BRIGHTON, Mich.– With most North American truckmakers ready to roll out SCR technology in upcoming 2010 heavy trucks, a leading German manufacturer of commercial-vehicle exhaust aftertreatment systems is scheduled to begin production later this year in Brighton, Mich.

Eberspaecher recently completed a multi-million-dollar renovation of its Brighton facility, retooling 80 percent of the 120,000-square-foot plant floor for the final assembly of new aftertreatment systems.

It also has installed state-of-the-art manufacturing technology at a new facility recently opened in Wixom, Mich. That 100,000-square-foot plant houses roll-forming and new patented sizing equipment for the production of canning used in the company’s aftertreatment systems.

“The substantial investments we’ve made in our Brighton and Wixom facilities will position the company as a market leader in the production of exhaust aftertreatment systems for heavy-duty trucks from 2010 onward," said Dennis Berry, the president and CEO of Eberspaecher North America.

Designed to meet stringent new EPA commercial-vehicle emissions standards for 2010, Eberspaecher’s selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology convert NOx into harmless nitrogen and water using an ammonia-based solution injected into the exhaust system.

Beyond that, the company is gearing up for EPA NOx emissions rules for off-highway vehicles in 2014, which have more complex packaging and serviceability needs.

"Today we’re primarily an automotive supplier, but within the next three years we expect our commercial-vehicle operations to account for 50 percent or more of our North American business and contribute to a substantial growth in total sales," Berry concluded. "Off-highway sales during the next decade will have a significant impact on future growth as well."