IdleAire Getting A Fresh Breath Of Air - But What Has Changed? The Environment….

Implications: IdleAire and its “ATE designation” has been purchased by a group including Airlie Group, Kenmont Investments Management, SV Special Situations Fund, Whitebox Advisors, Wayzata Investment Partners and Wilfrid Aubrey, LLC. Their transition to a new management team is being handled by CGR Partners. The basic premise of the business, investment required and competition will make for a rougher road ahead.

Analysis: At the Great American Truck Show a couple weeks ago, the underlying theme was regarding fuel savings. While fuel efficiency is primarily affected by drag (speed / aerodynamics / etc.), the next major issue is idle reduction. Another benefit of idle reduction is emissions-reduction. We all get it, but the real question is how does IdleAire fit into the rapidly changing competitive environment?

We had written of their demise in the past with the current Truck Stop model, so it will be interesting to see how they retool their approach (perhaps just should do shore-power). For the longer-term, one should look at the trends of OEM’s with built-in heating / cooling systems. Additionally, the fast-changing entertainment / communication technology (e.g. satellite / Wi-Fi) makes even more options available to choose from.

Then there are many other idle-reduction technologies available, including (alphabetically):
---Bergstrom, Inc. - NITE HVAC system offered in Daimler’s Freightliner Trucks
---Cab Comfort (Division of Dometic Corp) - Battery-powered HVAC systems
---Caterpillar Inc. - Engine electronics and diesel auxiliary-power units
---Cummins, Inc. - Onan diesel auxiliary-power units
---Espar - Diesel-fired cab / engine heating systems (offered by Navistar)
---Frigette Truck Climate Systems Inc.- HVAC systems
---Paccar - HVAC heating / cooling system
---Phillips & Temro Industries (Division of The Budd Co.) - ZeroStart product-line
---Phillips Industries - Systems to deliver AC power into the cab/sleeper
---Pony Pack - Auxiliary power units integrated water, fuel, electrical & HVAC systems
---TruckGen - Diesel generators
---Webasto - Auxiliary heater systems & air conditioning systems (offered by Navistar)
---Xantrex - Inverter/charger systems that converts / transfers AC shore power

There are too many other options to mention from numerous other vendors, but one can get the picture. Buyers want OEM-based and installed solutions - and those will be the successful long-term approaches.