What was intended to be just a green truck wash may have turned into the closest thing to a perpetual energy system the world has ever seen
GULFPORT, Miss.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–There may be no other industry more environmentally regulated than the trucking industry. With a focus on America’s fleet of more than 3 million diesel drinking 18-wheelers, scrutiny is growing. From the anti-idling laws in California, to new emissions limits from Washington and even citations from the DOT for driving dirty, the ultimatum has been handed down. Get greener or pull over.
According to Louis Normand, Fleet Operator and CEO of National Truck Funding / American Truck Group, “It’s all about efficiency and dependency. The more fuel efficient trucks become the cleaner our air and the less dependent we are on foreign oil. It’s not rocket science just truck science.” The average 18-wheeler burns 20,000 gallons of diesel fuel each year. Multiply that by 3 million rigs and you can see how small percentage increases in fuel efficiency, combined with enhanced operating efficiencies can save millions of gallons of fuel and billions of dollars in freight costs.
There may be no one more aware of this onslaught of new mandates and regulations than National Truck Funding / American Truck Group (NTF) (ATG) CEO, Louis Normand. Managing a growing fleet of 500 and approaching 90 rigs into the service each month, Normand was forced to confront go-green initiatives head on when ATG built its brand new sales and service facility. Keeping a large fleet of big trucks in regulatory compliance was one thing but building a facility to service the fleet was a whole new ball game. Especially when you want to add an on-site truck wash to the facility footprint. With drivers becoming more sensitive to the fuel efficiencies of operating a clean truck, and ATG’s own growing demand for a functional truck wash, Normand set out to include a truck wash in his building plans. He was determined to make it clean and green. So green it couldn’t help but be more compliant than currently required and way ahead of its time in the event of even stricter “Green Regs” down the road.
As the planning stages progressed, Normand realized building an on-site truck wash was becoming one of the bigger challenges his business ever had to face. Not only were traditional degreasers, detergents and chemicals expensive, but the disposal of such, once combined with road chemicals and grime removed from dirty trucks, was subject to even more regulation and cost. So, in true Normand style, he decided to build a chemical, detergent-free, pollution-proof truck wash. “I just figured if I didn’t use chemicals or detergents to begin with I didn’t have to worry about getting rid of it.”
