For Michael Forte, what started as a typical desire to spec more fuel-efficient trucks has led to an all encompassing move into CNG-powered vehicles and a dedicated fueling infrastructure. Today, just two and a half years later, he couldn’t be more pleased with the results.
Forte’s company, MJF Materials of Lindenwold, N.J., operates 30 Class 8 dump trucks to haul sand and stone from its quarries in Pennsylvania to asphalt and concrete plants. Customers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey are mostly located within 100 miles of the quarries. The seasonal business, which handles about 850,000 tons per year, is supplemented by hauls of salt during winter months.
“With diesel prices topping $4 per gallon, we wanted to buy more fuel efficient trucks,” Forte relates. “Then our sales representative at Hunter Peterbilt asked if we knew about compressed natural gas engines. Within 30 days, we had ordered 20 Peterbilt Model 365s with 400-HP Cummins Westport ISX12 G CNG engines, including the very first unit built by the OEM.
“The 12-liter Cummins Westport is a pure CNG engine,” Forte continues. “Only the block and crankshaft are the same as a diesel. In addition, the 400 HP version provides a huge difference in performance. We can’t pull 80,000 lbs. with a 300-HP CNG engine, but the larger model gives us everything we want in a diesel with all the benefits of CNG. By the end of next year, when we replace our 10 remaining diesel trucks, our entire fleet will be CNG powered.”
Cost effective
With 30 trucks in operation, the MJF Materials fleet will be roughly double its size at the beginning of 2014. “CNG is more cost effective,” Forte says. “Our 30 CNG trucks will have roughly the same annual fuel cost as our smaller diesel fleet. That was the main reason we chose CNG. The price of diesel fuel was unpredictable and when it did stabilize, it was very high. It didn’t make sense to pay twice as much for diesel than an equivalent gallon of natural gas.”
While fuel costs were a primary factor in Forte’s decision to switch the MJF Materials fleet to CNG—and the basis for his return on investment calculations—research before making a $4 million investment in the new trucks also took into account the vehicle’s service life and projected resale value. “We believe the CNG trucks will last 25% longer than our diesel models and have a higher value on the used market,” Forte states. “In our operation, a 10 year old diesel truck that has run 100,000 miles per year yields about a 48% return with a rebuilt engine. If our data is correct, the CNG-powered trucks will last 15 years, or about 1.5 million miles. With 60% of their value after 10 years, we will break even on the premium for those units within the 10-year timeframe.”
The new CNG-powered Peterbilts at MJF Materials are tri-axle models fitted with 17.5-ft. aluminum dump bodies supplied by J&J Truck Bodies & Trailers. Spec’ed for maximum allowable GVW ratings of 80,000 lbs. in New Jersey and 73,280 lbs. in Pennsylvania, the vehicles boast a tare weight of 25,600 lbs.
ROI contributor
“These trucks are 2,100 lbs lighter than our newest diesel model with 90 diesel gallon equivalent CNG tanks from d-Hybrid fuel systems and without emissions components such as DEF tanks,” Forte relates. “That’s an additional ton of payload per trip, and at six loads per day on average, it’s another contributor to the ROI for the CNG vehicles.”
Other specs for the new Peterbilts at MJF Materials include Air-Weigh onboard scales to help ensure trucks don’t leave the quarry too light or too heavy. New safety features include traction control systems and air disk brakes, along with rear view camera system to help avoid backing accidents.
While working to spec new CNG vehicles, Forte also focused on bringing the fleets’ two full-time mechanics up to speed. “Few technicians know CNG yet; so we started training right away,” he says. “With the help of Hunter Peterbilt and d-Hybrid, our mechanics have become familiar with how the CNG systems work and safety procedures.”
Forte also invested time and money in ensuring a convenient and reliable fuel supply for the company’s CNG-powered fleet. “We were fortunate to have 5.5 acres of space on our property and a natural gas line on site that carries clean gas from the Gulf of Mexico,” he states. “That’s important because some natural gas sources use ingested methane from landfills and if it’s not cleaned properly engines will fail.”
Fast fill
Working with South Jersey Gas to enlarge the pipeline and Clean Energy to build a CNG vehicle refueling station, MJF Materials built a natural gas station that can currently handle 20 vehicles at a time. Expansion plans call for 48 pumps at the fast fill facility. MJF Materials drivers fuel all fleet vehicles nightly, a process that can take as little as ten minutes per truck, which, according to Forte, is as simple as connecting a propane tank to a gas grill.
The MJF Materials natural gas fueling station is also open to the public, but any revenue it generates was not part of the ROI equation and will be invested in the business, including adding employees and helping create jobs in the region. “We have refuse haulers, municipalities and construction companies using the station already,” Forte says. “CNG vehicles are slowly becoming more popular in package delivery and other operations, for example. We’re already seeing major oil companies putting CNG systems in their retail facilities and we anticipate other businesses will use our station as well.”
Promoting credits
One other piece of the CNG puzzle for Forte has been an all out effort to have tax credits for Class 8 CNG vehicles enacted by the New Jersey legislature. “There’s not currently any funding for private companies that are investing as much as $60,000 more in CNG vehicles per unit while large publicly-held companies are getting billions in grants,” Forte says. “At the same time, the higher priced CNG vehicles were generating a considerable amount of excise tax revenue.
“A tax credit that doesn’t even cover half of the added investment private companies are making to go green is a reasonable request,” Forte adds. “It can also be an incentive for smaller companies that want to keep growing and keep people employed.”