Agility, Freightliner Trucks Set Seven-Year Agreement
Agility Fuel Systems has reached a seven-year agreement under which it will be the sole provider of natural-gas fuel systems for Freightliner Trucks.
The agreement “will provide custom-designed products with the latest features and technological innovations,” Freightliner parent company Daimler Trucks North America said in a statement.
Santa Ana, California-based Agility designs and produces natural-gas fuel systems for heavy-duty trucks, including compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas configurations.
Agility recently opened a new manufacturing facility in Salisbury, North Carolina, which is close to Freightliner’s manufacturing plants in Cleveland and Mount Holly in that state. The plant is expected to start production in late 2015.
Engine maker Cummins Inc. — which makes natural-gas engines under its Cummins Westport joint-venture with Westport Inc. — announced in May it was investing in Agility.
Freightliner has worked with Agility for more than 13 years, and the two have developed factory-engineered natural-gas systems. It has put CNG systems on UPS Inc. and Saddle Creek Transportation trucks, among others.
“What drives both Freightliner and Agility is our shared vision of using innovation to deliver the best solutions to our customers,” said Mary Aufdemberg, director of product marketing for Freightliner Trucks. “This partnership will help us evolve as the industry continues to embrace natural gas as a viable option.”
“We have been collaborating with Freightliner since 2002, and in 2009 we began the industry’s first online factory installation of our natural-gas fuel systems,” Agility CEO Barry Engle said.
“We have worked as partners ever since to drive natural-gas adoption rates in the heavy-duty trucking industry,” he added.
Freightliner has more than 6,000 natural-gas trucks on the road, and the company said its commitment to green technologies is part of global parent company Daimler AG’s “Shaping Future Transportation” initiative.
Launched in 2007, the campaign is focused on reducing criteria pollutants, carbon dioxide and fuel consumption through the utilization of clean, efficient drive systems, including clean diesel and alternative fuels.
