DENSO executives discuss regional growth, product line expansions at AAPEX

Executives from DENSO’s aftermarket division discussed company investments, several product line expansions and introduced a new diagnostic tool during a press conference at AAPEX Nov. 6.

Richard Shiozaki, senior vice president of DENSO Products and Services America said DENSO has more than 25 manufacturing facilities in North America that produce products for regional customers.

DENSO is investing more than $50 million to expand its operations in Silao, Mexico, where alternators, HVAC units and radiators are produced for the North American market.

Next year DENSO will be opening a new warehouse facility in Montgomery, Ala., representing an investment of $2.2 million, with 45 new jobs in a three-shift operation.

“All of these expansions bring us closer to realizing our goal of investing nearly $1 billion and adding more than 1,200 jobs in North America by 2015,” Shiozaki said. “The creation of DENSO Products and Services Americas last year – our central aftermarket headquarters in North America where we employ more than 400 people – shows our commitment to the aftermarket in the Americas. And globally, our goal is to have 20 percent of total sales come from the aftermarket by 2025.”

Fran Labun, vice president, sales group for DENSO Products and Services Americas, said

DENSO recently launched a fuel pump solution that uses a 38-mm turbine fuel pump module for a major domestic carmaker to solve a specific aftermarket issue.

“It’s an improved aftermarket design based on DENSO OE standards,” he said. “At launch later this month, we’ll have 30 part numbers, and more part numbers in February.”

A new DENSO product offering is Tire Pressure Monitor sensors, which use OE technology to provide a quick, direct fit, with no cloning or programming. “These are application-specific service kits, with an anticipated 10-year battery life. It’s a new product line for us, but we already have part numbers covering 73 percent of Toyotas, 36 percent of Hondas and about 19 percent of the rest of the Japanese brands,” he said.

DENSO recently added a new line of rear wiper blades with graphite-coated rubber for improved performance. “We have part numbers covering everything from the Chevrolet HHR and Kia Soul, to the Lexus LX570 and Infiniti QX56,” Labun said.

In June 2013, DENSO added 65 new part numbers to cover more vehicles’ starters and alternators.

“This expansion covers more than 20 million vehicles in operation, including more Honda and Acura models,” he said. “In fact, we have almost complete coverage of Asian vehicles. Our advanced segment conductor – or SC – alternator, with its unique stator coil winding technique, increases winding density from 45 percent for traditional alternators to 70 percent.”

DENSO added 67 new oxygen sensor part numbers to cover an additional 7.7 million vehicles in operation. With this expansion, DENSO now has 99.9 percent coverage for domestic and imported automotive and light-duty truck applications through the 2013 model year, Labun said.

DENSO VitalScan is a new diagnostic tool and supporting web-based data system that lets technicians perform hundreds of specific OBD2 tests in minutes, delivering detailed vehicle health reports.

“It automatically links with thousands of online documents and even searches for similar cases and suspect parts, saving evaluation and diagnostic labor time,” he said. “This is a very robust and comprehensive service system – not just another scan tool.”

DENSO also has a new line of industrial spark plugs called “Iridium Saver,” designed specifically for the oil, gas and transit markets. With its design of three ground electrodes instead of one, the DENSO Iridium Saver spark plug is engineered to channel rapid gas flow at the spark-plug tip, generating a more consistent spark for complete combustion, Labun said.

DENSO’s return rate is less than 1 percent compared to an industry average of 5 percent to 7 percent, Labun said.

DENSO has launched a tri-lingual aftermarket website, and all of its product catalogs are now tri-lingual – English, Spanish and French.

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