Integrated axle-suspension

Hendrickson International's new Airtek is a lightweight, integrated front air suspension and steer axle package.

According to the company, Airtek is the first design to overcome an “engineering paradox” that prevented extending air suspension to the front axle without proportionally sacrificing ride comfort for stability.

But Hendrickson says it overcome the paradox to create an integrated unit that offers improved ride, as well as increased stability and handling yet with an overall lower weight.

Airtek will be initially offered on Freightliner Century Class, Columbia, and Coronado truck models beginning in April. At that time, two more “Tek” product family members will be released, Softek and Comtek, which will integrate the Steertek axle (used in the Airtek design) with existing mechanical leafspring suspensions. Also, the company says additional Airtek models for a range of on-highway applications will be made available in the future.
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