Plews & Edelmann brings its power-steering expertise to the North American aftermarket with the launch of a new power-steering hard-parts program under the Edelmann Elite brand.
The new program, which includes power-steering rack-and-pinion assemblies, power-steering pumps and power-steering gear boxes, was announced by Dan Billie, Plews & Edelmann chief commercial officer.
“The Edelmann Elite power-steering program represents a step up in quality and performance over typical aftermarket-brand power-steering hard parts and is built to meet or exceed OE specifications for fit, form and function,” the company said in a news release. “Designed to outperform remanufactured parts in both quality and reliability, it delivers application coverage not available in a new product in the aftermarket and is priced to provide a competitive option for WDs and independent repair shops over OE dealer sourced parts.”
The Edelmann Elite program delivers a wide range of application coverage for popular import and domestic models from Acura, Buick, Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Honda, Jeep, Lexus, Nissan, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Subaru and Toyota. Initial coverage for cars, vans, SUVs and light trucks currently exceeds 60% of North American demand and will expand to over 80% in 2021, as new applications are tooled.
Every Edelmann Elitepower-steering rack, pump and gear box is designed, developed, quality built and 100% tested by Plews & Edelmann. All parts are new; there are no reused, renewed or remanufactured components. Plews & Edelmann product designers have painstakingly engineered the line to not only eliminate commonly experienced failures caused by OE design, but also improve upon the original design and incorporate the latest OE revisions and enhancements, according to the company.
”Our Edelmann Elite program breaks new ground in aftermarket power steering and is a real game changer for today’s distributors and shops,” Billie said. “With our new, 100% tested, in-house designs, we‘ve offset the nagging issues of reliability experienced with remanufactured parts and have taken exceptional strides to reduce high warranty rates and prevent parts swapping fraud.”
Because Edelmann Elite power-steering parts are new components, traditional core exchanges are not required and the need for any additional handling and logistics is eliminated. This also makes Edelmann Elite hard parts well-suited for e-commerce sales.
Every Edelmann Elite hard part receives a unique Designated Numeric Asset (DNA) identification number, which verifies its authenticity and corresponds to a 100% test inspection report that is included with the product to confirm its level of quality. This unique numeric ID, which includes the manufacturing date, test number/location and Edelmann Elite part number, is etched into each part, making it easier for distributors and wholesalers to avoid warranty hassles caused by unqualified claims, fraudulent parts swaps and untraceable returns.
“Edelmann Elite power-steering hard parts are different from the start, delivering a level of quality, coverage and reliability not seen in the aftermarket,” said Tony Edwards, VP business development. “Every part carries our Edelmann Elite DNA, which not only guarantees that our customers will have the highest quality aftermarket solution to their power-steering needs, but also delivers a level of authenticity and traceability that is second to none in the industry. We also back every Edelmann Elite hard part with a 100-year/1 million-mile warranty.”
Plews & Edelmann also has developed custom, craft-corrugated packaging that incorporates an activated foam restraint molded around every rack-and-pinion assembly to protect tubes, tie-rod ends and drive shafts from damage during handling and transportation.
