Don Herpel With His Revolutionary New Roof Fairing

Airodyne’s founder, Donald Herpel, an original engineering member of Ford Motor Company’s Aerodynamic Group and long-time industry consultant, passionately believed customized aerodynamic design was critical to improving fuel efficiencies. In 1976, with four children still at home, he resigned from Ford to realize his dream of revolutionizing truck aerodynamics with durable life-time components.

It was an inauspicious start in the basement of the family home; the first few years were a tough sell to the industry, as well as to his wife. Like other inventors of progressive products, his introduction of the first three-dimensional Roof Fairing was not fully embraced until the oil embargo in the late 70’s forced fleets to seek alternate ways to save fuel.

Roadway was the first major fleet to come on board and Airodyne’s roster of customers started to read like the “Who’s Who of the Trucking Industry”. The effectiveness of Don Herpel’s designs and patents has repeatedly been validated by independent sources; his Full Roof Fairing remains the industry standard over 30 years later.

1986 – “The Phantom”

By 1986, Don Herpel’s engineering designs evolved to include a total-vehicle aerodynamic package achieving fuel economy increases of 38% over conventional units. Outfitted with Airodyne designed and supplied aerodynamic devices and DDA advanced drivetrain engineering, these impressive results came from “The Phantom”, a 1986 DDA concept vehicle.

TranStar Extended Cab

After battling Lou Gehrig’s disease for several years, Don Herpel passed away in 2001. His daughter, Celeste Herpel, a successful VP of Advertising Sales was asked to temporarily run Airodyne while looking for potential buyers.

In 2004, daughter, Celeste Herpel became that potential buyer and continues Airodyne’s legacy of providing top-performing fairings built for the life of your truck. New relationships with Truck OEM’s produced contracts for the design and manufacture of proprietary fairings resulting in a new patent and to date, a total of ten additional models. Drawing from her advertising background, Ms. Herpel expanded the concept of marketing fleet logos via Airodyne’s backlit LED Logo Light option.

Environmental stewardship continues to be an important by-product of using Airodyne fairings.  As the North American economic, political and CARB legislation to reduce GHG emissions continues to gain momentum, Ms. Herpel forged a strategic sales alliance with Silver Eagle Manufacturing to add SmartWay certified Trailer Skirting to their existing line of fairings. The Silver Eagle partnership is a good fit with many shared values, a strong commitment to customers; delivers over 100 years of combined trucking industry expertise to fleets.

Airodyne has supplied the North American heavy-truck industry with custom designed aerodynamic fairings longer than any of our competitors and was recently awarded its fifth patent for innovative design concepts. Our truck fairings have always been designed and manufactured in Michigan; we will continue our proud USA Manufacturing Heritage for the years to come.