Fontaine Fifth Wheel and its aftermarket parts company, Fontaine Parts Connection, have moved into a new state-of-the-art headquarters in Trussville, Alabama.
The new 50,000-sq-ft building includes distribution centers for both Fontaine Fifth Wheel and Parts Connection. It also houses a 9,000-sq-ft research and development lab, along with office space for the fifth wheel and parts operations. The facility brings together multiple operations that had previously been spread across three locations in the greater Birmingham area.
“When I joined Fontaine Fifth Wheel in 2007, our corporate offices were in Irondale, our research and development facility was down the street in another building, and our distribution center was 40 miles away in Calera. Plus, we were about to move Parts Connection into its own facility,” explains Henry Bell, president of Fontaine Fifth Wheel. “We quickly realized that it would be much more efficient to have everyone under one roof, so we started researching locations and designing a new facility.”
The result is a new facility that it brings the sales and marketing team together with the research and development team on a daily basis. “New technology drives our success. This arrangement facilitates a regular exchange of ideas, customer input and technical developments at all levels of Fontaine,” Bell says.
The new R&D lab is larger and better equipped than the previous facility and incorporates the latest safety systems. Customers are welcome to watch testing from the comfort of the control room, which overlooks the lab from behind shatterproof glass.
Fontaine conducts extensive testing on its own new and existing fifth wheels and components. It also performs benchmark testing on competitors’ products. Engineers administer life cycle, ultimate strength, wear, vibration analysis, environmental and corrosion tests. Testing equipment includes dynamic test stands, a static load test frame, single-axis shaker table, lock cycle test stand, and corrosion and environmental chambers.
The new lab also features a state-of-the-art 3D printer that applies layers of bonded powder, using the same basic technology as an inkjet printer. Driven by Pro Engineer CAD data, the printer continues to apply layers of bonded powder to make its o casting patterns for new products. This allows Fontaine to receive prototype castings in a few weeks, instead of three months or longer.
Fontaine’s manufacturing operations are unaffected by the move.
For more information about Fontaine Fifth Wheel or Fontaine Parts Connection, visit www.fifthwheel.com or call (800) 874-9780.