Hexagon Doubles Natural Gas System Output With Plant Move
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Hexagon Agility opened an assembly and installation plant in Rialto, Calif., on Nov. 21, a move designed to double the natural gas fuel system supplier’s production capacity, it said.
Costa Mesa, Calif.-based Hexagon Agility, which manufactures the pressurized cylinders and fueling systems required by gas-powered engines, relocated its Fontana, Calif., assembly and installation plant to Rialto.
Hexagon Agility, which also assembles and installs the systems in Salisbury, N.C., moved its West Coast production operations in response to increasing demand for compressed and renewable gas-powered powertrains in the heavy-duty truck and refuse segments, it said.
“With our expanded production capabilities, our team is growing in both the Salisbury and now in the Rialto markets,” Hexagon Agility CEO Hans Peter Havdal said. “At Hexagon Agility, we pride ourselves on our operational resilience and responsiveness to new market opportunities. In addition to organic growth, we recently announced our acquisition of Specialty Fleet Services, a leading natural gas mobile service and inspection provider. We are ready to meet the future.
“A combination of increased [carbon dioxide] regulations in the transport sector and the introduction of Cummins’ next-generation natural gas X15N engine is propelling the energy transition in the U.S. heavy-duty truck sector,” Havdal said. “The U.S. heavy-duty truck addressable market for natural gas solutions is expected to grow threefold, from 100,000 vehicles per year today to 330,000 [per] year starting in 2025.”
Hexagon moved its West Coast production operations in response to increasing demand for compressed and renewable gas-powered powertrains in the heavy-duty truck and refuse segments. (Hexagon Agility)
Freightliner became the latest truck maker to outline plans to offer the X15N in October, when launching the latest generation of its Cascadia semi, the top-selling tractor in North America.
Orders for the Daimler Truck North America unit’s redesigned flagship Class 8 on-highway tractor are scheduled to open by the end of 2024, with production beginning in mid-2025 and the X15N configuration available from 2026.
Full production of Cummins’ X15N natural gas engine got underway in September. Manufacturing takes place at the company’s Jamestown Engine Plant in New York, which received a $452 million revamp ahead of the launch of the X15N and other lower-emissions engines.
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Paccar unit Peterbilt also launched production of trucks with the engine in the third quarter. Peterbilt offers the engine as an option on its Model 579 flagship semi plus the Model 567 and Model 520 refuse truck models.
Fellow Paccar unit Kenworth also began offering the X15N as an engine option in Q3. In Kenworth’s case, the engine is available for the Class 8 T680 tractor and T880 vocational truck.
Gas-powered trucks are increasingly being seen as part of the decarbonization of the U.S. freight industry, carriers say.
Hexagon is also working with Norwegian electric transmission tech company Brudeli on a plug-in hybrid system for Class 7 and Class 8 tractors. The system will incorporate Hexagon’s gas fueling systems with Brudeli’s plug-in Powerhybrid technology.
In June 2023, Hexagon Agility opened a service and installation facility located near original equipment manufacturers’ production plants and its existing Salisbury, N.C., assembly facility. The 40,000-square-foot site encompasses parts, service and installation operations to support the expansion of Hexagon Agility FleetCare.
Hexagon Agility is a unit of Norway’s Hexagon Composites.
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