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RACING TO DRIVE INNOVATION RYCO Filters are always pushing the envelope, and in 2021 they have upped the ante by launching a technical partnership with Tickford Racing More than just a sponsorship deal, RYCO will be providing the team with a variety of filtration products to assist in their endeavour to secure the 2021 Supercar Championship. “We’re extremely excited about our technical partnership with Tickford Racing,” RYCO Group Pty Ltd General Manager – Sales, Tony Sheedy, said. “It signals the next horizon for the group as we test new innovations in what is considered the world’s most competitive touring car championship.” RYCO has a long and successful history in Australia that can be traced all the way back to 1936. “RYCO was born out of the war effort when the Defence Department partnered with W L Ryan Pty Ltd to manufacture and supply filters to military vehicles deployed in North Africa and the Pacific theatres,” Tony explained. “Once peace was declared, W L Ryan Pty Ltd was purchased by GUD, and RYCO was born.” Right from the very beginning, RYCO has been based in Melbourne’s West, originally situated on the Maribyrnong River, close to the Williamstown shipyards. The unique grey colour that has become synonymous with RYCO’s iconic spin-on oil filers can be traced back to the entrepreneurial spirit of Founder, Bill Ryan. “Rumour has it that Bill sourced surplus battleship grey paint from the Williamstown shipyards at discounted prices,” Tony explained. “And while the shade has changed and is a little lighter today, that entrepreneurial spirit is still a driving force at RYCO.” That entrepreneurial spirit, combined with RYCO’s commitment to innovation, was highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. While spin-on oil filters are still one of RYCO’s largest segments, its air, fuel, and cabin filter ranges have grown significantly in the recent past. “Our technology, especially in cabin air, has come a long way with our new N99 medical grade media for cabin air filters,” Tony explained. “The COVID-19 pandemic introduced the wider community to the value of the N99 medical grade media, and our new N99 Cabin Filter range was developed to leverage that increased knowledge.” In addition, RYCO has also redesigned its 10 most popular Cabin Air Filters to ensure they completely seal in the vehicle’s HVAC system to stop bypass, a common issue with many OE filters. The RYCO team is currently working through the 54
Australian Automotive Aftermarket Magazine March 2021
redesign of the rest of its extensive Cabin Air Filter range to ensure it provides the same level of protection to vehicle occupants. Combined, RYCO says these two new innovations have raised the benchmark for Cabin Air Filters. RYCO’s design philosophy, to meet or exceed original equipment performance, has long been a driving force and it says its new Cabin Air range certainly highlights its commitment to this mantra. “For every product in our extensive range, our benchmark at a minimum is that we meet OE performance,” Tony said. “But in reality, our ultimate goal is to exceed OE performance, and while our innovation in cabin filter technology is an excellent example of achieving this goal, we’re investing the same amount of effort into every one of our product ranges. “When we identify an issue with an OE product, we build an improvement into the RYCO product offering. Our in-house innovation and technology laboratory allows us to design, prototype, and test new product innovations and commercialise them quickly. “Our ability to get new products to market fast ensures our competitors are always playing catch-up,” he added. RYCO says its new Hilux catch-can fitting kit is an excellent example of RYCO’s streamlined product development process. “The 4WD market is huge for us right now and our new catch can fuel water separator has proved extremely popular,” Tony described. “To make installation quick and easy, we have developed model-specific kits. Our innovation lab
Tony Sheedy
houses 3D printers and 3D scanners that allow us to scan a Hilux engine bay, print the bracket, and test fit it prior to production.” RYCO is also a longtime supporter of the AAAA, and its membership provides it with access to the Association’s Automotive Innovation Centre, which offers critical engineering and product development support. “I’d say that we’d have an engineering team down at the AIC at least once every couple of weeks,” said Tony. “They are constantly crawling over one of the large variety of vehicles housed at the facility to assess OE quality, assess new product opportunities, and test fit prototypes. “It is a fantastic initiative on the part of the AAAA, and speaking from experience, I know the facility is helping Australian brands to improve their own local product development.”
