Cummins Bridgeway Northwest

Cummins-Bridgeway’s Northwest offices understand customer service. They also actively seek out value added products and services which really help the customers they serve.

In 2007, Larry Revard, Executive Director of the Northwest Division, became convinced there was a cost effective way to dramatically decrease the headaches associated with fuel delivered to Cummins engines. The facilities in Western and Northern Lower Michigan were seeing engines with plugged filters and engine damage caused by poor fuel quality. Even though those situations had absolutely nothing to do with Cummins, staff troubleshooters were fixing problems and dealing with unhappy customers. 

After researching the product line, Northwest Division decided to actively market the Algae-X line of diesel fuel conditioning products. They haven’t looked back since. Installations have been made on ships, tug boats, RV’s, over the road trucks and generators – lots of generators. They also use Algae-X mobile fuel polishers to clean tanks and improve fuel quality for customers in need.

Angelique (AC) Rison, Power Generation Rental/Sales Coordinator, has seen a decrease in fuel related maintenance cost and an increase in profitability since embracing Algae-X in-line fuel conditioners, AFC-705 fuel catalyst, and fuel polishing technology. She’s also seen an increase in overall rental business as word gets out that Cummins has the most reliable rental generators in the area. “Fuel problems simply are a thing of the past for us. Our generators have continued to perform flawlessly even with the lower lubricity ultra-low sulfur diesel (S15) fuels now mandated,” she explained.

Plugged filters due to poor fuel quality used to cause one in four generators rented to shut down. A tech was called out in an emergency situation. A customer was unhappy. Not a good situation in any circumstance! Since a fuel maintenance program was implemented for the rental fleet (in early 2007), there have been NO fuel related shutdowns in Grand Rapids (“Well, there were two,” Rison says, “They both ran out of fuel. That counts, I suppose.”) A more complete burn of the fuel has resulted in cleaner lube oils, too. Preventive maintenance has been moved safely from 250 to 400 hours on generators using Algae-X products. Decreased costs have added roughly $100,000 a year to the bottom line!

Then there is fuel polishing. The Northwest Division is busy polishing fuel for its customers – and making new customers by polishing fuel. Tank testing and preventative maintenance agreements for fuel quality have given Cummins-Bridgeway a whole new profit center and a competitive edge! On more than one occasion, Cummins techs have been called out when a generator was not making its rated power, only to discover that there was nothing mechanically wrong with the unit in question. Break out the fuel polisher, take care of the fuel quality, and fire it up again. Rated power is achieved. Problem solved.

Cummins-Bridgeway’s Northwest Division services the Western and Northern portions of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula with offices in Grand Rapids, Gaylord, Saginaw, and Traverse City. Cummins Bridgeway is the Cummins distributor responsible for Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, Michigan's Lower Peninsula, and some adjacent counties in Kentucky, Indiana, and West Virginia. Cummins-Bridgeway, as a whole, is headquartered in New Hudson, MI. The Northwest Division can be reached at 616.538.2250 or 616.281.2211.

Algae-X is the worldwide leader in total fuel management systems designed to optimize fuel quality, promote peak engine performance, and reliability. Algae-X technology improves the quality and reliability of fuels resulting in improved combustion, significant reduction in particulate emissions, and lower overall operating and maintenance costs. The Great Lakes Basin distributor for Algae-X products is Diesel Fuel Doctor. www.dieselfueldoctor.com or 517.605.5788