MMC Materials Inc., introduced Monday its new natural gas-powered concrete mixer fleet, fueled by a TruStar Energy PFS.
The 12 new CNG-powered concrete mixers are the first in the Southeast to run on CNG, putting MMC Materials among a small handful of ready mix producers throughout the US that have begun migrating to natural gas.
“We got real interested in this from an environmental standpoint and began looking at it over a year ago,” said Stanley Mangum, MMC Central Region VP, who said they also spoke with refuse haulers who were running CNG vehicles and felt confident that MMC was moving in the right direction.
MMC Materials chose Kenworth mixers, powered by a Cummins-Westport ISX 12-liter CNG engine. With 320 mixers operating throughout Mississippi, Mangum sees a significant benefit.
“We knew we could use CNG that’s made right here at home, and given the price difference between natural gas and diesel, it adds up quick,” said Mangum, adding that all trucks will be located at theirJackson plant – were the entire fleet will be running on CNG.
MMC Materials purchased the TruStar Energy Portable Fueling System [PFS] to handle the fueling at their Jackson, Miss. facility. The modular nature of the PFS made it the perfect application for their ready mix operation because all 12 trucks can be fueled overnight – and the station can be easily moved to another location if / when MMC expands their CNG fleet.
“We designed and built the PFS for exactly these types of fleets,” said TruStar Energy Vice President,Scott Edelbach. “We knew that some fleet owners needed a portable fueling solution that offered compressor redundancy for reliability, but also a system that was appropriately sized for smaller operations.”
Edelbach said that the mobility of the PFS also makes it a perfect choice for fleets (like ready mix producers) that are distributed among several locations – making traditional ‘brick and mortar’ fueling stations less practical.
