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Thermo King Continues Environmental Leadership Role
(Minneapolis - March 22, 2007) - Seventy years ago, Thermo King invented the technology that created the transport temperature control industry. This March at the Mid-America Trucking Show, Thermo King will be announcing how the company has continued its quest for environmental leadership.
"We continue to believe that showing environmental leadership is the right thing to do. Practicing responsible stewardship not only saves our customers money, but is good for the environment. We call this good business. We are proud of the technology that Thermo King currently has and will continue to develop," said Ted Fick, president, Thermo King Americas.
Thermo King has a long history of providing customers with energy efficient products worldwide. "Each of our product designs leverages best practices," said Fick. "We utilize our technology leadership in engineering by applying the most energy efficient methods to provide temperature control."
Thermo King technology saves energy in many ways, including the following examples. One, the company's technology uses mechanical energy transfer, which uses direct drive components. These components have fewer moving parts and are less likely to break down. Two, Thermo King engines are fuel efficient, using low engine rpm. Third, in Thermo King's TriPac™ Hybrid Auxiliary Idle Reduction and Temperature Management System (or APU), the heater is typically installed in the cargo compartment. It doesn't run off the diesel engine, which results in energy savings and efficient heating. Fourth, the TriPac system has smart controls using Thermo King's Cycle Sentry™ start/stop technology; this technology saves energy by only operating the TriPac engine if the battery is charging.
"When we talk about the environment, it is more than just saving fuel and lowering emissions," said Craig Fisher, director of marketing, Thermo King, "We offer a complete package of solutions, from offering alternative energy systems to extending our service intervals. Our environmental initiatives go beyond our truck and trailers products and encompass all of our business units."
Thermo King continues to lead the industry by providing customer choices with regards to environmental friendly alternative energy systems. This includes the Hybrid model 50 (diesel and electric operation), cryogenic offerings and BIODIESEL compatible engines. Thermo King has spent years developing cryogenic technology for truck and trailer units that run on liquid carbon dioxide instead of diesel fuel. These cryogenic units eliminate any and all harmful refrigerant emission and make 95 percent less noise than traditional units.
Thermo King also leads the industry with the lowest exhaust emission engine in the market. The TK486V engine not only meets the EPA requirements for Tier 2 but also meets the Interim Tier 4 requirements through 2012.
With the release of the Tier 2 engine, Thermo King doubled the service interval by increasing the intervals from 500 hours per year to 1,000 hours per year. Thermo King leads the industry with the longest service intervals. Not only are maintenance costs reduced by 45 percent over competitive models but waste associated with the service is also reduced. Fewer oil and filter changes means less dirty oil, less waste, less spillage and fewer dirty filters in landfills.
Thermo King's accessory product line is also doing its part to better our customers' bottom line. Specifically, a trio of products including the TriPac system, the new EON battery and the new Level 2 Diesel Particulate Filter are designed to give customers great cost savings and environmental benefits. The TriPac system allows drivers to reduce unnecessary idling, conserve diesel fuel and save money. TriPac provides truck engine preheating, battery charging, truck cab sleeper and electric power with optional inverter. Thermo King's hybrid technology is multi-faceted. The TriPac has a unique hybrid system with diesel engine for cooling and the fuel-fired heater for heating.
Experienced drivers know that when maintaining a reefer unit, the highest cost is the battery. Thermo King is now offering the EON long-life dry cell battery. The EON has five times the life of a wet cell battery, which results in significant cost savings for customers and less waste. The EON battery also maintains capacity at low temperatures better than wet cell battery technology.
The company's Level 2 DPF was verified by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as achieving a 50 percent reduction in emissions for Transport Refrigeration Units (TRUs) in a recent Executive Order (http://www.arb.ca.gov/diesel/verdev/level2/level2.html). In addition, Thermo King offers several other compliance options including outfitting new units, retro-fitting engines and providing the necessary filters.
Thermo King's new developments aren't limited to the trucking industry. The company's bus sector is leading the way with their cutting edge electric and hybrid buses. There is technology available to provide power to an electric HVAC unit on a diesel engine driven bus. Thermo King has been using this technology for several years in refrigeration applications and during the same period they have been testing it in HVAC applications. "We ran this system in a City Bus revenue service system for the past two cooling seasons in Prague, Czech Republic. Our plan is to have systems running in the U.S. for the next year's cooling season," said Steve Johnson, Thermo King director, bus product management.
Thermo King Corporation, a business unit of diversified industrial firm Ingersoll Rand Company Limited, was founded in 1938 and manufactures transport temperature control systems for a variety of mobile applications, including trailers, truck bodies, buses, shipboard containers and railway cars. The company operates 10 manufacturing facilities and 17 parts distribution centers worldwide. Sales and service is provided by a global dealer network of 865 independently owned companies in 75 countries.
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Contact:
Mike O'Brien, Thermo King Corporation
952-885-3505
Michael_OBrien@irco.com
