Aperia Technologies' Halo Tire Inflator won the 2014 Technical Achievement Award from the Truck Writers of North America (TWNA). The award was announced yesterday at a luncheon during the Technology & Maintenance Council’s annual meeting in Nashville, Tenn.

Halo bolts onto an axle hub and uses the wheel's rotational motion to drive an internal pump to maintain air pressure in a tire. It operates on the principle used for many years in self-winding watches, Aperia executives said when they unveiled it last year. Halo can be used on drive and trailer axles, and a version for steer axles is being worked on.

The device was proved effective in track testing in Canada last year and is in use by numerous fleets, members of the TWNA awards committee found in pre-selection research.

Jim Park, the committee chairman, said Halo was picked from five finalists through an elimination process that started with more than a dozen products nominated by committee members, who acted as judges. The process included discussion and voting by email.

Park is senior equipment editor for Heavy Duty Trucking and a writer for Today’s Trucking in Canada. Other panelists were Paul Abelson of Road King and Land Line magazines, John Baxter of Baxter TechWrite and technical director of Advance Diesel Concepts, Tom Berg of Heavy Duty Trucking and Construction Equipment magazines, Peter Carter of Today's Trucking, David Kolman of Fleet Maintenance Magazine and Road King, and James Menzies of Truck News and Truck West.

The other four finalists were Dana's Spicer AdvanTek 40 tandem drive axles; Fontaine’s Fifth Wheel camera system, Peterson’s LumenX Series 7 LED lamps, and Webb Wheel's Vortex Unlimited vented brake drum.

To be eligible for the award, a product or service has to show technical innovation, have a wide applicability and availability in trucking, and offer significant benefits. While complete vehicles are not eligible, components and systems are.

This is the 24th annual Technical Achievement Award. It was first presented in 1991 to Grote Industries for its red LED marker lamp. Grote since has provided trophies for subsequent winners.

Founded in 1988, TWNA is a professional organization composed of writers, editors, public relations specialists, marketing people and others involved in disseminating information related to the world of trucking.