30
Years of Innovation
30
Years of wind tunnel studies and over the road evaluation have been crucial
to the development of correct NoseCone aerodynamic configurations that
achieve maximum efficiency without operational drawbacks.
It all began in 1973 when gasoline shortages set people worrying about
the price of fuel. That's when Joseph FitzGerald found a niche for his
1965 discovery of the benefits of changing the shape of the upper portion
of the trailer front wall. Sales manager for Carrier Transicold in 1965,
FitzGerald suggested relocating the refrigeration evaporator to the outside
front wall of the trailer as a way of providing his customers with more
cargo space. Traditionally mounted inside the trailer, engineers for Transicold
created a new design mounting the evaporator outside the trailer front
wall. The original design encased the evaporator within a rectangular
box and FitzGerald further suggested cutting the corners of the box at
an angle to improve aerodynamics. Road testing of the new design brought
to light unanticipated benefits, the driver reported he believed the trailer
pulled better than before and that mileage had improved. FitzGerald's
suggestion proved to benefit two-fold, increasing available cargo space
and reducing trailer drag.
FitzGerald consulted with leading aerodynamicists to perfect his discovery,
but it was not until the oil embargo of 1973 that the industry saw a need
to reduce fuel usage. And when they did, FitzGerald was ready and that's
when his sales experience paid off. FitzGerald single handedly let the
nation know that changing the trailer shape would mean big dollar savings
and he did it one door at a time. He became the founding father of the
world's first production aerodynamic add-on for trailers and with his
son, Jim FitzGerald, trained expert in mold development, they went on
to develop over 145 different aerodynamic configurations.
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