Autonomous truck maker Einride has placed an order for 150 Peterbilt Model 579EVs, representing Peterbilt’s largest order of electric trucks to date.
“We are proud to announce this partnership with Peterbilt and Rush Peterbilt Truck Centers as we combine our technology platform with their premium hardware to provide a market leading offering as we collaborate on the future of electric freight,” said Niklas Reinedahl, general manager, North America, at Einride. “Bringing new technology to market is imperative to enabling the switch to electric freight operations and we look forward to seeing this further scale Einride’s footprint in the market.”
(Image: Peterbilt)
Einride provides Freight-Capacity-as-a-Service, offering a turnkey service to customers that transport their freight autonomously via its Einride Saga digital platform. The fleet of electric Peterbilts will allow it to do so with no tailpipe emissions.
“Peterbilt is a leader in commercial vehicle electrification and offers the industry’s most complete lineup of electric vehicles. Our focus on creating reliable zero emissions solutions enable Einride to electrify end-user fleets and support reducing tailpipe emissions in the transportation industry,” said Jason Skoog, Peterbilt general manager and Paccar vice-president. “The Model 579EV is an example of that focus and is the flagship of the Peterbilt electric vehicle lineup.”
Canadians enjoyed success at the 42nd Shell Rotella SuperRigs with Andrew Worth, driving for Jade Transport of Winnipeg, winning the third place in the working truck – limited mileage category.
Rookie participant Worth was very happy to be recognized during the three-day competition at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Tex. “I put in a lot of hard work, and there are a lot of beautiful trucks here. I am super happy and proud my hard work paid off,” he said.
Andrew Worth (Photo: Leo Barros)
Worth was showcasing a 2024 Kenworth W900B 100th anniversary limited edition fitted with a Cummins X15 Performance 565 HP and 18 speed manual transmission, hauling a tanker trailer.
Two trucks from Canada, one from Alberta and the other from Manitoba, caught the eye of judges and will be featured in the Shell Rotella 2025 calendar. Every year, 12 trucks from the show are highlighted in the following year’s calendar.
Bob March’s 2024 Peterbilt. (Photo: Leo Barros)
First time participant and CEO of Calgary-based Classic Transport Bob March had a huge smile on his face when his truck was chosen. “They made me sweat,” March told TruckNews.com during the best lights contest on Day 2 of the event after he was asked to head out for a photoshoot early the next morning.
His “Classic Lady” is a 2024 589L 72” Flat Top Peterbilt fitted with a X15 565HP and 18 speed manual transmission.
Jade Transport’s 1979 Peterbilt cabover driven by Barry Kasdorf. (Photo: Leo Barros)
Jade Transport driver Barry Kasdorf turned heads with a Peterbilt cabover. It’s 1979 cab sits over a 2005 chassis and boasts a C13 Caterpillar engine and 18 speed double over transmission.
Jade Transport’s 2024 Kenworth won third place in the working truck – limited mileage category at Shell Rotella SuperRigs in Fort Worth, Tex. (Photo: Leo Barros)
Kaleb Hammett of Dodd City, Tex., captured Best of Show honors with his 2019 Peterbilt 389, nicknamed “Hoss.” He was awarded $10,000 from Shell Rotella. In addition, the truck won the Best Lights category.
Kaleb Hammett won Best of Show honors with his 2019 Peterbilt. (Photo: Shell Rotella)
Northbridge Insurance announced its partnership with SmartWay to help carriers better understand sustainable freight transport.
Offered by Natural Resources Canada, SmartWay is a free and voluntary program that helps businesses move goods more efficiently while reducing fuel costs and environmental impact.
Through this partnership, Northbridge’s transportation customers — such as carriers, freight shippers, and logistics companies — can access tools, training and other resources for free.
The tools will help them better understand how adopting green freight practices can help improve their fuel efficiency, reduce their environmental impact, strengthen their reputation, and better position their businesses for the future, the company said in a news release.
“We know green freight considerations are becoming increasingly top of mind for carriers, but many fleets don’t know where to start,” said Brian Mather, vice-president of national transportation and logistics at Northbridge Insurance. “With our SmartWay partnership, we’re able to support our customers as they look to better understand green freight benefits and adopt more sustainable operational practices.”
Hendrickson, a Boler company and manufacturer of suspension systems and components for medium- and heavy-duty trucks and trailers, has acquired the Reyco Granning suspension business, based in Mount Vernon, Miss., from Reyco Granning and its parent MAT Capital.
Reyco Granning specializes in manufacturing and marketing suspension solutions for heavy and medium-duty vehicles.
Reyco Granning’s primary product lines include suspension solutions for motorhomes, commercial trucks, emergency response vehicles, specialty trailers, buses, and the aftermarket sector.
(Photo: Hendrickson)
The Reyco Granning brand will continue to operate independently under its existing name for the foreseeable future, maintaining its market identity and ensuring continuity in operations and customer service.
“We are excited about this acquisition, as it provides a platform for Hendrickson to expand our reach and manufacturing footprint. Reyco Granning will enhance our overall product portfolio and ultimately better serve our customers in the commercial vehicle industry; we look forward to promoting the Reyco Granning brand as part of our ride solutions portfolio,” said Matt Joy, president and CEO of Hendrickson, in a news release.
Truck chassis maker Acela Truck Company has entered into a dealer agreement with Edmonton-based Western Truck & Trailer to distribute Acela’s Monterra line of 4×4 and 6×6 extreme-duty truck chassis for the Canadian market.
“Western Truck & Trailer is proud to add the Acela Monterra chassis to our product offerings,” said Mitch Mason, president and general manager of Western Truck & Trailer.
“We understand the importance of bringing purpose-built trucks to demanding job sites to improve the efficiency of completing jobs. Our team at Western Truck & Trailer Ltd believes the Acela Monterra to be the best solution to meet a multitude of needs. The Acela Monterra, with its 46-inch tires, 22 inches of ground clearance, and ability to suit almost any type of truck body proves to be the perfect jobsite solution for any industrial company.”
(Photo: Acela Truck Company)
“We’re honored to have Western Truck & Trailer representing the Monterra line of extreme duty chassis,” said David Ronsen, president of Acela Truck Company. “Western Truck & Trailer recognizes industrial companies’ needs in Alberta and other provinces.”
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CCJ Innovators profiles carriers and fleets that have found innovative ways to overcome trucking’s challenges. If you know a carrier that has displayed innovation, contact CCJ Chief Editor Jason Cannon at [email protected] or 800-633-5953.
The arguments and myths against zero emission trucking are plentiful, especially as it relates to the generation of grid-based electricity, which itself can be an unclean process.
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania-based PITT OHIO in March became the first fleet in the country to add Freightliner’s electric M2 to its Cleveland, Ohio-based LTL business, but going green at the tail pipe wasn’t green enough. PITT OHIO’s Cleveland terminal is also home to a patented renewable energy microgrid that is powered by eight wind turbines and 1,500 solar panels.
“Wind and solar and alternative energy are part of our culture,” said Director of Building Maintenance and Property Management Jim Maug, “but the big picture items: post-consumer recycled material, biodegradable cleaning products, recycling, no off gas and no [volatile organic compounds] in our paint, LED lighting, low water usage… these are all big picture items that make the entire package.”
Among the newest parts of the package – if not the most technologically sophisticated – is a renewable energy powered microgrid found at two of PITT OHIO’s terminals, each taking wind and solar energy and distributing that power to points of use. The motor carrier received the patent for this process in 2020. While certainly a step in the motor carrier’s decarbonization plans, Maug said originally it was a way to insulate the business from potential power outages.
PITT OHIO partnered with WindStax Energy to design and install a ZeroFirst high voltage DC microgrid using solar and wind turbines to generate, store, and consume renewable energy on-site.“It was really for resiliency that in the event we go without power, we would run off a microgrid,” he said.
The idea for renewable energy began in 2012 with solar installation at the company’s East Windsor, New Jersey, terminal.
PITT OHIO then began talking with The University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering to study direct current (DC) energy by way of solar panels and wind turbines, and eventually built a laboratory for the school inside its Pittsburgh terminal where research students could study the terminals’ wind turbine and solar panel activity.
PITT OHIO partnered with WindStax Energy to design and install a ZeroFirst high voltage DC microgrid using solar and wind turbines to generate, store, and consume renewable energy on-site. Excess renewable energy is sent back to the utility when generation exceeds demand – a model that strikes a balance between self-consumption and net metering to reduce the facilities’ annual carbon footprint.
Justine Russo, PITT OHIO’s director of sustainability & business intelligence, noted that generally speaking, the only things not using the power generated by the carrier at the Cleveland site are the company’s electric trucks.
“The goal was to connect the microgrid to the fast chargers so we could charge an electric truck strictly off of renewables,” she said, “The trucks just take too much power.”
The Cleveland microgrid combines solar and wind energy with battery storage to power lighting loads throughout the facility. Awarded several U.S. patents, the high voltage direct current distribution-to-the-fixture design uses renewable energy with maximum efficiency.
However, the wind doesn’t always blow, the sun doesn’t always shine, and temperature swings and weather anomalies can have a major influence of power consumption and generation, so utility power is available seamlessly as a backup. Any excess renewable energy generated by PITT OHIO is sent into the grid.
“Sometimes in the summertime you make more power than you use and you give back to the grid. In the wintertime, sometimes, you’ll make less,” Maug said, adding that over the course of a 12-month year, the facility is essentially net zero. “How it works is you use what you make. Some days, rainy overcast days, you don’t make as much. And then in August you make a whole lot.”
Ohio is among the top 10 states in total energy consumption, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, yet renewable energy resources supplied about 4% of Ohio’s total in-state electricity generation in 2022. Because in-state generation does not meet consumer demand, Ohio typically imports 20%-25% of its electricity from other states and Canada by way of the regional grid.
The PITT OHIO system runs first on power generated on-site before sapping any needed balance from the grid – WindStax Energy’s “ZeroFirst” system. Any surplus sent to the grid acts like a credit with the power company when it bills based on the facility’s consumption. “There’s a meter that says, ‘We gave X, and before you charge us for anything, we use X,'” Maug said.
Russo noted that the company’s microgird likely won’t make sense in each of the company’s 25 facilities, adding their approach has been “to find the right opportunities in the right locations. We have over 1,000 power units at 25 facilities. That’s a lot of diesel to replace. I think it’s more where does it make sense to put in new technology?”
Maug added the company has installed numerous weather stations across its network to help provide data on where similar renewable systems might work. “We will go through our terminals site by site to see which ones would benefit most,” he said. “I think that there’s a risk to going 100% self-generated. I think there’s a risk with staying 100% on the grid. I think we are very forward thinking, but also incremental in our approach, and we’ll continue to do that.”
Just as the East Windsor installation gave rise to a larger and more capable system in Ohio, Maug expects advancements in technology to continue to expand the potential of PITT OHIO’s microgrid system.
“What we did in East Windsor was what was available at the time,” he said, “and taking it another step as technology had matured, we went with the microgrid. I can tell you this will mature even further.”
That maturation process, Maug said, would have to involve jointly a lot of stakeholders, trucking and otherwise.
“What we’ve been through, this is gonna have to be a community-based environment. No one company will be able to solve it. It’ll need to be a whole bunch of companies working with the government. There will need to be more efficient sources of charging – and I really don’t know if that’s going to be hydrogen in the future, if that’s nuclear, if that’s co-generation in the future… This will have to be many communities and governmental authorities getting together to solve the problem. These are giant amounts of energy that have to be produced and the charging stations have to be similar.”
The CCJ Innovators program is brought to you by Bestpass, Chevron Delo, Comdata and Freightliner Trucks.
This is a moderated forum. Comments will no longer be published unless they are accompanied by a first and last name and a verifiable email address. (Today’s Trucking will not publish or share the email address.) Profane language and content deemed to be libelous, racist, or threatening in nature will not be published under any circumstances.
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Each week, TruckNews.com lists notable moves, promotions and awards in the trucking industry.
This week, Women’s Trucking Federation of Canada opened nominations for its annual Mentorship Award, and Reimer Associates hired Rob Koppel to its senior leadership team. Meanwhile, Nicole Gray was named Goodyear’s senior vice-president and chief human resources officer, as Gary VanderLind retired.
Nominations open for WTFC mentorship award
Women’s Trucking Federation of Canada opened nominations for its 7th annual Bridging the Gaps Mentorship Award.
This award recognizes the value of mentoring and positive impact of strong mentoring relationships on individual mentees within the trucking industry, as effective mentoring involves getting to know a mentee’s personal strengths and goals, and then providing tailored advice and encouragement, according to a news release.
This award also acknowledges future leaders for their interpersonal skills and effectiveness in working with individuals of diverse backgrounds and levels of experience.
Those interested in nominating a friend or colleague in the industry can do so here by Aug. 25.
Koppel joins Reimer Associates
(Photo: Supplied)
Rob Koppel joined Reimer Associates, supply chain recruiters, as a vice-president, the company’s president Ross Reimer announced on LinkedIn.
Koppel brings over a decade of experience in supply chain logistics, transportation and global freight forwarding to the new role.
Most recently, Koppel spent 12 years working for Kuehne + Nagel. He started as a director of strategic customer development and was appointed a vice-president in 2019.
Earlier in his career, he held other senior-level operations and commercial positions with companies like Schneider Logistics and DB Schenker.
Goodyear appoints Gray to replace VanderLind
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company announced that its senior vice-president and chief human resources officer (CHRO) Gary VanderLind is retiring, appointing Nicole Gray as his replacement, effective July 1.
(Photo: Supplied)
Gray joined Goodyear in 2016, moving from leading the company’s global labor and employment team to senior human resources leadership roles, a news release said.
Prior to joining Goodyear, Gray was a partner at McDonald Hopkins, where she worked with employers to address business and workforce matters, from litigation defense to talent strategy. Her human resources and legal expertise also includes leading collective bargaining, managing corporate transactions and advising senior executives.
“She is the right human resources leader to help deliver on our Goodyear Forward plan as we navigate the increased complexity of our labor landscape, and attract and develop talent,” added Goodyear’s chief executive officer and president Mark Stewart.
