Uniform and linen supply company AmeriPride Services has taken delivery of a hydraulic hybrid truck.
The truck, a 2014 Ford F-59 chassis with a Morgan Olson Route Star walk-in van body and Lightning Hybrids hydraulic hybrid system, will be put into delivery service at an AmeriPride location in Toronto, Ontario.
This truck, the first hydraulic hybrid in AmeriPride’s fleet of approximately 1,900 vehicles in North America, will achieve better fuel economy than the comparable non-hybrid vehicle because it captures, stores and re-uses the braking energy which is normally wasted in the conventional, non-hybrid vehicle, the company said.
“Testing this hydraulic hybrid is a part of a larger company initiative to reduce energy consumption and our carbon footprint,” said Brian Keegan, senior vice president 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.”
AmeriPride said it has already replaced many of its cargo vans with fuel efficient sedans and rerouted a majority 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.
The Lightning Hybrids system was installed at the Morgan Olson facility in Sturgis, MI.
“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,” said Larry Palmer, Morgan Olson’s director of fleet sales. “We’ve built our legendary walk-in vans on every new technology from electric to CNG 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.”
