Salem native's firm streamlines tractor-trailers

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October 27, 2010

The Biz Ethan Forman The Salem News Wed Oct 27, 2010, 12:06 AM EDT

If you are going down the highway and you see what looks like the tail of the space shuttle attached to the back of a tractor-trailer, you can thank Salem native Andrew Smith.

Smith, 34, a graduate of Pingree School in South Hamilton, has started a South San Francisco company that he says could help the trucking industry reduce fuel costs by $2 billion a year. Smith's company has devised a taillike device that fits on the back of tractor-trailers to help make them more aerodynamic and 6.6 percent more fuel-efficient at 65 mph, Smith said.

"In this industry, fuel is the biggest cost," Smith said.

Smith is the CEO of Advanced Transit Dynamics Inc., and he says the trailer's boxlike shape is the reason they are so inefficient.

"Basically, the story is, the worst shape to pull down the highway is a big rectangular box," Smith said. The shape creates low-pressure suction drag at the back. Streamlining that shape reduces drag.

In the sixth grade, Smith became interested in environmental technologies after a friend, Evan Cross, then of Beverly, got him interested in Ferraris and Lamborghinis. Smith later learned from a science teacher at Glen Urqurhart School in Beverly that these super cars were not fuel-efficient.

Smith went on to earn an undergraduate degree in physics from Middlebury College in Vermont and an MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth College.

In 2005, he began to work on the idea of making tractor-trailers more fuel-efficient, applying the principles that allow tapered helmets used in cycling and speed skating to slice through the wind.

The idea won the Rice Business Plan Competition in 2006, the company said. ATDynamics recently announced a multimillion-dollar contract to retrofit the fleet of Mesilla Valley Transportation of Las Cruces, N.M. This retrofit of 3,500 trailers could save 1 million gallons of diesel and $3 million a year for the fleet, Smith said.

ATDynamics is also part of a $40 million U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored project to make trucks more efficient, Smith said.

There's an app for the PACC

If you want to be promoted by the Peabody Area Chamber of Commerce, there's an app for that.

The Peabody chamber has announced it is one of the first chambers of commerce in the United States to offer a free smart-phone application to promote its members.

The MyChamberApp application lets users locate a business and even get discount offers on their phone. The app is being offered in addition to the chambers' searchable business directory on its website, at www.peabodychamber.com. The idea is to make member information and special offers available to those on the go, given the widespread use of smart phones.

"The PACC realizes it is important to stay ahead of the technology curve," said Deanne Healey, president and CEO of the Peabody Area Chamber of Commerce, in a statement. From the chamber's website, go to the online business directory and click on "MyChamberApp" to check it out.

You can also get a demonstration today at the PACC Business-to-Business Expo at the Holiday Inn in Peabody.

Health center receives federal booster shot

North Shore Community Health Inc. in Salem is getting $750,000 as part of a $44 million statewide grant to community health centers, according to a press release from the Patrick-Murray Administration. Lt. Gov. Tim Murray highlighted the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act grant during a stop at the Brockton Neighborhood Health Center on Oct. 21.

North Shore Community Health was one of eight Bay State community health centers to receive the award. The money comes from a $727 million federal grant to 143 community health centers across the country.

Statewide, the grant will provide care to more than 30,000 additional patients and create 166 construction and community health care jobs. In addition to North Shore Community Health, the Lynn Community Health Care Center received a sizable grant of $6.9 million.

Marina plans tours for Salem residents

The Brewer Hawthorne Cove Marina plans to open its doors to neighbors, guests and friends Saturday, Nov. 6, for a light breakfast and tours of the marina.

The Brewer Yacht Yard group earlier this month bought the 110-slip Hawthorne Cove Marina at 10 White St. from Russ Vickers for $2.3 million. Vickers is well-known along Salem's waterfront as a former president of Salem Sound Coastwatch and as both president and chairman of The Salem Partnership.

This is Brewer's second Massachusetts marina, along with one in Plymouth. With the purchase of Hawthorne Cove, Brewer operates 22 marinas in Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, Maine and Massachusetts.

The marina has 270 moorings and its yard stores 150 boats in the winter, as well as providing a full range of services.

Noah Flaherty, the marina's manager, plans to update the community on enhancements to make the marina more comfortable for customers, and to expand the service department for yacht repair and maintenance.

The open house will be Nov. 6, from 9 to 11 a.m., with a rain date of Nov. 13. For more information, call the marina at 978-740-9890 or e-mail hcm@byy.com.

Analogic ships 3,000th DAS system

Peabody-based Analogic Corp., a provider of medical imaging and aviation security technology, celebrated a milestone when it shipped its 3,000th large-area, multislice data acquisition system for computed tomography, which it developed for a major medical original equipment manufacturer.

Analogic's systems are installed in medical facilities as subsystems of high performance CT scanners. Analogic helped pioneer the use of CT technology for cardiology and neurology. Analogic's products are in more than half of all installed CT scanners worldwide.

• • •

Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673 or by e-mail at eforman@salemnews.com.

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