10-4 Magazine - For Today's Trucker

October 2007 - Performance Zone
WE’RE ON THE MOVE
By Performance Specialist Bruce C. Mallinson

I’d like to start off by saying “thank you” to all the owner operators of the United States and beyond. For 30 years we at Diesel Injection of Pittsburgh have enjoyed helping you improve the experience of driving your trucks by engineering ways of making excessive horsepower be economical, along with providing many years of service to the engine between rebuilds. If you were to add together the years of service that Gary, Pete, Pat, Brian, Shawn and myself have devoted to this industry, it would total 129 years of diesel engine experience. It has been our life’s work, and we have put our hearts into this phase of trucking, just like you have put you heart and life into trucking. Well, the time has come for us to move on and make some changes – for the better. We are happy to announce that we are moving to a bigger and better facility just 20 miles north in a more truck-friendly industrial park in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania. We are also dropping the name Diesel Injection of Pittsburgh and changing it to Pittsburgh Power Inc.

Our new neighbor right across the street is RAM Trucking and the new address for Pittsburgh Power Inc. will be 3600 South Noah Drive, Victory Road Industrial Park, Saxonburg, PA 16056. Our new phone number, effective immediately, is (724) 360-4080. The best way to get to our new facility is to exit I-76 (the Pennsylvania Turnpike) at exit 38 (Route 8). Take Rt. 8 north towards Butler to Rt. 228 and turn right. Head east on Rt. 228 about four miles to the traffic light, the only one in the entire community, and then go left at Victory Road. Go north about a quarter-mile to the Victory Road Industrial Park and make a right onto South Noah Drive. Our new facility is located at the end of the road. We now have 3.5 acres of parking and easy access – no more parking problems, no more residential homes with people that don’t like trucks, and no more train horns blasting our ears!

Our new facility is 14,375 square-feet and has six semi truck bays and four pickup truck bays, a large parts department, a driver’s lounge with a couch (complete with two reclining sections), a desk, television, bathroom and shower. We also have a conference room, a lunch room, a fuel injection shop and nine offices. After 30 years in a small building, we are looking forward to moving to this new facility.

We at Pittsburgh Power continue to strive to produce the best in high performance diesel engine systems, and that commitment won’t change. We are currently working on a Pittsburgh Power Performance Computer for the DD5 EGR 15-liter Detroit and the ISX Cummins engine. We presently have several units out on the road right now being tested. In regards to turbochargers and mufflers, we are always trying to improve the flow of air. The better the air flows through these systems, the better your truck will run (increased fuel economy and performance). The FASS Fuel System, which removes air from diesel fuel, is another way to help your engine to run smoother, pull better, and obtain better fuel mileage (see Trucker Talk article on page 96). It’s an absolute must for the BXS Acert Cats. Our Mercury-filled crankshaft balancers will also extend the life of your truck by making everything smooth. Products like these make driving a truck not only more pleasurable, but more profitable as well.

Now more than ever we need your parts business. If you are rebuilding your engine, we can supply you with ceramic and Teflon coated pistons, high flow injectors, nozzles, turbos, power computers, rod and main bearings, and a host of other items. Your continued parts business keeps us going. Owner operators are our only customers, and without your parts business, we can’t stay in business.

As we enter into a new facility, we will need a few more high performance oriented diesel engine technicians. We are looking for young, clean-cut, non-smoking, aggressive techs that love high performance diesel engines, truck pulling and racing. I’m 58 now and my body is slowing down – it wants me to take a nap around 3:00 pm every day. But I want to see the world of high performance diesel engines continue, so now, in this new facility, it is time to start training and mentoring the next generation of diesel engine techs. Our youngest employee, who is right out of Lenawee Vo-Tech School, is only 19 years old. We also have a 23-year-old mechanical engineer from the University of Pittsburgh. As you can see, we have already started building the next generation of performance diesel technicians however we could use a few more. We also need a person in the parts department who is familiar with shipping and receiving and the use of FedEx and UPS for deliveries. Give us a call if you think that you might be interested or qualified (remember, we’re in Pennsylvania).

One last item, we will once again be getting back into the high performance diesel pickup truck arena. We started the performance pickup revolution in the USA years ago but dropped it because of limited space and employees in the old shop. Now, with four bays dedicated to pickups in the new facility, we will again be developing and installing performance systems on these trucks. We will also be working on motor homes and have installed two RV sites for any vehicle that can utilize hook-ups. In the near future, we may begin installing APU’s on semi trucks, and we’ll need a tech for that, too.

Once again, thank you for your past business over the last 30 years – we look forward to serving you throughout the next 30 years as well. If you have any performance-related comments or questions, feel free to contact me through Pittsburgh Power at (724) 360-4080 or send me an e-mail to bruce@pittsburghpower.com. You are also invited to stop by our new facility to say “hello” and check it out.