What Sets Fleetguard Apart in Competitive Aftermarket

We all know that product quality claims often exceed actual performance, but Fleetguard is relying on its Cummins heritage and engineering-first approach to stand out in the filtration aftermarket. Kenneth Hanover, director of North American sales and customer support at Fleetguard, sat down with Malcolm Harris on the November 19 episode of What the Truck?!? to discuss what Fleetguard is doing to help truck drivers in right-to-repair advocacy and why Fleetguard’s unconventional warranty approach resonates with owner-operators.

Fleetguard traces its history back to the 1950s when Cummins Engine established the filtration brand to supply filters for its engines. The direct connection to engine manufacturing would become central to Fleetguard’s identity and competitive advantage.

The company remained under the Cummins umbrella until recently, when it became a standalone entity under the Atmus name. Despite the corporate restructuring, Fleetguard maintains its global manufacturing and technology centers and generates over $1.6 billion annually, with a significant portion coming from aftermarket sales under the Fleetguard brand.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Fleetguard’s unique capability of developing and manufacturing its own filter media led to an unexpected pivot. The company partnered with 3M to produce face masks not only for 3M employees but for Cummins workers globally. 

“We develop and manufacture our own media, which is very unique for a filter manufacturer,” Hanover said. This versatility, he says, demonstrated Fleetguard’s potential value beyond traditional applications and influenced the decision to expand into new industries as an independent company.

According to Hanover, Fleetguard’s engineering DNA is the fundamental difference that sets the company apart from competitors. Fleetguard commits to meeting or exceeding OE specifications across its product line without compromise on performance or technology.

“We have a very deep understanding of the science behind the technology, and this came from our engine heritage,” Hanover said. “We’ve worked with engine manufacturers globally, not just with Cummins. We work with them in the development stage of things like fuel systems ten to fifteen years out before the product actually gets to the consumer,” he said.

This long-range collaboration gives Fleetguard insight into the nuances of fuel systems and the engineering challenges manufacturers face years before products reach the market. That knowledge informs the development of filtration technology designed to address specific problems.

Fleetguard maintains the same quality standards whether producing OE-branded filters or aftermarket products under its own name. 

“If you’re ordering a filter from us, if it’s the OE or if it’s a Fleetguard version, the only difference is the logo on the outside of the can,” Hanover said. This consistency eliminates the quality gap that often exists between original equipment and aftermarket alternatives.

Fleetguard’s warranty approach is also unmatched in the aftermarket. Unlike competitors who prorate warranty coverage based on mileage or age, Fleetguard offers full coverage regardless of when a failure occurs.

“If you’re the third owner of a truck with 800,000 miles on it and the filter was the cause of the engine’s failure, we don’t prorate it,” Hanover said. “We repair it and replace it.” 

This is in stark contrast with the industry standard, where a company might calculate that an engine with 800,000 miles on a million-mile motor has only 20 percent of its life remaining and limit warranty coverage accordingly.

While Fleetguard doesn’t see high volumes of warranty claims, Hanover says the company stands firmly behind its products when issues do arise. This no-prorate policy carries particular significance for owner-operators and smaller fleets that often purchase used equipment and face higher financial risks from component failures.

Over the last decade or more, many industries that rely on heavy equipment have been embroiled in right-to-repair controversies. Many OEMs force proprietary constraints that limit repair options and force operators to use specific branded parts. 

“I understand the rationale why an OEM would do that,” Hanover said, explaining that manufacturers typically impose restrictions to protect intellectual property and minimize warranty costs during the coverage period. OEMs also want to ensure customers have a consistent brand experience, since problems caused by inferior aftermarket parts can damage the truck manufacturer’s reputation even when the failure stems from a third-party component.

“Whether you’re the first owner of that truck or the third owner, you can still get a bad perception of a brand based on the failure of a bad filter that keeps plugging up,” Hanover said. 

Traditionally, according to Hanover, it’s not necessarily the fault of the engine or the badge manufacturer of the truck brand. Often, issues arise from a filter that’s not doing the right thing or low quality fuel. 

“From our side, we do a lot to help our customers work around those issues,” Hanover said. 

Fleetguard addresses these restrictions through two parallel strategies. First, the company maintains a dedicated engineering and technical team focused exclusively on aftermarket applications. This team works to understand the specifications and qualifications of new filters as they come to market, then determines whether Fleetguard can produce equivalent products without violating IP protections.

“Our company is set up with an engineering and technical team that are strictly focused on aftermarket,” Hanover said. “As those filters come out on new equipment, if we’re not the original provider, we’re already working well in advance to figure out the qualifications of that filter.”

When IP protections prevent Fleetguard from manufacturing its own version, the company takes a second approach: purchasing the filter directly from the original manufacturer and rebranding it under the Fleetguard name. This ensures customers can obtain all necessary filters from a single source rather than visiting multiple locations during a service stop.

Comprehensive product availability addresses a major pain point for truckers. Filters are consumable items that require regular replacement, and forcing operators to visit multiple storefronts for air, fuel and lube filters creates unnecessary friction and downtime.

“There’s nothing more frustrating than pulling into a truck stop for a needed service and hearing ‘we don’t have the right filter,’” Hanover said. “We don’t want that experience for our customers,  so we go out and purchase a product. We provide our customers a solution until we have a made-in-house product.”

By maintaining either in-house manufactured products or sourced alternatives for the full range of filters a customer might need, Fleetguard aims to eliminate those service delays.

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