Huss closing down its European diesel retrofit facilities

20 December 2012

Faced with a slowing demand for diesel retrofit systems in Europe, the Huss Group is closing down their European retrofit facilities. The move reflects a shift in Huss business strategy towards the US and the ceramic OE business, said the company.

Huss particulate filters will now be sold in Europe via the US entity of Huss Group, Huss Inc. based in Palm Desert, California. The European emission control business of the Huss Group included Huss Umwelttechnik GmbH based in Nuremberg, Germany, as well as facilities in the UK and in Switzerland.

A new location of Huss Inc. in the Dresden, Germany area—near the company’s ceramic production site—will organize spare parts and system deliveries for the European markets. CleanDieselCeramics, the Dresden-based subsidiary of Huss, produces SiC filters for both retrofit and OE customers, said Huss.

Huss entered the US retrofit market in 2006, when it received California verification for it’s particulate filter with fuel burner regeneration—one of the first actively regenerated filter systems in the US retrofit market.

In the short term, the US retrofit market is expected to grow. In 2013, several diesel retrofit programs become effective in California (such as the in-use truck and bus regulation), after being delayed due to the recession. In the long term, the diesel retrofit market will gradually decline, as more diesel engines are equipped with OE filters. In the United States, all 2007 and newer heavy-duty truck and bus engines are fitted with particulate filter systems.

Source: Huss