The Work Truck Show 2011 awarded the Editors' Choice award to Dakota Bodies, and the Green Award to Energy Xtreme. The Work Truck Show 2011 was held at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis March 8-10.


Dakota Bodies won The Work Truck Show 2011 Editors' Choice Award for its new Component Body. Impressed by the Component Body's flexibility and versatility, a panel of trade media editors and fleet managers attending the event named it the most innovative product introduced at the show.

The panel chooses the Editors' Choice Award winner from products introduced through the Work Truck Show New Product Spotlight and New Product Media Guide programs. Judges selected the Component Body as the winner from a field of 90 entries.

The Component Body is sold as a service body kit that upfitters can assemble in 16 different configurations to meet a customer's specific needs. Components are huck-bolted together, making them easily interchangeable. The Component Body is available in galvanneal, aluminum or stainless steel with a pre-assembled powder-coated finish.

The Component Body has advantages for both upfitters and end-users. Because a single kit can be configured into 16 different bodies, upfitters drastically reduce their inventory costs and are able to provide a customized body to end-users within a very short time. The Editors' Choice Award judging panel was also impressed by the service and maintenance benefits of the Component Body. If a component gets damaged, it can be replaced, without the need to buy a whole new body.

For more information: www.dakotabodies.com

Energy Xtreme won The Work Truck Show 2011 Green Award for its new U36 Crossover mild-hybrid plug-in system. A panel of trade media editors and fleet managers selected the U36 Crossover system as the best new product that advances fuel utilization displayed at the Work Truck Show 2011 from a field of nearly 30 entries. The U36 Crossover was designed to provide reliable, emission-free energy to power hydraulic lifts and equipment on bucket trucks. It can be factory-integrated into new vehicles or retrofitted to existing utility vehicles.

The system can run the truck's auxiliary electrical equipment, tools, motors, pumps, hydraulic booms, lights, radio and laptop without the need to engage the engine or use a generator. The system includes an Energy Xtreme power management system, electric motor, pump and control module. It weighs less than 750 lbs. and plugs into a 30-amp wall outlet to recharge. Fleet users are finding that the system reduces their payload by 35 percent and reduces maintenance.

"We are honored to receive the Work Truck Show Green Award," says Energy Xtreme CEO Devin Scott. "As fuel prices continue to rise, our products have proven especially relevant and provide a cost-efficient way to reduce consumption and eliminate emissions while increasing functionality."

For more information: www.independencepackage.com