MacLean-Fogg Engineered Plastics Wins 2018 Grand Automotive Innovation Award

MacLean-Fogg Engineered Plastics Co.  (EPC) won the 2018 Grand Automotive Innovation Award given by the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) at the 48th annual Automotive Innovation Awards Gala. The company received the award in the Powertrain Category and was recognized as the Grand Award Winner for its contribution to Dayco’s Vacuum Generation System. The SPE gave awards to winners in nine categories and to one grand award winner for the most innovative use of plastics.

Dayco, which is a system integrator collaborated with MacLean-Fogg for developing all the 10 vital plastic components which were used for its highly efficient brake boost system possible. Dayco’s Vacuum Generation System was initially used on the 2017 Ford F-150 platform and has since been used on other vehicle platforms as well thanks to the advantages it offers when compared to traditional brake boost systems.

Commenting on the award, Dave Davis, EPC director of sales and marketing, said that the company was excited about its contribution of important plastics engineering expertise to the Dayco product. The company modeled, engineered, designed, prototyped and launched 10 critical components to help make Dayco’s revolutionary system solution a production reality.

Some of the benefits offered by Dayco’s system because it involved the use of engineered plastic technologies include: 70 percent cost reduction, 80 percent weight reduction, 20 percent system performance increase, improved fuel economy, a smaller packaging footprint, and utilization of eco-friendly 100 percent re-processable thermoplastic DuPont resin systems.

Dayco’s Vacuum Generation System has proved to be immensely successfully and now Dayco is developing an entire family of close tolerance plastic component systems for future valve and actuator solutions.

“We approach every challenge by asking, ‘How Might We?’” said Dan Dye, general manager of EPC. “Our team of plastics experts in part design, materials and tooling accomplished what others purported not possible. Our EPC team is proud of this recognition and our ability to solve our customer’s challenge.”

This is the fourth year in a row that EPC has been named an Innovation Award finalist, and the first time EPC has won the Powertrain Category Award and Grand Award.