igus Begins North American Tour

A half-year of traveling through Asia and South America, and 17,500 miles of driving through deserts, rainforests, and some of the world’s busiest cities has brought the igus, Inc. (East Providence, RI) iglide on-tour car to the United States. where it will begin the next leg of its tour in Anchorage, Alaska.

To celebrate 30 years of their line of self-lubricating “iglide” plastic bearings, tied into the company’s 50th anniversary, igus has been traveling around the world with its orange iglide car, retrofit with 56 of igus’ plastic bearings in applications including the throttle valve, windshield wipers, alternator, and more. Now the iglide car, staffed with a team of company representatives, is setting off across the U.S. and Canada, visiting customers across a massive range of industries, from automotive and motorcycle manufacturers, to aerospace, to manufacturing equipment and more.

The tour will start in Alaska and travel through the Yukon Territory of Canada, down through Vancouver, British Columbia, then continuing across the border to the U.S. into Washington state. From there the carwill zig-zag across the two countries, with the drivers documenting their journey along the way. This October the car will be flown across the Atlantic Ocean to carry on the tour in Europe before returning home to Germany in 2015, where the iglide bearings will be removed and observed, truly testing their wear-resistance.

To give back to the many countries traveled, igus has decided to donate to charities in each country along the tour. For every kilometer traveled, one euro will be donated to a charity of that country’s subsidiary’s choosing. In as large an area as North America, it is hoped that a large amount will be raised over the next several weeks.

www.igus.com