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Entrepreneur keeps legacy  of 50-year product alive

Moraine firm sole manufacturer of height-control valves for vehicles.

Rob Haviland, President of Dayton Air Control Products, center, talks with employees Ophelia Lopez, left and Donna Sebastian about the suspension leveling valves they make in Moraine. Haviland purchased the product line that was formerly manufactured by Delco and has worked to better fulfill the market.

Ty Greenlees/Staff photo Rob Haviland, President of Dayton Air Control Products, center, talks with employees Ophelia Lopez, left and Donna Sebastian about the suspension leveling valves they make in Moraine. Haviland purchased the product line that was formerly manufactured by Delco and has worked to better fulfill the market.

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By Thomas Gnau, Staff Writer Updated 8:14 AM Friday, April 22, 2011

MORAINE — In a small shop off Lance Drive, Rob Haviland is continuing an automotive parts legacy of half a century.

Haviland, president and owner of Dayton Air Control Products LLC, believes he is the sole domestic producer of height-control valves for trucks, buses and motor coaches that were pioneered by the then-Delco in Kettering in the early 1960s.

In December 2009, Haviland was helping close shop at Crowe Manufacturing Services in Dayton.

Honda, the company’s biggest customer, was moving production to another supplier, and Crowe’s owner was liquidating the business.

That’s when Haviland, then Crowe’s president, approached the owners and asked to buy their product line.

The products are valves on air suspension systems that help control the height and clearance of trucks and buses.

As passengers board buses, for example, the valves compensate for their weight, keeping the vehicle’s height steady.

As passengers disembark, the devices compensate again.

“It’s been over 50 years now that (the product) has been made here in the (Miami) Valley,” he said.

“And some of the employees who came with us had been with Crowe for 25 years.”

Today, Haviland has six employees in 6,000 square feet of space.

But with gas prices rising, he’s hopeful that more people will turn to mass transit, increasing demand for his parts.

Customers include MCI, Gillig LLC, New Flyer and Dayton Air Control, which has parts on some Miami Valley Regional Transit Authority buses.

John Heitmann, an automotive historian at the University of Dayton, said it’s “absolutely” unusual to see a sole proprietor maintain production of a product like the leveling valves in the United States.

Haviland “made a decision to keep his roots right here,” Heitmann said.

What makes the business noteworthy: Haviland might make more money by selling the product to a Chinese producer, Heitmann believes.

“Clearly, a huge number of American manufacturers, small and large, have done it that way,” he said.

“Probably if it were a totally economic decision, this would be in China right now.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or tgnau@DaytonDailyNews.com.