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CEO says APU-maker IdleBuster will return after 90 days

Cash flow problems and the recent credit crunch have shaken firms from Wall Street to Main Street, and also have prompted one APU-maker to temporarily shutter its manufacturing facilities.

IdleBuster will take a 90-day hiatus to regroup before reopening early next year, Wade Gordon, the company’s industry liaison, told Land Line Magazine. IdleBuster is a division of Odessa, FL-based OX Brands LLC.

“We’re not shutting down per se,” Gordon said. “We’ve invested over $15 million into APUs trying to build the best in the market. With the economy like it is, it’s not just hurting us, it’s hurting everyone.”

Service contracts that drivers have for oil changes through another party are still valid, Gordon said. Maintenance or repair bills covered by the company’s warranty will be repaid, Gordon said.

“If a person has a warranty issue and they repair it themselves, write down engine hours, date and where you had it repaired, submit the invoice to us,” Gordon said. “It may take 90 days – but you will be reimbursed.”

Some vendors owe IdleBuster money, and the credit crisis has limited available capital, Gordon said.

About 450 to 500 truck drivers are using APUs built by IdleBuster, Gordon estimated.

Gordon, an OOIDA member and longtime driver himself, said his company’s optimism about the APU market led to the temporary closing rather than a permanent one.

“It’s gonna be a tough time – but IdleBuster believes that they service the most vital industry in the country, the truck driver,” Gordon said. “I will not let the drivers be left hanging like some other companies have done – even if that means I have to meet the drivers close to their home and work with my own two hands.”

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