Twin Cities company makes name refurbishing engines for UPS, other big fleets

The 70-year-old truck engine-repair firm Reviva has launched a new division that will refurbish gasoline-powered engines for Hoglund Bus Co., Aramark, a Coca-Cola subsidiary and other companies with large fleets.

Last year, the small family-owned company in Fridley built a new $750,000 facility in Brooklyn Center.

Last month, it announced that the new 23,000-square-foot factory would be dedicated to refurbishing only gas engines.

Expanding into gas-engine rebuilding is a first for this region and a fresh direction for Reviva, which is best known for the diesel-engine work.

Reviva is the largest independent refurbisher of diesel engines in North America. It helped UPS save 36,000 hours in downtime by providing rebuilt diesel engines in a hurry.

Now the company is hitting trade shows to showcase its newly expanded abilities that aim to help fleet managers get broken buses and gas-powered delivery trucks back on the road sooner.

Reviva's Fridley location will continue to exclusively refurbish diesel engines.

The company, which boasts 180 workers in Fridley and 20 in Brooklyn Center, focuses on large engines that have failed.

The two facilities fix, clean, test and replace bad components until the engine is completely rebuilt and in working order.

It typically takes 32 hours to refurbish one truck or bus engine. That's a big time commitment for most fleet managers who worry about accrued downtime and missed business.

By outsourcing the remanufacturing process to Reviva, Hoglund and other gas-engine customers said they can quickly get rebuilt engines installed in just nine hours.

That gets buses back on the road quicker.

In March, Reviva will showcase its new services at the Work Truck Show in Indianapolis and the American Trucking Associations' show in Atlanta.

While new gas-engine customers include Hoglund, food-services company Aramark, work-apparel firm Cintas and Coca-Cola's transportation subsidiary Red Classic, Reviva is gunning for more growth.

Fleet managers said the new service saves time and money.

Duane Wanner, general manager of Reviva's new gas-engine division, said the company was "very selective" about starting with just a few key customers. The goal was to test its newly expanded business model and expand the company from there.

"Hoglund meets all our criteria we outlined in our business plan," Wanner said.

The idea, he said, is to create a simpler and more cost-effective way to handle engine failures.

If successful, the new operation will let Hoglund and other big-rig fleets handle emergency gas-engine repairs with the same operational efficiencies found in most manufacturing plants.

This is achieved because Reviva works in advance of any bus breakdowns, officials said.

Reviva managers want to ensure they have a steady supply of refurbished engines that are ready to quickly fix a bus or truck gas engine that quits on the road.

Reviva's new Brooklyn Center facility has state-of-the-art cleaning equipment for engines and components.

Dee DePass • 612-673-7725