PalmerTrucksNews

Fair Oaks Farms and Paccar Leasing Co. announced that they have entered into a full-service lease agreement for 42 new Kenworth T440 tractors powered by the Cummins Westport ISL-G compressed natural gas engines.

The trucks, equipped with 6-speed Allison automatic transmissions and extra NG fuel tanks, will haul raw milk from the Fair Oaks Farms dairy facilities in Fair Oaks, Ind., to processing centers in three Midwestern states. The first trucks are expected to be in service in August, with the remaining units going into service in the following weeks.

Fair Oaks Farms is leasing the 42 CNG-powered Kenworth T440s under a full-service lease contract with Palmer PacLease. Palmer, the local PacLease franchise, will handle all of the maintenance on the trucks at an onsite maintenance facility. Ruan Transportation Management Systems, a dedicated contract carrier, will provide logistics expertise and drivers for the 42 milk-hauling trucks.

“PacLease has played a critical role in helping this project get off the ground,” says Mark Stoermann, project manager for Fair Oaks Farms. “By having PacLease handle the maintenance, we can concentrate on delivering 300,000 gallons of milk each day to processing facilities in Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. And we don’t have to commit our capital resources to purchase the trucks.”

Stoermann estimates the 42-unit CNG-powered truck fleet will reduce Fair Oaks Farms’ carbon footprint by displacing more than 1½ million gallons of diesel fuel. The Cummins-Westport CNG-powered engine uses cooled exhaust recirculation with a maintenance-free device that reduces emissions of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide. The combination offers increased power density and thermal efficiency for good throttle response.

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