SC October2011.pdf - Parts & People

Cutting-edge design and development combine for Hunter’s success
by Rob Merwin
St. Louis—Denny Bowen, director of
Product Management for Hunter
Engineering, an award-winning
manufacturer and seller of undercar service
equipment, said
his company
has one simple
message: “We
offer the most
innovative
equipment on
the market to
speed and ease
service and
improve shop
efficiency and
Denny Bowen, director
of Product Management
for Hunter Engineering,
says HawkEye Elite
systems has already
received two awards
and is on track to be the
most successful system
in terms of sales in the
company’s history.
profitability.”
In order to
develop that
innovation —
incorporated in
Hunter’s
alignment
systems, lift
racks, wheel
balancers, tire changers, brake lathes, and
lifts — Bowen said the company’s R&D
department has played a central role since
its beginning in the 1930s.
“Our founder, Lee Hunter Jr., wanted his
company to be known as more than just an
equipment manufacturer,” he said. “He
chose ‘Engineering’ in the name to convey
the spirit of the company as a problem
solver. Hunter now employs the largest R
& D department in the industry.”
Hunter continues to meet challenges as
vehicle manufacturers advance vehicle
design and implement more computercontrolled
handling systems that can be
directly affected by adjustments of
alignment, Bowen said.
“Hunter introduced CodeLink as a direct
link between the mechanical adjustments
of alignment and the electronic adjustments
required by most OEMs to reset these
systems,” he said. “CodeLink integrates the
resetting process into the normal
alignment, so it can be done quickly and
easily.”
As the landscape of vehicle design
continues to evolve, Hunter is adapting its
training classes accordingly, Bowen said.
Current alignment training includes
advanced adjustment techniques to
enhance tire life and ride quality, OEspecific
procedures, and the proper service
of vehicles with computer-controlled
systems such as electronic stability control,
electric power steering, and adaptive cruise
control, he said. Bowen added that Hunter
will be exhibiting at this year’s SEMA in
Las Vegas where they will be displaying its
full line of undercar service equipment
with experts available to demonstrate their
features and benefits, including its
Hawkeye Elite systems.
“The systems have features that are
really unmatched,” he said. “Our
QuickGrip wheel adaptors install in
seconds by gripping the tire tread instead of
the rim edge, removing potential damage
from metal-to-metal contact. Plus, the
entire adaptor and target assembly weighs
only six pounds.
“Three-dimensional targets and highresolution
cameras provide measurements
and adjustment updates on-screen, and our
roll-forward compensation, exclusive to us,
allows a technician to compensate all four
wheels and capture initial measurements in
one motion.”
HawkEye Elite systems also include the
largest and most comprehensive vehicle
database in the industry, Bowen said. “And
our WinAlign software offers the most
patented software features of any system on
the market,” he said. “When matched with
an FIA (fully integrated alignment) lift,
HawkEye Elite communicates between the
aligner and lift to automate tasks once
performed manually.”
Since its release in March 2011,
HawkEye Elite systems has already
received two awards and is on track to be
the most successful system in terms of
sales in the company’s history, Bowen said.
Those sales are supported by more than
600 sales representatives — the largest in
the industry — and by its network of
training centers, as well as a conference
and demonstration facility, he said. n
Parts & People October 2011 Page 13