Cleaire Inc., a Southern California-based company that had
manufactured diesel particulate filters used in some drayage trucks hauling
goods to and from seaports in California, Washington and elsewhere, has
suddenly and quietly ceased operations, leaving those with its products in
their trucks without warranty support.
Cleaire, which was headquartered in San Leandro and had
manufacturing operations in San Diego, made no public announcement of its going
out of business, but in a letter to Cleaire customers,
the California Air Resources Board stated that the company ceased operations on
Jan. 18, 2013.
The Air Board also says it’s working to help those affected
by the situation, specifically fleets, dealers and parts suppliers, and that
truck owners stuck without warranty support will be given exemptions from
CARB’s mandatory diesel particulate filter retrofitting program for older, more
polluting trucks.
“Vehicles that have the Cleaire devices already installed in
a verified configuration will continue to meet applicable in-use fleet rule
requirements,” the letter reads in part. “For Cleaire customers, ARB is working
directly with Cleaire distributors, installers, and other authorized
representatives to minimize impacts on warranty service and to ensure that
fleets have compliance options if replacement parts are unavailable.”
Although no official reason has been given for the company’s
failure, the quality of Cleaire’s products had been questioned in the past: a
3,500 acre brush fire in September 2011 was blamed by Washington state
officials on flaming sparks from a Cleaire filter onboard a truck. The
Monastery Fire, as it was called, caused $5.4 million in damage and resulted in
the company recalling a specific model of diesel particulate filters.
Then, in October 2012, the company voluntarily recalled
another type of filter after a three-acre brush fire caused by the model two
months earlier.
