Fuel Savings and Emissions Reductions Goals Drive Customer Lease
Decisions for Heavy-Duty Natural Gas Vehicles
MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE: R), a leader in commercial transportation and
supply chain management solutions, today announced it has already
secured lease agreements for 87 heavy-duty natural gas trucks from
customers looking to take advantage of the fuel cost savings and
environmental benefits of alternative fuel powered vehicles – 65 of
those vehicles are part of Ryder’s natural gas fleet in Southern
California, made available through the Ryder/San Bernardino Associated
Governments (SANBAG) Natural Gas Vehicle project. Due to the leadership
Ryder has established with the SANBAG project, the Company has also been
able to expand its alternative fuel program outside of California and
has already secured a lease agreement with customer, Golden Eagle
Distributors, Inc., for 22 natural gas vehicles in Arizona.
The Ryder/SANBAG project is part of a joint public/private partnership
between the U.S. Department of Energy, the California Energy Commission,
San Bernardino Associated Governments, Southern California Association
of Governments, and Ryder. The $38.7 million project includes a total of
202 natural gas vehicles available for lease or rent, three
strategically located natural gas compliant maintenance shops in Rancho
Dominguez, Orange, and Fontana, and two fueling stations. Ryder took
delivery of 70 vehicles in May and is expected to have the balance of
the full 202 SANBAG natural gas vehicle order in its fleet by the end of
2011.
Driven by a desire to take advantage of fuel savings and support
sustainable transportation initiatives, Ryder customers Mohawk
Industries and CEVA are just two examples of these early adopters that
have committed to bring alternative fuel-powered vehicles into their
fleets.
“Our lease and maintenance offering makes it easy for customers to
incorporate new vehicle technologies, like natural gas, into their
fleets,” stated Robert Sanchez, president of Global Fleet Management
Solutions for Ryder. “We are fundamentally giving private fleets an
alternative to ownership – helping them implement sustainable
transportation alternatives by tapping into Ryder’s investments in
technology, people, safety, fueling, and maintenance and service
infrastructure.”
Mohawk Industries: Laying the Groundwork for
Green
Mohawk Industries, a leading supplier of flooring for both residential
and commercial applications with one of the largest fleets in the U.S.,
has leased five liquefied natural gas (LNG) tractors to support its
day-to-day customer delivery operations in Southern California. The
vehicles, to be delivered in July, will be serviced out of Ryder’s
maintenance facility in Fontana, CA.
Stan Brooks, director of Transportation for Mohawk Industries said, “We
are always looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint, and with
diesel fuel prices continuing to rise, the timing was right to start
testing the value of natural gas vehicles in our fleet. In addition,
Mohawk Industries manufactures a significant percentage of its product
in the U.S., so supporting a cleaner, domestic energy source fits very
well into our overall business strategy.”
The Calhoun, GA based company prides itself on being an industry leader
in sustainability. Mohawk is the largest recycler in the flooring
industry, and the leader in recycled and renewable flooring. The company
diverts over three billion pounds of material from landfills each year.
Mohawk's goal is to develop processes and products that allow the
company to focus on the five "Rs" of its “GreenWorks” platform: reduce,
recover, reuse, renew, and recycle. For more information visit www.mohawkind.com.
Mr. Brooks continued, “We could not have implemented this project
without Ryder. Ryder has been our strategic transportation partner for
decades. We rely on their expertise when it comes to evaluating new
technologies, whether it’s for specialized equipment or alternative
fuels.”
Mohawk has been a Ryder customer since 1978. Ryder provides both
full-service lease and dedicated contract carriage services to Mohawk in
the U.S. and Mexico.
CEVA: Sustainable Supply Chains
CEVA, a leading supply chain company and a Ryder full service lease
customer for more than 30 years, will be taking delivery of two LNG
tractors. The vehicles will be used to support a customer operation in
Southern California.
“CEVA works with its customers to deliver supply chain solutions that
bring tangible, sustained benefits to their business,” said Jim Krepp,
vice president of Procurement for CEVA in the Americas. “Bringing
natural gas vehicles into our fleet reinforces our commitment to help
customers reduce their carbon footprint through smart,
environmentally-sound transportation solutions.”
CEVA offers Full and Less than Truckload (FTL and LTL) transportation
along with dedicated fleet services. As a member of the EPA SmartWay®
vehicle program, CEVA participates in the nationwide initiative to
optimize fuel efficiency, improve equipment and meticulously track MPG
for its truck fleet. Additionally, CEVA takes pride in its facilities’
environmental efficiencies worldwide with centralized locations, limited
electricity use, tracking and monitoring energy usage and working
together with customers to control consumption. For more information
visit www.cevalogistics.com.
Golden Eagle Distributors: The Spirit of
Sustainability
California isn’t the only state where businesses are taking advantage of
alternative fuel technologies. To support distribution operations in
Tucson, AZ, Golden Eagle Distributors, Inc., a large distributor of
Anheuser-Busch products in the U.S. and a Ryder full service lease
customer for almost 40 years, has agreed to lease 22 compressed natural
gas (CNG) vehicles. The vehicles are part of a strategic alternative
fuel program at Golden Eagle focused on reducing
transportation-generated emissions, and reducing fuel costs.
“This initial order is a first step in converting our entire fleet to
natural gas,” said Bill Osteen, Senior Vice President of Business
Operations for Golden Eagle Distributors, Inc. “After evaluating a
number of different alternative fuels, we determined that compressed
natural gas made the most sense for our operation. Not only is it a
cleaner fuel, but we also expect to see real fuel cost savings over
time.”
All 22 vehicles will be delivered to Golden Eagle by December 2011. In
support of the agreement, Ryder will be converting two outdoor bays in
its maintenance facility in Tucson, AZ to be compliant for servicing
natural gas vehicles.
“This project reflects our commitment to convert enough vehicles to make
a difference and Ryder has been a great partner to help us get started,”
continued Mr. Osteen. “We are committed to natural gas. This is the
first step of our company-wide commitment.”
Golden Eagle Distributors, Inc., headquartered in Tucson, AZ, is a
member of the Tucson Regional Clean Cities Coalition. The Clean Cities
Coalition promotes the use of clean fuels and clean-fuel vehicles in
partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Cities Program.
Golden Eagle was named Arizona’s Greenest Workplace in 2010 by Mrs.
Green’s World, an environmental website that promotes global
sustainability. The company was recognized for its recycling and energy
efficiency initiatives, employee carpooling, and for its green
transportation program. For more information visit www.gedaz.com.
Meeting Ongoing Demand
“We are hearing from many customers who are interested in taking
advantage of the cost-saving and environmental benefits of natural gas,”
said Ryder’s Sanchez. “We are committed to being a leader in providing
flexible solutions that enable companies to successfully implement
alternative fuel programs in their commercial truck operations – it is
sustainability made simple.”
About Ryder
Ryder is a FORTUNE 500® commercial transportation, logistics and supply
chain management solutions company. Ryder’s stock (NYSE:R) is a
component of the Dow Jones Transportation Average and the Standard &
Poor’s 500 Index. Inbound Logistics magazine has recognized Ryder
as the top third party logistics provider and included Ryder in its 2010
and 2011 “Green Partners” listing. Ryder also ranked 114 out of the top
500 U.S. companies and sixth in its industry sector in the 2010 Newsweek
Green Rankings. Security Magazine has named Ryder one of the top
companies for security practices in the transportation, logistics,
supply chain, and warehousing sector. Ryder is a proud member of the
American Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program, supporting national
and local disaster preparedness and response efforts. For more
information on Ryder System, Inc., visit www.ryder.com.
Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements and
information included in this news release are "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the Federal Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are
based on our current plans and expectations and are subject to risks,
uncertainties and assumptions. Accordingly, these forward-looking
statements should be evaluated with consideration given to the many
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to
differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements including
those risks set forth in our periodic filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not
possible for management to predict all such risk factors or to assess
the impact of such risks on our business. Accordingly, we undertake no
obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Source: Ryder System, Inc.