Atlanta, Georgia, February 24, 2020 – Alcoa® Wheels, the global leader and inventor of the forged aluminum wheel, is highlighting its team of experts and showcasing their breadth of technical knowledge with its first-ever podcast titled, Behind The Wheels.
Announced at the 2020 Technology & Maintenance Council Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, Behind the Wheels is hosted by Alcoa Wheels’ Doug Mason, Dave Walters, and Mike Yagley. The 30-minute show talks about heavy truck and medium duty axle ends. Mason, Walters and Yagley bring close to 100 years of experience and expertise in the transportation business. Each month listeners will learn something new on the topic of axle ends.
“Our team boasts the best and brightest engineering and technical authorities in the industry” said Merrick Murphy, president, Howmet Wheel Systems. “We’re proud to develop this podcast and offer customers, consumers and wheel enthusiasts the opportunity to learn from Doug, Dave and Mike.”
Episode 1 of Behind The Wheels: Industry’s Darkest Secret highlights the topic of wheel-offs. Wheel- offs are of huge industry interest, and while they may not be talked about often, they exist. During this installment, the experts chat about why wheel-offs occur and how they can be prevented.
Behind The Wheels is available to listen at alcoawheels.com/podcast, iTunes, Spotify and Google.
To learn more about Behind The Wheels, submit questions and/or comments, visit https://go.alcoawheels.com/podcast. For information on Alcoa Wheels, go to www.arconic.com/alcoawheels.com or consult your local dealer.
About Doug Mason
Doug Mason began his career in the transportation industry in 1994 upon completion of his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan. His entire career has been centered around wheels with increasing roles in manufacturing, product/process design and research and development. Mason has been involved with the implementation of advanced manufacturing operations, product/process improvements, quality/lean processes and R&D projects involving casting, forging and stamping operations along with aluminum finishing and coating operations. He has also served in technical liaison positions to vehicle OEMs in the light, medium and heavy-duty sectors aimed at creating improvements in the areas of field service, warranty analysis and customer satisfaction. Mason currently has six patents in the area of process and product development.
Mason is currently an active member in TMC, SAE, ETRTO, EUWA, AA, MEMA and the Tire and Rim Association TAC and Standards committees. He also holds a board of directors’ position for TR&A and secretary positions in the TMC Future Truck and SAE Truck and Bus Committee.
About Dave Walters
Dave Walters is Alcoa® Wheels’ Manager of Warranty and Field Service. Throughout his 31 years with Alcoa Wheels he has been received the 2003 Arthur Vinny Davis Award for Technical Achievement for Alcoa® Dura-Bright® wheels, the 2018 Spirit of Transportation Award for customer service and was a 2011 finalist in Heavy Duty Trucking’s Top 20 Technical Advances for Wheel Torque Solutions. Walters is a member of SAE, CVSA, VMCC and TMC. He serves on the Board of Directors at VMMC and as a trustee. Walters earned his Recognition Associate at TMC in 2000, as well as TMC’s highest honor, The Silver Spark Plug, in 2001. He was elected to the TMC Board of Directors in 2015 and elected Chairman of the Associates in 2016, and which he continues to serve today. Walters has been an ongoing TMC Task Force Chairman and regular speaker. He chaired The Future Technician Task Force for many years and sponsored 22 Technician winners for which he’s earned a TMC recognition award. Walters is a reoccurring guest on TMC Tech Talk with Dave Nemo and has conducted annual presentations at the VMMC, SAE, TIA and the Mid America Trucking Shows.
About Mike Yagley
Mike Yagley began his career in the transportation industry in 1987, and over the next 15 years, Yagley’s responsibilities continued to grow leading him to oversee the wiring systems fusing, gaging and grounding strategies for the Ford F-Series trucks, Econoline vans, Crown Victoria and F53 Motorhome chassis, which was approximately 50% of all vehicles sold by Ford Motor Co.
In 2002, Yagley joined Alcoa® Wheels and returned to his fatigue analysis roots, ultimately gaining responsibility in the design, testing and program management of the North American commercial vehicle programs. In 2009, he was named Global Technical Manager where, to this day, is responsible for all technical communications to customers in China, Europe, Australia and Japan. In working with fleets in China and Europe, Yagley grew to understand the day-to-day issues fleets face, along with the importance of considering fleet performance in engineering decision making. He is currently responsible for all Alcoa Wheel product launches in the global portfolio, is the convener (chair) of the global ISO committee on wheels and is active in the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and the Tire and Rim Association.
About Howmet Wheel Systems
Howmet Wheel Systems, a business unit of Howmet, serves the commercial vehicle market with products used in a range of applications including forged aluminum wheels, premium products such as Ultra ONE® Wheels with MagnaForce® alloy, Dura-Black™, Dura-Bright®, Dura-Flange®, LvL ONE® technology, and M-Series® medium duty truck wheels, as well as a variety of other aluminum components for these markets. For more information: www.alcoawheels.com and follow @AlcoaWheels on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
About Howmet
Howmet Aerospace Inc., headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a leading global provider of advanced engineered solutions for the aerospace and transportation industries. The Company’s primary businesses focus on jet engine components, aerospace fastening systems, and titanium structural parts necessary for mission-critical performance and efficiency in aerospace and defense applications, as well as forged wheels for commercial transportation. With nearly 1,150 granted and pending patents, the Company’s differentiated technologies enable lighter, more fuel-efficient aircraft to operate with a lower carbon footprint.
