Propane Makes Big Impression At Work Truck Show

Propane industry press conferences and presentations, along with truck premieres, ride-and-drive opportunities, and training drew a record-setting 11,905 industry professionals to the Work Truck Show 2016 in Indianapolis. The show took place March 1 to 4 at the Indiana Convention Center and is produced annually by NTEA, the association for the work truck industry.

Propane garnered a great deal of attention at the Green Truck Summit, held in conjunction with the Work Truck Show, which focused on alternative fuels and the latest on clean energy innovations for commercial vehicles. The Green Truck Summit session titled, “The Propane Autogas Advantage: Reduce Your Total Cost of Ownership,” included Glenn Chamberland, fleet manager for AAA Hartford Metro Emergency Road Service. Chamberland discussed how AAA Hartford’s use of propane-fueled trucks has helped save on fuel and maintenance costs and lower incidents of fuel theft. The session also included Jay Massey, corporate fleet manager for AmeriGas (Valley Forge, Pa.), who addressed how his company uses propane in its fleet. Steve Smith, director of transportation for the Metropolitan School District of Warren Township (Indianapolis) talked about his fleet’s adoption of Blue Bird propane-powered Vision buses. Tucker Perkins, chief business development officer for the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC), moderated the event.

Perkins told

after the event that Smith’s talk was “just what you want to hear from a fleet manager,” covering all of the positive impacts the switch to propane has had on the drivers, mechanics, and school district overall. Smith mentioned strong support from his fueling provider.

Perkins also spoke at a session titled “Work Truck Trends and Outlook for Alternative Fuel Technology.” The session included representatives from the Electric Drive Transportation Association, NGVAmerica, and the National Biodiesel Board. Perkins commented that those groups noted declines in business between 2014 and 2015, partly because of low gasoline prices. But the propane autogas industry sold 3% to 3.5% more vehicles during that same time period.

“I am glad to see that our buyers continued to choose propane vehicles because they saw the economic advantages over gasoline and diesel options,” Perkins said.

In Perkins’ presentation, he talked about how the propane industry’s sales success in school buses makes a convincing case to managers of large truck fleets that can benefit as much as the school bus industry has from switching to propane autogas.

He wanted attendees to think about why 10,000 propane school buses are on the road but not that many medium-duty trucks. “They’re going to have quieter vehicles, happier drivers, improved image from polluting less, and having a real differentiator between them and their competitors,” Perkins noted.

PERC’s booth displayed an F-250 from the AAA fleet with an ICOM propane system, a vehicle from Bimbo Bakeries, an F-150 truck from Westport, and propane fueling dispensers from CleanFUEL USA and Superior Energy. Attendees could also visit Blossman Gas/Alliance AutoGas, CleanFUEL USA, Roush CleanTech, and PSI booths.

The increased awareness of propane autogas throughout the Work Truck Show impressed Perkins. “You continue to see fleet managers having positive experiences, and you continue to see [original equipment manufacturers] taking notice of that.”