One of the 10 largest fleets in Quebec—and possibly the greenest—Normandin Transit operates 275 trucks, all Kenworths.
Founded in 1988 by siblings André and Danielle Normandin, the company embraces aerodynamic Kenworth T660s with Paccar MX engines. The company acquired 28 new T660s with MX engines in 2010, and ordered another 20 this year.
Specializing in transportation of pharmaceuticals in temperature-controlled reefers, Normandin also hauls furniture and general freight across Canada and the United States.
Daniel Pascau, assistant fleet manager, said the company started running MX 485-horsepower engines in 2010. “They are very reliable and fuel-efficient,” he said. “Our fuel manager recently took a ride to Florida in a new T660 with Paccar MX engine. He decided to keep the speed at 60 mph the entire trip. We were very pleased with the fuel economy.”
As a member of the US Environmental Protection Agency SmartWay Transport Partnership, Normandin has all its trucks SmartWay-certified and equipped with APUs (auxiliary power units) and idle shutdown.
“Our fleet idle average is 3%,” said Pascau. To further minimize emissions, the company searches out and purchases the most fuel-efficient, aerodynamic trucks available on the market, inflates truck tires with nitrogen, and purchases every SmartWay option available for its trucks. All T660s are ordered with factory-equipped, full aerodynamic packages, including full side chassis fairings, roof fairing, cab extenders, and aero mirrors.
New trucks are also fully loaded with Bendix ADB22X air disc brakes, Xenon high-intensity discharge headlamps, and Kenworth AG400 rear suspensions. The newest Kenworth trucks in the fleet have 86-inch Studio AeroCab sleepers with Diamond VIT interiors.
“Driver satisfaction is important to us, and critical to our success. In an industry where the turnover rate is high, our turnover is just 2.4%. Drivers stay with us because of the way they’re treated here and the kind of equipment they drive,” said Pascau.
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