During our visit to AAPEX 2021, Autosphere was able to stop by and visit Dayco at booth #A4026.

Jay Buckley, Director, Heavy Duty and Specialty Markets, provided an overview of some of the company’s new products.

A key development over the last few years has been electric water pumps.

Very small in size compared to traditional mechanical water pumps, these products have found a niche on vehicles employing stop-start technology, in which the pump runs while the engine is switched off to continue circulating coolant through the HVAC system to keep the cabin heated.

Additionally, the advent of more and more small-displacement turbocharged engines in recent years has also seen a need for these kinds of pumps to cool the turbochargers after the engine is switched off to prevent the oil from solidifying and the turbocharger bearings seizing.

Electric pumps are also used for liquid cooling of the battery systems in EVs and hybrid vehicles.

Buckley explained that while the market for electric water pumps is currently small, it is set to expand significantly in the next few years, particularly if vehicle electrification increases exponentially.

“We originally released 28-part numbers in this category,” said Buckley “but we’ve now expanded to more than 80.”

He acknowledged, more are likely to be introduced as the market for these products takes off.

Besides electric water pumps, Dayco also showcased its serpentine belt kits, which feature the belt, pulley and tensioner, complete in a single box.

This line of products was introduced to provide a complete kit installation for technicians and to prevent premature system failure which often happens when a belt is replaced but the pulley and tensioner are not.

These kits represent a huge system solution, not only for Dayco but the entire automotive service repair industry.