Commercial vehicle Tier One supplier Accuride Corporation has crafted a new image for itself, visually and in its market presence. The effort aims to refresh the group’s visual identity, and to reposition its commercial vehicle wheel and wheel-end components businesses in North America.
The most notable change may be the introduction of the Accuride Wheel End Solutions™ brand, through which the organization will market its Accuride Wheels and Gunite products together. This includes its forged steel and aluminum commercial vehicle wheels now marketed as Accuride Wheels, and wheel end components, marketed now as Gunite-brand brake drums, rotors, hubs and slack adjusters. The corporation emphasized it will continue to promote its wheel-end products under the Gunite brand name and identity.
“Our OEM, fleet and aftermarket customers have told us they value Accuride’s ability to offer them both our Accuride Wheels and Gunite products,” according to Accuride president and CEO Rick Dauch. “Not only can we support customers’ total wheel and wheel end component needs, but we’re the sole North American supplier capable of doing so.”
The new identity may be timely for Accuride, which like several of its competitors is facing slower demand in the truck and off-road vehicles sectors. Accuride recently reduced output at its Brillion Iron Works subsidiary, and is consolidating the operations of its Gunite division.
Visual communication
Accuride emphasized that the new visual identity will communicate its commitment to deliver dependable performance, and to reinforce its long history supplying the commercial vehicle segment.
“Our new branding is all about our customers,” Dauch stated. “It carries our message that everyone at Accuride has committed to deliver quality products on time, where and when customers need them. This means an experience with Accuride they can count on, from people they can trust.”
Dauch emphasized Accuride’s commitment to achieving more reliable performance has been guiding its capital improvement program over the past two years. Its investments have topped $130 million and included manufacturing updates, new production capacity for its Accuride wheel (notably, the acquisition of Forgitron Technologies in 2011) and Gunite wheel-end components operations, and improvements in its R&D and testing centers.
Also, the company has expanded its engineering, quality, and technical teams, and it intends to standardize with a corporate-wide ERP by 2014.
Online updates
The new branding is supported by redesigned and updated corporate and business unit websites, which Accuride noted have improved navigation functionality and updated content and graphics. Notably, the new websites are easier to access via smart phones and tablets, and Accuride promised to continue adding content and functionality to incorporate product and service information that customers expect.
The revamped corporate website provides visitors comprehensive information about Accuride’s capabilities, locations, leadership, sales teams, and career opportunities. The Accuride site also works as a single-point-of-access for its revamped business unit sites, including Brillion Iron Works and Imperial Group. The Accuride Wheels and Gunite businesses are combined at a new site — AccurideWheelEndSolutions.com— that presents feature Accuride Wheels and Gunite product information; an updated product search and cross-reference, a customer portal, instructional videos, will be added there, too.
