Filter maker Donaldson has launched a new line of fuel filters that could be especially good for biodiesel operations. This article from the Minneapolis Star Tribune says the company has landed $50 million in fuel filter contracts and is jumping into a market could grow to billions.
The company is developing long-lasting fuel-filters for large trucks and farm, construction and mining vehicles…
Donaldson also introduced its new Select Fuel Filter and won $50 million in annual contracts from makers of “off road” construction vehicles and farm tractors and combines. It partnered with two state universities to study diesel fuels and launched a new website called MyCleanDiesel.
Over time, the fresh focus on fuel filtration is expected to add hundreds of millions to Donaldson’s sales, which amounted to $2.4 billion last year.
Trucking association leaders say that stricter biodiesel and low-sulfur-diesel fuel mandates created by Minnesota or the U.S. environmental agencies in 2008, 2010 and 2014 have successfully slashed smog and soot emissions. But they also say that some fuel mandates led to redesigned engines that needed extra time and technology to work out the kinks.
Without regular intervention, some truck engines clog with debris, mix water into the fuel or they stall because diesel and biodiesel tend to thicken in frigid temperatures, truckers have said at industry conferences and forums.
Donaldson will compete with Fleetguard Cummins, Dahl-Baldwin Filters and Parker Hannifin Corp. Research firm MarketsAndMarkets in the diesel and biodiesel filtration markets.