FlowBelow to Provide AeroSlider Trailer Kits for Mesilla Valley Transportation
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SAN DIEGO — FlowBelow Aero Inc. has landed a commitment from Mesilla Valley Transportation to equip its trailers with its AeroSlider attachments that fit between the rear wheels.
FlowBelow CEO Josh Butler told Transport Topics that the deal means equipping about 5,000 MVT trailers, with a new 1,000 trailers bought per year.
Butler made the announcement Oct. 7 at American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference & Exhibition. He did not disclose the terms of the deal.
The patented trailer system is designed to reduce the aerodynamic drag created by the trailer wheels and suspension, according officials with the Texas-based aerodynamics company.
Royal Jones, CEO of MVT, said in a statement that his trucking firm was an early adopter of FlowBelow’s first product, the Tractor AeroKit, which was introduced in 2014.
The kit fits in the rear wheels of the tractor.
Jones said the kit will improve trailer aerodynamics and likely will be adopted industrywide.
Butler told TT the kits can complement trailer skirts and other devices that reduce drag on the trailer, increasing fuel efficiency.
Mesilla Valley Transportation CEO Royal Jones said his fleet adopted the FlowBelow Tractor AeroKit, which was introduced in 2014. (Mesilla Valley Transportation)
Butler said the Trailer AeroSlider mounts to the sliding trailer suspension and travels with the suspension.
The system was tested by independent third parties, and fuel savings range from 1.37% to 2.07%, according to FlowBelow.
Butler told TT its products are made in the United States. The AeroSlider takes one hour to install, he said, and is expected to last for the lifetime of the trailer. Snow and ice do not build up on the AeroSlider, he said.
Mesilla Valley Transportation ranks No. 72 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America. The truckload company is based in Las Cruces, N.M., and operates 1,500 tractors and 5,000 trailers. MVT focuses primarily on dry van freight.
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