SCI supplies the single, squat, 18.3-by-35.2-inch Type III fuel cylinder for the dedicated-CNG Honda.

Structural Composites Industries (Booth 330), now a unit of Worthington Cylinders, continues to expand its production capacity for Type III carbon-fiber-on-aluminum compressed natural gas (and hydrogen) fuel cylinders.

SCI invested $1.8 million to expand the floor space at Pomona last year, and this year is spending a like amount on equipment to speed its production process.
The improvements will boost production capability by about 40%, estimates product group manager John Coursen.

SCI customers include Impco Automotive (Booth 545) for GMC and Chevy pickups, the Vehicle Production Group for the CNG version of the MV-1 wheelchair accessible mobility vehicle, Blue Bird Bus, and American Honda (Booth 201) – SCI supplies a single, squat, 18.3-by-35.2-inch, 8 gasoline gallon equivalent cylinder for the dedicated-CNG Honda Civic Natural Gas (formerly the Civic GX).

The firm also makes pressure vessel shells for the accumulators on hydraulic hybrid vehicles.

A wide, wide range of CNG cylinders – SCI has been in the business since the 1970s – encompasses capacities of 4 to 29.2 GGE (25.8 DGE, diesel gallon equivalent). SCI offers LNG-liquefied natural gas fuel tanks too.

Multinational cylinder manufacturer Worthington acquired SCI in 2009. Worthington acquired a majority stake in India’s Nitin Cylinders Limited in late 2010, and last year bought Poland’s Stako.

Worthington claims the world’s broadest alternative fuel cylinder offering, replete with Type I steel, Type II hoop-wrapped steel, SCI’s Type III carbon-aluminum, and Type IV polymer-lined all-composite cylinders.

SCI is at Booth 330.

Ram and Chrysler de Mexico president Fred Diaz introduced the factory CNG pickup at the NTEA Work Truck Show in Indianapolis this past March.

“This is not a conversion,” said Chrysler Ram president Fred Diaz as he unveiled the OEM’s long-awaited re-entry into natural gas vehicles this past March at the NTEA Work Truck Show in Indianapolis.

Chrysler’s NGV is a bi-fuel gasoline-compressed natural gas pickup, the Ram 2500 CNG. It is being built on a regular production line in Saltillo (Coahuila, Mexico), by Chrysler itself, Diaz said. Diaz is also president of Chrysler de Mexico.

The Ram 2500 CNG boasts a three-year/30,000 mile full-factory warranty, and a savings on price, Diaz said, of at least $6,000 over the competition.
The vehicle is available from July as a crew cab 4×4 with 169-inch wheelbase, for $47,500 including a $995 destination charge. A comparable conventional Ram is priced around $39,745.

Chrysler is using two Type I tanks from Italy’s Faber Industrie (Booth 122) in the truckbed. Gasoline gallon equivalent capacity is 18.2 GGE, affording estimated CNG-only range of 255 miles. An 8-gallon gasoline tanks adds 112 miles.

With a $3 difference between CNG and gasoline, a Ram owner will recoup the extra cost of the CNG vehicle in close to two years, Diaz said. The truck uses gasoline only on start-up, and if CNG is not available.

The Ram CNG was engineered in collaboration with Chrysler’s major investor Fiat.

Chrysler also, with U.S. DoE support, is testing PHEV – plug-in hybrid electric vehicle – versions of its Ram pickups (140) and Town & Country minivans (25) in diverse U.S. cities. The Chrysler PHEVs have SuperPolymer brand lithium ion batteries from Canada’s Electrovaya.

Chrysler is at ACT Expo Booth 305.

Special to Fleets & Fuels ShowTimes by Joe Thompson, Roush CleanTech president

Fleet professionals are faced with more challenges than ever before. Budgets are undergoing cost cuts while the price of fuel is skyrocketing with no relief in sight. The pressure to meet stringent emissions regulations is ever rising, and getting the job done more quickly and efficiently than the competition is critical to maintaining – and gaining – business.

The job of a fleet manager is much more than keeping the rigs rolling. Constructing a fleet with environmental and financial sustainability creates positive contribution to the image of the company, as well as to the company’s internal profit and loss centers. Propane autogas can create that ideal internal and external operating scenario.

Our country imports an average of 4.3 billion barrels of crude oil and petroleum products each year. According to Time magazine last month, “Americans spent $331.6 billion – the size of the entire agriculture industry – on oil imports last year, up 32% from 2010.” Yet here in the U.S., we are exporting over 2 billion barrels of propane. So why aren’t we using more of this domestically produced alternative fuel for our transportation needs?

Propane autogas is the most widely used alternative fuel in the U.S. and the world’s third most common engine fuel behind gasoline and diesel. Large fleets like Schwann’s have trusted propane to power their vehicles since the 1970s. This nontoxic, non-carcinogenic and non-corrosive fuel poses no harm to groundwater, surface water or soil. Using it completely eliminates fuel spillage and theft.

The average price per gallon of gasoline in the U.S. on March 30, 2010 was $2.81. This same day in 2011, the price had climbed to $3.71. And this year on March 30, our nation faced a record high average of $3.90 per gallon of gasoline, proving that rising prices at the pump is a problem that is only getting worse. But the savings fleets can realize with propane autogas is now approaching $2.00 per gallon. Couple this with the environmental and energy security benefits of propane autogas, and you have the major factors driving the propane autogas vehicle market today.

Historically, propane autogas has been 30 to 40% less expensive per gallon than gasoline. Government statistics project cost savings to continue for the next 25 years and beyond – particularly good news for any fleet professional looking to meet decreased budget requirements in a time of escalating fuel costs.

SuperShuttle, a recognized name in the airport ground transportation business, is reducing fuel costs by operating propane autogas Ford E-350 passenger vans in its fleet.

“SuperShuttle operators are seeing tremendous fuel savings right now. The switch to Roush CleanTech’s propane autogas technology was a smart thing to do,” says Ken Brooks, national purchasing manager for SuperShuttle. “Our drivers are not only saving money and lowering our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, but reducing carbon emissions by the ton, and this is something they can feel good about.”

Running on propane autogas reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 25% and creates 20% less nitrogen oxide, up to 60% less carbon monoxide, and fewer particulate emissions than using gasoline. This makes propane autogas an ideal alternative for companies looking to improve their carbon footprint, or to demonstrate environmentally responsibility to their customers.

‘The Right Thing’

“We are doing the right thing environmentally,” says Tom Hopkins, department head of logistics for Wright & Filippis, the nation’s largest family-owned home medical equipment distributor, which converted 25% of their fleet to propane autogas. “Based on our data, the propane autogas vehicles are currently producing nearly 100,000 fewer pounds of carbon dioxide than the gas counterparts on a monthly basis, and we are really excited about that.”

But going green doesn’t mean sacrificing performance. One of the key benefits of Roush CleanTech propane autogas vehicles is that operation and performance go unchanged, with equivalent horsepower, torque and towing capacity to gasoline versions of the same models.

Propane autogas boasts the largest public refueling infrastructure, with thousands of public fueling stations located across the country. For customers looking to install their own fueling infrastructure, installation is typically low to no cost. Fueling with propane autogas is as quick and easy as fueling with gasoline or diesel. And with the longest vehicle driving range of any other alternative fuel option, drivers spend less time filling up and more time serving customers.

“One of the biggest benefits we gain from incorporating the propane autogas vehicles in our fleet is being able to lock in the price of our fuel,” Lynn McLean, director of maintenance for Flint Mass Transit Authority. “At a time when the prices of gasoline and diesel are so volatile, being able to budget our fuel price on domestically produced propane autogas will allow us to reduce our cost per mile dramatically.”

Joe Thompson, president of Roush CleanTech, is a member of the Roush Enterprise Steering Committee and resides on two energy boards. He is passionate about energy, and blogs at fleetblogs.com/fuelforthought.

Roush CleanTech is at ACT Expo Booth 439.
The Propane Education & Research Council is at Booth 533.

Special to Fleets & Fuels ShowTimes by Tom Armstrong, ThyssenKrupp Elevator fleet director

Going Up: Leading Producer of Elevators in the U.S.
Pushes the Button for Propane Autogas Technology

Across America, from the corporate boardroom to the local school board meeting, there is a common conversation about the state of our dependency on foreign fuels and the challenge to change our vehicles, whether they’re delivery vans or school buses, to ones that run on domestically produced alternative fuels. With the selection of alternative-fueled vehicles on the market today, this is both an admirable and achievable goal. The more challenging decision becomes how to choose the right alternative fuel that will improve your company’s bottom line.

At ThyssenKrupp Elevator, the nation’s largest producer of elevators in North America, we know the ups and downs of running a successful business (literally and figuratively).

With more than 13,500 employees, 200 branch and service locations, and annual sales of more than $2.7 billion, staying on top for us means being fiscally, socially and environmentally sustainable, even during the toughest times.

In 2010, our fleet department began evaluating alternative-fueled vehicles to explore ways to combat escalating – and still rising – fuel costs, and to learn which fuels were sustainable now. To sort through these options, our team developed what we have coined the “Five C’s” protocol. They are:

Is it clean?
Does it conserve?
Is it cost-effective?
Does it make common sense?
Can we commit?

When we laid out all the fuels available, including propane autogas, ethanol, biodiesel, compressed natural gas and electric, there was only one alternative fuel source that had a check mark in all five categories, and that was propane autogas. Here is a summary of how the fuel met our requirements for the propane autogas vehicles we use today.

• Clean. Propane autogas emits up to 12% less carbon dioxide, about 20% less nitrogen oxide, and up to 60% less carbon monoxide when compared to gasoline. ThyssenKrupp’s service vans travel, on average, 25,000 miles each year. Propane thus reduces our company’s carbon footprint by tens of thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide every year.
• Conserve. Propane autogas, a safe and nontoxic fuel, is domestically produced. We displace about 2,000 gallons of gasoline each year per vehicle by switching to propane autogas.
• Cost effective. In our most recent comparison, our average price for gasoline in Phoenix, Ariz., was $3.85 per gallon, and our price for propane autogas was $1.91 per gallon, saving us an estimated $3,100 annually per vehicle.
• Based on the lower fuel costs, lower registration cost and high occupancy vehicle lane access for alternative fuel vehicles, we expect our return on investment for the propane autogas vehicles in Phoenix to be roughly two years.
• Common sense. With so many pluses, we chose to move forward with propane autogas.
• Commitment. We started with three Roush CleanTech Ford E-150 propane autogas vans in Phoenix a year and a half ago.

Now that number has grown to 17 there, and we expect to reach 40 running in our Phoenix fleet within the next couple of years. Our propane autogas fleet has expanded to other cities, too, with vehicles in Seattle, Los Angeles and San Diego and with near-term plans to target Sacramento, San Francisco and Houston.

Our goal is to have 10% of our fleet running on propane autogas by 2015.

‘A More Sustainable Future for Generations to Come’

In addition to these clean propane vehicles, ThyssenKrupp has implemented many green initiatives, such as using GPS dispatching for service vehicles to minimize mileage and improve elevator customer response times, providing urea- and formaldehyde-free elevator cab interiors, and developing regenerative-drive technology that uses gravity to regenerate energy and feed it back into the building.

By operating a green fleet and applying other green practices to minimize impact on our precious natural resources and conserve financial outputs related to fuel, ThyssenKrupp aims to leave behind a more sustainable future for generations to come.

At ThyssenKrupp, we are working to change the conversation in the boardrooms across the nation from what can we do about our dependency on foreign fuels to what are we doing.

Roush CleanTech is at ACT Expo 2012 Booth 439.
The Propane Education & Research Council is at Booth 533.

Tom Armstrong, director of fleet for ThyssenKrupp Elevator, may be reached at tom.armstrong@thyssenkrupp.com.

Agility Fuel Systems is promoting new rail-mounted aerodynamic CNG fuel systems for over-the-road heavy-duty trucks.

Agility Fuel Systems is promoting rail-mounted compressed natural gas fuel systems for over-the-road heavy-duty trucks at Booth 224.

“Our new CNG systems are developed to the very specific needs of the class 7 and 8 trucks, making natural gas more usable in the largest segment of the truck industry,” said Agility CEO Barry Engle.

New Safety Features

The new products “combine the best of styling and functionality with a complete redesign to match today’s new aerodynamically styled tractors,” Agility says, with an integrated fuel management module saving weight and space, “the industry’s fastest fill rate,” and new safety features.

Agility uses all-composite CNG cylinders from Quantum (Booth 251) and Lincoln (Booth 230) in the rail-mounted assemblies. “Tanks and steps are attached to the rail via specially engineered break-away brackets, which protect the cylinder from impact in the case of an accident. In addition, a wire embedded into the composite material alerts the driver if the covers are damaged.”

Traditional steel mounting straps are replaced with composite straps. These, “with extruded rubber strap guides, prevent tank rotation that can stress fuel lines,” Agility says. The Agility rigs feature an outer composite cover for impact protection too.

The new CNG systems are available with cylinders that can be strap- or neck-mounted in capacities ranging from 29 to 63 diesel gallon equivalent (DGEs) for longer operating ranges.

Agility continues to furnish roof-mounted and back-of-cab CNG tank assemblies too, and LNG fuel systems.

Agility Fuel Systems is just a year and a half year old, fruit of the merger of Fab AFV and Enviromech, which between them claim some 10,000 CNG and liquefied natural gas installations in service.

Agility recently moved into a new, 29,500-square-foot headquarters facility in Santa Ana, Calif. The move came in part because the company has moved from fuel system installations to the manufacture of complete system for OEM factory installation. Customers include all of the major heavy duty truck manufacturers.

‘As the LNG infrastructure grows, C.R. England plans to expand its current California fleet and introduce these power units in other areas of the country,’ says Kenworth-PacLease, supplier of Westport Innovations-powered T800 tractors.

All this wonderful equipment is wonderful, but in the real world, it all comes down to costs and cases – business cases – and Return on Investment.

That’s why Thursday morning (May 17) will see more focus on money at the ACT Expo conference, with explication of innovative finance and lease programs that are speeding deployment of heavy duty natural gas vehicles, battery electrics, and hydraulic hybrids.

Ryder System launched a breakthrough initiative to offer natural gas-fueled trucks for lease last year. Greg Swienton, Ryder chairman and CEO, will describe the effort (which covers hybrid electrics as well, and involves key public-private partnerships) as he delivers the morning keynote address at 9:45.

Scott Perry, the supply management VP charged with implementing Ryder’s Flex-to-Green initiative, will talk about it at the Funding and Financing: Business Cases for Fleet Deployment session beginning at 10:45.

Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp (Booth 633) and California electric driveline supplier Enova Systems late last year launched a program called Green for Free, whereby operators daunted by the high up-front cost of batteries in electric vehicles can field those vehicles with the batteries paid for, over time, by fuel savings.

Green for Free is “the first program that will eliminate the overall incremental costs associated with buying and operating an all-electric vehicle,” the companies said in November. Payback is to take far less time than the vehicles’ anticipated service lives of at least six and possibly even 15 years. Mike Stark, senior technical sales manager at FCCC, will describe the program at the Funding and Financing session.

Olen Hunter, director of sales at Paclease, the leasing arm of Kenworth and Peterbilt parent Paccar, will explain how leasing principles may be leveraged to offset the incremental costs of alternative fuel vehicles. Paclease has placed LNG-fueled heavy duty Class 8 Kenworth T800 tractors with companies including Salt Lake City-based C.R. England, which lays claim to being the nation’s largest refrigerated carrier.

Shaunt Hartounian, regional manager on the Clean Energy Fuels national truck team, will discuss Clean Energy’s financing partnership with Navistar.

Kenworth is at Booth 144, and Peterbilt is at 755.

Clean Energy is at Booth 659. Navistar is at Booth 844.

Buses like this CNG-fueled Orion in Visalia (left) and hybrid-drive Orion in Ottawa are being phased out of production.

Citing “depressed” expectations in the municipal sector, Daimler Buses is shutting down the CNG-pioneering Orion bus badge, effectively exiting transit buses in North America after fulfillment of current orders.

Orion saw its first purpose-designed compressed natural gas bus enter service in 1988, and also lays claim to more than 3,000 hybrid buses with series electric drivetrains by BAE Systems.

At the same Daimler declared the demise of Orion, it and Schaumburg, Ill.-based Motor Coach Industries International publicized a Letter of Intent for MCI to acquire Daimler’s Setra coach business in the U.S. and Canada and establish a strategic partnership.

“The companies have agreed upon the material terms and conditions of the transaction and are working to finalize definitive agreements, which they expect to enter and consummate not later than May 31,” states a release. Daimler Buses is to take a minority ownership position in MCI as MCI would become the exclusive North American (U.S. and Canada) distributor of the Setra S407 and S417 motor coaches.

“If consummated, we would intend to fully leverage the capabilities of MCI’s marketing and distribution networks on behalf of the world-renowned Setra brand,” said MCI CEO Rick Heller. “We expect the partnership would also allow MCI access to Daimler’s world-class engineering and manufacturing capabilities.”

‘A Very Difficult Decision’

As for Orion, Daimler says that as current orders are fulfilled over the coming year, the Orion factory in Mississauga, Ont., will be closed, and its facility in Oriskany, N.Y. maintained solely for parts and field service only. Daimler Buses says it stands behind all current customer commitments and warranties.

“Daimler Buses considered all possible options for reconfiguring our transit bus operations in North America, but at the end of the day, Orion is facing a situation where the cost position is not competitive, the local market is in a continued slump, and growth opportunities are not available from selling the product overseas,” Daimler Buses chief Hartmut Schick said in a release.

“Discontinuing production of Orion buses was a very difficult decision for us to make, but to secure our leadership position we must always strive to invest resources efficiently in support of our global strategy for growth,” Schick said. “We will make sure a robust parts and service infrastructure continues to provide a high level of service and support.”

A new Orion Bus website had been in development – and, a new Orion VIII bus had been Altoona-tested, and industry source told F&F.

Daimler Buses says it sold 39,740 buses and coaches worldwide in 2011, grossing 4,418 million euros – upwards of $5.8 billion at current rates of exchange.

MCI last year recorded a $59.2 million order for 84 CNG coaches for the City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation (F&F, May 30, 2011). An option for 11 coaches was exercised, and all 95 have been delivered. The 40-foot, 49-seat coaches have 8.9-liter ISL G engines from Cummins Westport, and Type III CNG fuel cylinders from Structural Composites Industries/Worthington-SCI.

MCI has factories in Winnipeg and in Pembina, N.D. It operates six sales and service centers in the U.S. and Canada and a repair facility in Loudonville, Ohio, plus a 360,000-square-foot parts distribution facility in Louisville, Ky.

MCI’s D4500 CT Hybrid coaches employ the Allison Ep50 parallel drive.

(this is a draft for the May 7 issue of the regular Fleets & Fuels newsletter)

Remember that articles in the subscription edition of Fleets & Fuels include direct links and extensive contact information for hands-on players — names and telephone numbers and e-mail addresses

AmericaCNG is looking far beyond plans for 48 compressed natural gas fueling stations in Texas disclosed earlier this year (F&F Strategies, February 27).

The Dallas-based firm has reported an agreement for Raleigh, N.C.-based Jones & Frank to manage construction of 400 natural gas vehicle fueling stations in the coming year, using equipment from GreenField Compression, a unit of Atlas-Copco.

AmericaCNG is targeting truck stop and other locations.

Some of the outlets are to handle liquefied natural gas as well as CNG, AmericaCNG says.

“The stations will be placed in strategic locations throughout the U.S. interstate highway system to support the burgeoning trend” toward adoption of CNG and LNG as alternative vehicle fuels, states a May 1 release.

‘The U.S. Has Been Lagging’

“The 400 AmericaCNG fueling stations are planned to be opening during a six-month period from the fourth quarter of this year through the first quarter of 2013. Target customers include trucking companies, local return-to-base fleets and transit authorities.

“The U.S. has been lagging far behind the rest of the world in the deployment of natural gas vehicles and that is changing dramatically,” AmericaCNG says. The Texas company aims to help change that. It offers vehicle conversions in addition to its plans for fueling, and is interested in furthering the U.S. production of CNG fuel tanks, possibly via a joint venture with a foreign producer.

Glenn Farley is AmericaCNG president and CEO.

(this is a draft for the May 7 issue of the regular Fleets & Fuels newsletter)

Remember that articles in the subscription edition of Fleets & Fuels include direct links and extensive contact information for hands-on players — names and telephone numbers and e-mail addresses

Increasing Electrification of the Transportation Industry
to be Examined at 2012 Alternative Clean Transportation Expo

ACT Expo, North America’s largest show dedicated to alternative fuels
and clean vehicle technologies, takes place May 15 -17 in Long Beach, Calif.

May 2, 2012-Santa Monica, Calif.- The 2012 Alternative Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo is set to showcase the very latest advancements across a wide variety of clean vehicle technologies, with a special focus on electrification for transportation and growing electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in the U.S. With key environmental and economic benefits to be gained via electrification, ACT Expo 2012 will assemble key players from across the spectrum of electric vehicles, technologies, and equipment for an honest assessment of the current state of the EV industry and the challenges and opportunities of a zero-emission transportation system.

2011 saw a dramatic rise in EV availability and the increasing reality of a future transportation system powered by electricity. Key EV deployment projects are being launched across the U.S. in every vehicle class and awareness among individual consumers is rising. With EV technology for light-duty vehicles now widely available, electrifying medium- and heavy-duty vehicles will be the next frontier for large deployment projects and demonstrations in order to further develop the market.

EV experts at ACT Expo 2012 will include Mark Aubry, vice president sales and marketing, Navistar Defense and member of the Electrification Leadership Council; Jon Coleman, sustainability and technology officer, Ford Motor Company; Mike O’Connell, senior director supply chain fleet, Frito-Lay; Ian Wright, CEO of Wrightspeed; Terry O’Day, regional director, eVgo; Dave Barthmuss, group manager, policy and product communications, General Motors; and many others.

The top companies in the EV industry will be represented at ACT Expo 2012 and include American Honda Motor Co., Toyota, General Motors, Ford, BYD, eVgo, CODA Automotive, Coulomb, VIA Motors, Electric Vehicles International, Eaton, Navistar, Quallion, Quantum Technologies, Parker Hannifin, UCLA Smart Grid Energy Research Center, Wrightspeed, XL Hybrids, Freightliner, Kenworth, BAE Systems and many more.

Electric vehicles, including hybrid-electric, that will be on display and in some cases available for test-drives include:

• BYD Motor Inc. E6-B
• Chevrolet Express Van (VIA Motors)
• Chevrolet Volt (low emissions package for California)
• Coda Automotive 2012 Sedan
• Electric Vehicles International Walk-In Van
• Honda Fit EV
• Toyota RAV419
• Freightliner MT 45 E-Cell Walk-In van
• Isuzu NPR (Wrightspeed — CNG-fueled)
• Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid
• Freightliner Custom Chassis Hydraulic Hybrid Walk-in Van
• Freightliner MS 106 Hybrid Electric Tractor
• Kenworth T370 Diesel-Electric Hybrid Truck

ACT Expo 2012 will also host free, educational training sessions, which includes an EV-specific course “Basic Understanding of Battery-Electric and Hybrid Electric Vehicles” on Tuesday, May 15 from 10:15 am to noon. Presented by the National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium, the session will provide a basic understanding of the history, technology, and application of battery electric and hybrid-powered EVs.

About ACT Expo 2012

The 2012 Alternative Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo will showcase real-world success stories of alternative fuel and clean vehicle deployments. A detailed list of sponsors, exhibitors, speakers, training sessions and vehicles that will be at ACT Expo 2012 is available at www.actexpo.com.

About Gladstein, Neandross & Associates

With headquarters in Santa Monica, California, and in New York, New York, GNA is the nation’s leading consulting firm for the market development for clean, alternative fuel and efficient vehicle technologies. GNA provides strategic technical consulting services to the nation’s largest commercial fleet operators; works on behalf of leading industry participants to provide marketing, policy, and public affairs support; and spearheads the organization of several cutting-edge conferences and expositions focused on these topics. www.gladstein.org

GNA/ACT Expo info, Kristen Rockwell Weiss, 310-573-8570

April 25, 2012—Santa Monica, Calif.— Natural gas industry leaders are set to gather at the upcoming Alternative Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo to showcase the very latest advancements across a wide variety of clean vehicle technologies. Natural gas, which includes compressed (CNG), liquefied (LNG), and renewable natural gas (biomethane), is taking on a significant presence at the event with a host of natural gas vehicle OEMs, fleet operators, gas producers, infrastructure and fuel providers, service and equipment providers and many others set to attend and share and discuss their investments in natural gas vehicles and technologies. Natural gas industry experts will be on hand to discuss the many opportunities for natural gas as an alternative fuel for all vehicle types—light, medium and heavy-duty—and across a variety of applications.

The nation’s leading fleets utilizing natural gas vehicles will present their success stories at ACT Expo 2012 including UPS, Ryder System Inc., Yellow Cab, Dillon Transport, Swift Transportation, Vedder Transport and many others. Through a peer-to-peer information exchange, these natural gas vehicle frontrunners will share their experiences and best practices gained through successful vehicle deployment projects.

The top names and leaders in the natural gas industry will be represented at ACT Expo 2012 and include Trillium, Shell, America’s Natural Gas Alliance, Chesapeake Energy, Kenworth, Peterbilt Motors, Daimler Trucks North America, America Honda Motor Co., Chart, Southern California Gas Company, Landi Renzo, Impco Automotive, Agility Fuel Systems, Galileo, California Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition, California Natural Gas Vehicle Partnership, Clean Energy, American Biogas Council and many others.

In addition, Kenworth, Peterbilt Motors, Daimler Trucks North America, Ford, Isuzu Trucks, General Motors, Mack Trucks and others will showcase their latest natural gas vehicle technologies on the ACT Expo 2012 show floor and in the vehicle ride-and-drive. Vehicles available for test drives will include:

• Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD bi-fuel gasoline/CNG
• Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD CNG (IMPCO Automotive, Model Year 2012)
• Dodge Ram 1500 bi-fuel gasoline/CNG
• Chrysler Dodge Ram 2500 CNG
• Ford, F-250 CNG (Venchurs Vehicle System, Model Year 2012)
• Ford 5.4 liter CNG E Series cargo van (Landi Renzo, Model Year 2012)
• Freightliner Cascadia 113 day cab tractor CNG
• Isuzu NPR-HD gas truck, alternative fuel capable for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and CNG
• Isuzu NPR medium-duty range-extended hybrid CNG/electric vehicle
• Peterbilt Model 382 vocational truck CNG

ACT Expo 2012 will also host free, educational training sessions on natural gas vehicles May 15 from 8 a.m. to noon. These sessions include:

• Natural Gas Fleets: The Basics and LNG and CNG: What Is the Difference for My Fleet, presented by Advanced Transportation Technology and Energy Centers
• Liquefied Natural Gas – Removing the Mystery of LNG, presented by Chart Industries
• Natural Gas in Operations: Cylinder Safety and Facility Modifications, presented by the Clean Vehicle Education Foundation

Amidst diesel and oil prices topping $4 per gallon across the U.S., the 2012 Alternative Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo will showcase real-world success stories of alternative fuel and clean vehicle deployments that are saving fleets and their customers’ money in addition to reducing harmful emissions. A detailed list of sponsors, exhibitors, speakers, training sessions and vehicles that will be at ACT Expo 2012 is available at www.actexpo.com.

About Gladstein, Neandross & Associates (GNA)

With headquarters in Santa Monica, California, and in New York, New York, GNA is the nation’s leading consulting firm for the market development for clean, alternative fuel and efficient vehicle technologies. GNA provides strategic technical consulting services to the nation’s largest commercial fleet operators; works on behalf of leading industry participants to provide marketing, policy, and public affairs support; and spearheads the organization of several cutting-edge conferences and expositions focused on these topics. www.gladstein.org

GNA, Kristen Rockwell Weiss 310-573-8555; www.actexpo.com