Gage, a leading supplier of test fuels, paint solvents and paint-system recycling products for the automotive industry, will provide alternative fuels to the participating college and university teams. The 15 student teams entered in this year’s competition will compete in a variety of events which rate emissions, noise, fuel economy, endurance, acceleration, handling, static display, cold start and design factors.
More than 150 students plan to participate in the eighth annual SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge. The competition will include snowmobiles that are electric-powered or vehicles that are equipped with internal combustion engines that run on either E10 fuel, a fuel blend of 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent premium gasoline, or E85 fuel, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.
“At Gage, we enjoy supporting students and their efforts to promote awareness for the environment,” said Daniel Finkiewicz, board chairman of Gage Products Company. “This snowmobile challenge is just another way we can all continue to work toward a cleaner environment in the future.”
To earn points in the emissions competition, the teams will have to meet the federal government’s 2012 environmental standards. Due to environmental, economic and energy concerns, the availability and use of E85 fuel is increasing. E85 fuel is designed for use in flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs).
Ethanol is a clean burning, high-octane fuel derived from renewable sources produced in the United States. Ethanol decreases harmful emissions found in petroleum and increases the fuels octane rating. Higher octane ratings result in cleaner fuel.
“E85 fuel offers considerable environmental benefits compared to petroleum fuels,” Finkiewicz said. “Fuel economy, greenhouse gases and air pollution can all be reduced simply by using E85 fuel.”
The 15 teams participating in the Clean Snowmobile Challenge include two from Clarkston University (Postdam, N.Y.), Kettering University (Flint, Mich.), two from McGill University (Canada), Michigan Technological University (Houghton, Mich.), Minnesota State University (Mankato, Minn.), State University of New York at Buffalo (Buffalo, N.Y.), South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
(Rapid City, S.D.), University of Idaho (Moscow, Idaho), University of Maine (Orono, Maine), University of Minnesota-Duluth (Duluth, Minn.), University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, Wis.), University of Wisconsin-Platteville (Platteville, Wis.) and Utah State University (Logan, Utah).
The team with the most fuel-efficient snowmobile at the 2007 event will receive the Gage Best Fuel Economy award at a banquet in Houghton, Mich., on Saturday, March 24.
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 during the past seven years. The company’s custom-fuel customers include Bosch, Visteon, TI Automotive, Inergy Automotive Systems, Eaton Corporation, Detroit Testing Services Group and Delphi.
A global company, Gage is recognized as a pioneer in the field of sustainable manufacturing and solvent-remanufacturing techniques. Over the past 19 years, Gage’s closed-loop recycling systems have been used by General Motors, Ford and Chrysler to safely recycle more than 70-million gallons of waste material. Other automotive customers include Fiat, Honda, Jaguar, Peugeot, Volkswagen, Volvo and Nissan.
Headquartered in Ferndale, Mich., Gage has facilities in Germany, the Netherlands, Brazil and Mexico. The company also 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. Visit www.gageproducts.com for more information.
Further details about the 2007 SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge may be found at www.sae.org.
Note to Editors: A high-resolution photo of the award ceremony is available upon request.
Company
Contact:
Tom Murray
Gage Products Company
Phone: 248-691-6737
Email: tmurray@gageproducts.com
Media Contact:
Jen Howell
AutoCom Associates
Phone: 248.647.8621
E-Mail: jhowell@usautocom.com
Michigan Tech Contact
Jay Meldrum
Michigan Tech University
Phone: 906-487-3178
E-mail: jmeldrum@mtu.edu
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