For more than 60 years Teleflex has grown by providing its customers with high quality, highly engineered products to meet business requirements.

Kam Mofid, vice president and general manager for Teleflex Inc.'s Power Systems Group, says staying at the forefront of the industry has both advantages and its challenges. "It's good to be the leader in your field, because you set the pace and the benchmark; it is also challenging, because others constantly try to copy us and attack our position."

Teleflex Power Systems is part of the commercial segment of Teleflex Inc., the largest of Teleflex's three divisions: commercial, medical and aerospace. For more than 60 years Teleflex has grown by providing its customers with high quality, highly engineered products to meet business requirements. Today, Teleflex has revenues in excess of $2.5 billion (U.S.), operations in 26 countries and more than 20,000 employees. "Power Systems Group has received substantial support from our corporate office to strengthen our position in the marketplace and to continue with our investment in product improvements and new product development," Mofid states. "We have a solid portfolio of green solutions to reduce emissions in trucks and locomotives, and to provide passenger comfort in variety of commercial and military vehicles. We also have very strong offerings in fuel management and alternative fuel systems."

Teleflex Power Systems consists of three major business units serving three key markets: Truck and Bus, Military and Rail, and Fuel Management and Alternative Fuel Systems. The products within the Power Systems Group are among Teleflex's most technically sophisticated offerings.

The Fuel Management and Alternative Fuel Systems division offers liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) components and systems to the automotive, transit bus and industrial markets. Mofid says this division is keeping up with the most growth and demand the industry has seen in years. "Although LPG and CNG business is almost non-existent in U.S. and Canada, there is very strong demand for our products outside these markets," he states.

Mofid explains the alternative fuel business practically disappeared in North America about three years ago when General Motors and Ford exited the business. "There was a lack of vision and lack of clear strategy both in the industry and within government," he says. "This is unfortunate, because there are significant fuel cost and/or emission advantages to LPG and CNG. This is precisely why these systems are very popular in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Now there is huge demand for alternative fuels and we're trying to keep up, both in our traditional markets in Europe, but also through new product development efforts to penetrate markets which demand simpler and lower-cost solutions such as China and India."

The Military and Rail Business Unit in Power Systems is also experiencing solid growth. On the military front, Mofid says the organization has been a reliable supplier to the U.S. Army for highly specialized field cooking stoves, and also a heavy-duty coolant-heater for the army's Stryker vehicle, which is manufactured by General Dynamics. "These products are used extensively by the Army including in Iraq supporting the troops," Mofid says.

The Truck and Bus Business Unit has two key offerings: a heavy-duty truck Auxiliary Power Unit to eliminate idling for trucks equipped with sleeper cabs, and variety of coolant heaters for transit and coach buses and other industrial markets.

Staying Competitive
Although the Power Systems Group fully intents to stay competitive in its traditional markets in North America and Western Europe, Mofid notes the group also wants to target markets in developing economies. "We used to think that we just needed to focus on winning in North America and Europe - this is clearly no longer the case, because our greatest growth opportunities, especially in LPG and CNG alternative fuel systems, are in places such as India, China, Korea and Latin America," he explains. "This is why we have assembled a very strong global executive team ... that understands the challenges of global product development and sales and marketing."