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When looking at the best-selling cars and SUVs on the market, it’s clear that the continued success of top automakers stems from sourcing quality components and a dedication to their craft. AirBoss gets that.
Industry-leading companies focus on fine-tuning their processes to improve the finished product. And these processes often lead to working relationships with the most qualified companies and manufacturers in a particular industry. This is what inspires major automakers to partner with AirBoss.
Over the years, AirBoss has provided many automakers with various rubber components and parts, and these partners continue to come back because they know they can count on quality and consistency from AirBoss.
Recently at AirBoss, we collaborated to improve one top brand’s fuel pump cover assembly in order to minimize heat and vibration within their engines. The resulting partnership provided the manufacturer’s entire lineup with a cost-effective upgrade while AirBoss proved that the company’s compounds, processes, and parts are among the best in the business.
Choosing Rubber Over Foam
Traditionally, our partner’s vehicles used some type of foam insulator pad in their fuel pump cover assembly. It did the job but proved expensive. In an ambitious challenge to cut costs and maintain quality, this brand started a search for a new component supplier who could create such a solution.
They found AirBoss.
AirBoss introduced this manufacturer to the idea of a rubber alternative. The first rubber fuel pump cover that AirBoss created performed better than the foam pads and cost less. It was a win-win for both companies.
Since that first foam-to-rubber transition, this partner has approached AirBoss to design and implement several improvements to additional fuel pump cover assemblies. Each new evolution saves money and improves performance.
“It saved them a lot of money,” says AirBoss Account Manager, JC Velasquez. “Since we were awarded that first [fuel pump cover project], we’ve been awarded about eight more of them. Our partner has been very impressed.”
AirBoss – World-Class Rubber Parts and More
Our client partners work closely with AirBoss experts, like Product Development Engineer, Spyros Kollias, to ensure they get the most out of their partnership. Kollias makes sure that automakers get both a quality engineered rubber product and an experienced design team.
Case in point: The first fuel pump cover AirBoss made for this particular partner was a one-piece rubber alternative to the foam pad. Over time, Kollias and other AirBoss engineers worked to design and produce a unique two-piece fuel pump cover that’s both cost-effective and practical.
“Now, we have reduced the limitations,” says Kollias. “Before, when it was one-piece, there were a lot of limitations with how the mold opened and removing the part from the mold. Now, with it being two-piece, there’s a lot more freedom of design. For this partner, we can easily put in an additional gateway or hole and make everything come together to work.”
The Future Looks Bright for AirBoss and Auto Makers
Being among the best in our respective industries is what brings AirBoss and major automotive manufacturers together. Years of working together to design, source, and implement quality rubber parts across multiple platforms is also what keeps repeat customers coming back. The most recent fuel pump cover project is another success story, but it won’t be the last.
“We’ve really grown over the years with our partners,” says Velasquez. “We’ve built a legitimate bond as one of their top sources. At this point, we’ve pretty much earned our place on every platform.”
What does this mean? This particular partner continues to bring new projects to AirBoss, and the collaborative nature of the partnership means the AirBoss team continues to provide rubber solutions almost on a weekly basis, says Velasquez.
The speed of turnaround and successful performance of the fuel pump cover project saw a part intended for 2023 get incorporated into our partner’s 2022 lineup. This is a good sign for future projects both with this partner and other automakers.
“Ultimately, we want to get these [fuel pumps] out to additional companies like GM, Ford, Stellantis,” shares Velasquez, “because they would work on their platforms as well. We can definitely carry these over to other OEMs.”
