PACCAR-Penzotti
Company: PACCAR Inc
Company Description: As a multinational technology company, PACCAR Inc manufactures medium- and heavy-duty trucks sold around the world under the Peterbilt, Kenworth, DAF and Foden nameplates. PACCAR maintains exceptionally high standards of quality for all of its products: they are well-engineered, are highly customized and sell in the premium segments of their markets.
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Product Developer
Nomination Title: Roger Penzotti, Technical Engineering Manager
1. Tell the story about what this nominee achieved in 2004 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
Roger Penzotti is a product development engineer at PACCAR’s North-American
Technical Center, designing products for Kenworth and Peterbilt trucks. The
successes of PACCAR in 2004 reflect Roger’s continued efforts in product
development.PACCAR is the parent company to a worldwide group of truck manufacturing,
parts and financial divisions that support heavy-duty truck operations. PACCAR
products are recognized as premium trucks, as indicated by J.D. Power Customer
Satisfaction Awards and Heavy Duty Trucking “Nifty-Fifty” awards. PACCAR’s
North American Technical Center provides leadership to the truck divisions to
develop new designs, materials, and processes.Roger’s responsibilities include identifying customer requirements, making build-
versus-buy decisions, maximizing technology partnerships, and developing
products that support the company’s business units and capitalize on emerging
market opportunities. He mentors division engineering and product managers.
Roger holds twelve US Patents and has been awarded PACCAR prestigious
Inventor’s Award four times.Roger’s projects have ranged from complete vehicle concepts to vehicle
components. He has mastered PACCAR’s financial models that evaluate product
proposals for commercial success criteria. Roger has had great success as a
corporate leader in integrating his ideas into the truck divisions’ product
plans. His influence arises from his clear understanding of customer and division needs as well as his personal commitment to product success.In 2004, one of his product concepts achieved record utilization within the North
American truck divisions. Sold under the FLEX Air and AG380 names at Peterbilt
and Kenworth, respectively, the drive-axle suspension is light-weight and high
performance with a distinctive design. Each suspension component is optimized
for ride, stability and handling. The suspension has both a low purchase price and
low operating cost. Customers are enthusiastic about its performance.
Roger recognized the suspension’s potential for high utilization and designed a
rigorous test program to meet PACCAR’s reliability targets. Roger set up a world
wide program which tested the suspension in typical and severe service
applications in the US, Europe and Australia.Roger’s other notable accomplishments include:
• A lightweight, one-piece cast-aluminum frame crossmember. It saves
up to 100 lbs per chassis and has up to three times the fatigue life of the
parts it replaces. Two design patents were awarded.• A system for improving the ride of air suspensions over certain road
events through the use of tuned inter-spring air piping. It is in use on Kenworth
suspensions. A US patent was awarded and Roger received PACCAR inventor’s
award for the concept.• A concept for a low-vibration driveline arrangement that eliminates
torsional vibrations due to driveline geometry errors and ride height misadjustment
on trailing arm tandem axle suspensions. A US patent was awarded.
2. List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: List each link on a separate line, begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.website.com]:
3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about this nominee:
Roger Penzotti received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from
San Jose State in 1970. He joined Peterbilt as a design engineer and was
promoted to engineering section manager. His experience included design of cab
and chassis structures, cooling systems, cab dash/instrument/air/electric
systems, seat design, and cab and chassis suspensions. In 1987, Roger
joined the PACCAR Technical Center, where he has developed analysis and test
techniques and new product concepts. He is a licensed professional engineer.