Fleetguard, filters for when the going gets tough

In this article we look at Fleetguard. Formerly part of Cummins, one of the largest engine manufacturers in the world.

Fleetguard history

Fleetguard has been around since the 1950s. Starting as a small manufacturer, it has grown into a world-class player with sales of $1.6 billion in 2023. Fleetguard has long been part of Cummins, one of the largest manufacturers of marine, automotive, truck, agricultural and construction equipment engines. Since 2023, Cummins’ filtration division has continued to operate under the name Atmus. In 2023, this unit was listed on the American stock exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Fleetguard is still the brand, but you can now invest in it too.

Facts about Fleetguard

• Atmus, the parent company of Fleetguard, is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, America
• In total, more than 4,500 employees work at Atmus and Fleetguard
• The company has more than 600 registered trademarks and more than 1300 patents
• In 2023, Fleetguard had sales of more than $1.6 billion
• That same year, Fleetguard invested $43 million in research and development
• The company has 5 technology centers around the world: Wisconsin and Cookeville in America, Quimper in France, Pune in India and Wuhan in China.
• In total, Fleetguard employs 350 engineers who focus exclusively on technological innovation
• Fleetguard is the only filter manufacturer that has its own production of filter media and does not supply this media to other filter manufacturers

Filtration for high performance applications

By linking to Cummins engines, many filters are finding their way into more demanding applications. There are currently more than one million Cummins engines in use in applications; Agriculture, construction machinery, shipping and trucks. An incredible number. All of these engines contain Fleetguard filters. So you can imagine that the company has to produce a significant number of filters every year to meet replacement needs.

Because Cummins engines are used in so many machines and trucks, you can be confident that the factory-installed Fleetguard filters are designed specifically for these engines. We therefore recommend always using Fleetguard filters on Cummins engines.

Manufacturer for the OEM

Cummins also produces engines for many other manufacturers. Sometimes it doesn't have Cummins on it anymore, but the engine is made by them. Examples of truck and equipment manufacturers that have used Cummins engines in some models; Scania, Volvo, Isuzu, Daf, John Deere, JCB and Mercedes-Benz.

It is therefore possible that the factory filter used on these engines comes from Fleetguard. This is good to know because then you also know that you can rely on Fleetguard for quality filters for your engine and machine.

Fleetguard and innovation

With more than 1,300 patents, the company is a driving force for innovation. Some of the innovations are hidden deep in the filters. For example, cyclone-shaped guidance in the oil filters, which ensures better flow, self-developed and produced filter media, differently folded filter media for significantly better flow, up to 7 different layers and materials in one and the same filter.

The company is able to do this because it has an extensive research and development program with its own laboratories and quality controls. In the 5 technology centers worldwide, 350 engineers continuously work on improving products and materials. In the following product line highlights we take a closer look at some of the specific innovations.

Highlights of the product line

Below we highlight some of the Fleetguard product portfolio. With so many patents and innovative products this section could stretch forever, but we want to take a closer look at some examples of Fleetguard’s innovation prowess.

LF14000NN

Side-stream and main-stream filter in one. It sounds too good to be true. The LF14000NN filter combines both forms of oil filtration in one filter by first allowing the oil flow to flow through the main flow section of the filter and then allowing some of the oil to also flow through the bypass section in the second part of the filter. The difficulty is that the bypass filter removes much smaller contaminants, so uses finer filter material and therefore has a lower flow. Normally the bypass filter only filters part of the oil behind the main flow filter. With this filter, Fleetguard has managed to control the flow in the filter so that it flows quickly through the full flow section while still allowing some of the oil to flow through the bypass section.

NanoForce® air filter

Since the air filter is the only part that prevents dust and dirt from entering the engine, it's good to know that NanoForce stops 99.99% of dust. Even particles smaller than 5 micrometers are filtered out of the air. Many air filters are not able to clean such small particles from the air. It is the smaller particles that cause the most damage to the engine. Laboratory and field tests have shown that NanoForce air filters can last up to five times longer than filters from competing filter brands. Of course, this depends on the application, specific engine and circumstances. Basically, you can assume that NanoForce has a 30% longer lifespan.

NanoNet® filter media

NanoNet is the filter media designed to ensure optimal cleaning while maintaining good flow. NanoNet is made of 100% polymer materials. The big advantage is that the structure becomes more uniform and is easier to control during the production process. This means that this filter medium is able to capture small contaminants of just a few nanometers. Hence the name NanoNet. A fine filter medium that captures very small contaminants almost always has the disadvantage that it makes it more difficult for the air to flow through the filter. This is the big advantage of NanoNet, it filters very finely but still has a good flow.

FleetguardFIT®

Of course, it's nice if you use high-quality filters with a longer lifespan. The only question, of course, is when you should replace your filters. Even a quality filter will harm your engine and machine if you don't replace it in time. FleetguardFIT helps you get the maximum lifespan from your filters. It uses sensors to measure how well your filters are still working and tells you when you need to replace them. This eliminates the guesswork and prevents you from replacing too soon. This keeps your machine in top condition, reduces unnecessary downtime on your machines and prevents you from changing your filter too soon. Ultimately, you simply have lower costs by working with FleetguarFIT.

OptiAir™

These air filters are specifically designed to withstand the harshest and dustiest conditions. The coarse dirt is first filtered in the housing before the air is fed to the actual air filter. The so-called two-stage air filtration. This means that the filter in the housing lasts much longer and you have to replace your filter less often. If you need to replace your filter, you can open the housing without tools and remove the filter. This means you can replace your filter in just a few minutes. The internal construction of the case ensures better airflow. This allows more air to reach the engine and improves the performance of your machine.