INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS
THE BEST OF THE BEST
A look at the products that claimed the 2022 Australian Auto Aftermarket Innovation Awards The 2022 Australian Auto Aftermarket Excellence Awards selected the most innovative products across a range of categories from those entered by the industry. Industry experts judge these awards, which are considered to be the most prestigious honour that a new product can be bestowed in the Australian aftermarket.
On the following pages we take a look at the 2022 winning products – all of which were on display at the 2022 Australian Auto Aftermarket Expo. Over the next few editions of Australian Automotive Aftermarket Magazine, we’ll publish a series of articles that will profile in detail all of the winners and finalists in each product category.
Most Innovative Aftermarket Product – Electrical Winner: IM Group Product: Hybrid Battery Remanufacturing Program IM Group’s Australia’s first national remanufacturing service for Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) batteries creates an affordable alternative for vehicle owners who want to ensure a longer life for their car and avoid sending waste batteries to landfill. The remanufacture of hybrid batteries involves disassembly of waste packs, testing and grading individual cells, re-combining ‘like’ functional cells into a new pack, and rebalancing the pack of recombined cells. To this end, IM Group’s Injectronics has developed automated testing stations to accurately grade large volumes of cells and customised equipment for balancing the remanufactured packs. Cells that can no longer meet the demands of a car are recycled to recover valuable metals, to save them from landfill. The remanufacture of HEV batteries is done via a process of testing and grading individual cells in a battery pack, re-assembling ‘like’ functional cells into a new pack and rebalancing the cells in the pack so that they can ‘work together’. Injectronics is the only nationwide distributor of remanufactured Hybrid Batteries and is the only company that has a circular economy program for waste batteries: Reman, Reuse, Recycle. For more information, visit www.im-group.com.au
Most Innovative New Aftermarket Product (Accessories) Winner: HSP 4x4 Accessories Product: HSP Roll R Cover Series 3 The HSP Electric Series 3 Roll R Cover is the biggest project ever taken on by HSP. The project took a total of four years to deliver the first production unit and was a complete internal project from the ground up including design, prototyping, manufacturing and distributing. It is not only a successor to an existing successful product line, but quite literally the world’s most feature packed roller cover. It broke the barriers of functionality and integration while creating a whole new suite of accessories. HSP says it was and still is the only cover in the world with factory remote functionality and full mobile app integration as well as the ability to do ‘over the air’ updates to add new features as they are rolled out and with all that being said, it is still the only electric roller cover to be 100 percent made in Australia, produced by HSP in Country Victoria. Compared to the Electric Roll R Cover Series 2, the whole unit is a lot more modular, it has more advanced water drainage, a universal track built into the side rails and of course, triple operation. For more information, visit www.hsputelids.com
Most Innovative New Aftermarket Product (Parts) Winner: Pedders Suspension and Brakes Product: LoadRyder Onboard Weight Scales Pedders’ new LoadRyder Onboard Scales are a a cost-effective solution which delivers critical real-time vehicle weight information for light commercial vehicles. The LoadRyder Onboard Scales system is designed for dual axled vehicles with standard coil or leaf suspension. Each axle is monitored with a robust I.P666 rated potentiometer, relaying signals via the inbuilt Wi-Fi transmitter. Utilising an integrated accelerometer, data is then transmitted to the display when the vehicle is stationary, and the handbrake is applied. An audible alarm will sound if the total vehicle or if the axle weight maximum is exceeded. The breakthrough technology allows users to maximise payloads by precisely knowing the weight and axle distribution, allowing you to optimise your fleet’s payload and profitability; reduce WHS risks by ensuring your vehicle operators have the data they need to protect them from the dangers related to operating an overloaded vehicle; avoid overloading fines by providing highly accurate vehicle weight information, ensuring you avoid the risk of overloading your vehicle, preventing costly fines; and meet CoR requirements – chain of responsibility is everyone’s business and with LoadRyder Onboard Scales, Pedders says you can ensure your operations are protected. For more information, visit www.pedders.com.au 82
Australian Automotive Aftermarket Magazine May 2022
