Few can deny that 2020 has been a crazy year. We had to deal with the health impacts of the COVID pandemic and the financial repercussions of the government’s response trying to mitigate risk.
- In November, the techs at our Bosch partner tested positive for COVID and the operation had to shut down for a quarantine period, yet the orders kept coming. We filled the queue, along with their other customers, putting them way behind. Turn around times were increasing drastically so we quit offering upgrades in December to allow them to catch up
- Our dyno partner became unresponsive. My point of contact was unresponsive and I later learned that he was no longer with the company. I was then assigned a new contact who has also become unresponsive. With everything else going on I 2020, I did not feel the need to push the envelope and pressure them so I let things rest.
On the positive side, we had a few great moments:
- Despite the financial hardship felt by a lot of businesses, BenzForce exceeded goals for turbo and pump sales. This serves as confirmation that we have an offering that is still meeting the market’s need, with the quality and level of support needed.
- New Holset related offerings. We expanded our Holset offerings to include 12AN drains for both T25 and T3 turbos and the om60x and om617 engines. Other products were introduced like manifold and wastegate adapters.
- New USA manufacturers onboarded. While working through some of the challenges of the HE200 series, we have worked with 4 new USA based manufacturers and hope to continue working with them in the future.
- Test bench. In 2020, BenzForce acquired a Bosch EPS test bench to bring pump building in-house!
Despite 2020 being a rough year, we had significant highs with minimal lows. So what does 2021 have in store? Well, 2020 taught us to expect the unexpected but I have set the following objectives for the company:
- Training by Dieselmeken. BenzForce should represent Dieselmeken as closely as possible for the sake of our customers. I hope to get us trained in 2021 by Dieselmeken to build the 617 MW/M and om60x pumps. This will allow for better quality (by following their process), cost control, support, and turn around times.
- Holset products. There are just a few additional Holset parts to make. These include the HX30 Super oil feed fitting, maybe an adapter for the om603, a KKK to T3 adapter, and possibly parts for the HE400 if I stick with that turbo
- Transmission adapters. Yes, that’s right. My engineer is designing the 606 side of the adapter flange now but research needs to go into finding the most cost-effective, widely available (salvage yard), <500hp transmission available in the US market. The transmission needs to cross engine platforms for both modern gas and classic diesel engines. If all else fails, I can revert to the BMW GS6, CD009, TR 6060, etc but I think another option may be out there.
- Intercoolers and chassis specific parts. Expect to see w123 and om617 specific parts coming out this year. I cannot get into too many details at this time but several products are in the works.
- Dyno testing. As soon as the test bench is operational and the build-out of the new commercial space is complete, most of the distractions will be gone and I can focus on resuming testing. If our current provider cannot accommodate our schedule I will need to find a new one.
As always I appreciate the continued support and loyalty as I try to build this brand to bring relevant and reasonably price products to market!
Rodney