Keegan“Testing this hydraulic hybrid is a part of a larger company initiative to reduce energy consumption and our carbon footprint,” said Brian Keegan, SVP of Plant Operations and Supply Chain for AmeriPride Services and Canadian Linen. “Last year our company launched a pilot program to test compressed natural gas, propane and plug-in electric vehicles in an effort to positively impact the environment and assess the impact on the company’s overall operations.”
The company has already replaced many of its cargo vans with fuel-efficient sedans and reconfigured most of its service routes to reduce mileage. It has also incorporated better internal controls to reduce idling and speeding and implemented better training and communication with drivers to increase awareness and promote behavioral change. AmeriPride also acquired several double-decker semi-truck trailers that have twice the cargo capacity and will greatly reduce fuel and emissions.
Outfitting with hybrid hydraulics
The system from Lightning Hybrids, Loveland, Colo.,was installed at the Morgan Olson facility in Sturgis, Mich. Morgan Olson supplies more walk-in van to the textile rental industry than any other manufacturer in North America. Larry Palmer, Morgan Olson’s Director of Fleet Sales states: “More large fleets are interested in these new fuel saving technologies, and Morgan Olson is leading the way to incorporate these systems into our walk-in van builds. We’ve built our legendary walk-in vans on every new technology from electric to CNG (compressed natural gas) and propane, and we believe hydraulic hybrids are another way to reduce emissions and increase fuel savings. We’re looking forward to working with Lightning Hybrids and our loyal partners at AmeriPride.”