North American Clutch & Driveline (NACD)

North American Clutch & Driveline Inc. of Rockford, Illinois launched production of NACD Power Take Off assemblies and their component parts in September 2003. The new NACD PTO is completely assembled at their Machesney Park, Illinois facility which had been expanded during the past summer months to 42,000 sq ft. NACDs pedigree with this product line goes back over fifty years with all three generations of company ownership, key managers, project engineers, and assembly staff having many years of Power Take Off experience.

"For several years NACD was the largest distributor of the PTO Product Line for Rockford Powertrain Inc.", explains NACD President Dan Lemmons. "Once that product line was acquired in December 1998 by their chief competitor we knew we had to take control of our future by manufacturing our own product or bear witness to the probable death of the RKFD style of Power Take Off. The competitors purchase of a duplicate product line didn't make sense to us for the long term, however, the gain of additional market share with that purchase certainly did. We estimated the acquisition gave them approximately 80-90% of the market share. It appeared to us that the authorized distributors for the former manufacturer would eventually be left out in the cold to the benefit of the new manufacturer's established distribution. Our company did not feel we could allow ourselves to be left exposed."

NACD product knowledge has allowed their engineering staff the ability to offer improvements to the product line. Larger windows have been added on some of the SAE bell housings to allow improved access to the clutch assembly for adjustments. Some SAE housing sizes have cast stiffening "ribs" added to minimize shaft movement caused by excessive side-loads. Some small series NACD Power Take Offs have been redesigned with tapered roller bearings on the drive shaft. "The tapered bearings allow for greater side load capacities", explains Jerry King, Sr. Project Engineer. " The previous designs for those small PTOs were made with a ball bearing on the drive shafts which theoretically limited their uses to in-line applications or very minimal side-loads. We think our new small series Power Take Offs offer an improvement in this area." An additional product improvement is that some NACD cast component clutch parts are made with greater brinell hardness than some of the competition's corresponding components. NACD believes this allows for improved wear characteristics over a longer period of use.

NACD Sales Manager, Derek Lemmons states, "Our units are 100%, part-for-part, interchangeable with the RKFD-style units formerly manufactured by Rockford Powertrain, Inc. We fully intend to offer the entire range of RKFD-style NACD Power Take Offs as well as adding an alternate style to the mix." Derek also adds, "We are building a chain of global NACD Stocking Distributors. We believe we know this particular product style better than anyone, and our distributor-friendly sales staff is first rate."

NACD also manufactures Dual-Stage clutches for compact tractors in the 20-40 PTO HP range and mechanical clutches for most North American farm tractors without power shift transmissions, industrial equipment vehicles, and drilling and specialty equipment. Additionally, NACD is an authorized distributor for LuK, Sachs, Valeo and many other automotive, agricultural, truck, and industrial clutch manufacturers.

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