Aftermarket product manufacturer Gates Corp. has announced an accessory component kit for the Ford Drive electric hybrid system. This new kit contains the replacement belt, tensioner and pulleys for the Ford E-450 Azure hybrid drive system. Azure Dynamics Corp. originally produced a hybrid drive system that required a special dual-sided serpentine replacement belt; but Azure filed for bankruptcy in 2012, and companies that have the Ford E-450 with the Azure hybrid drive system in their fleets have had a hard time finding replacement parts. Gates has stepped in to fill this void.

FedEx contacted Gates after struggling to find replacement parts for their Ford E-450 fleet vehicles. “We contacted Gates after exhausting our search for a custom belt for our hybrid vehicles,” said Marcello D’Aureli, FedEx’s senior vehicle technician. “Gates worked with us to recreate this very unique belt … and much to our surprise, they even supplied us with pulleys and tensioners. We now have several units on the road with this belt and tensioner kit.”

Gates engineers provided a solution to get these vehicles back in service by creating a market exclusive accessory drive system replacement parts kit.

“At Gates, we take the voice of our customers seriously and our engineers are constantly creating solutions to difficult problems,”said Jason Davis, the company’s product marketing manager. “We take pride in the latest addition to our solution kit product portfolio.”