For fleets that want to go green with their heavy-duty trucks without sacrificing capability and paying more upfront costs that electric powertrains bring, consider Roush CleanTech’s near-zero autogas system. Roush has been working with three alt fuel powertrains—natural gas, propane and electric, and it’s the later that they feel isn’t quite ready for prime time when it comes to hauling heavy loads.
Please welcome Adam Wilkum to the ROUSH CleanTech team! Adam is our new business development manager covering central western United States and Canada. He’ll be focused on growing the alternative fuel school bus market. With nearly 20 years in the public transportation industry, he has provided expert-level industry knowledge to some of the largest fleets in North America. He also worked with Thomas Built Bus, Cummins Inc. and Lion Electric, providing Tier 1 sales and support to both dealers and end users.
Q: What did you do prior to coming to ROUSH CleanTech?
A: I grew up in the bus business in the southwestern U.S., spending 15 years providing sales and support for a school bus dealership in Arizona. After relocating to the East Coast, I spent several years providing bus support for a diesel engine manufacturer, and a short time with an electric school bus OEM.
Q: What interested you in joining the ROUSH CleanTech team?
A: Growing up in Michigan, and in a Ford family at that, I had always been familiar with the Roush name. I became fully aware of the propane autogas offering during my time selling buses in Arizona after Mesa Public Schools made its first large propane purchase from Blue Bird in 2011. I knew propane offered a very good value proposition, while being environmentally friendly and easy on technicians. ROUSH CleanTech came highly recommended by my colleagues in the school bus industry, so coming to work for them was an easy choice for me.
Q: What will you bring to ROUSH CleanTech?
A: My experience includes equipment specification guidance for competitive advantage, grant funding for clean energy projects, and technical education to both small and large groups.
Q: Where do you live?
A: I currently reside in Redding, Connecticut, with my wife Ashley and our two dogs. We both grew up in Michigan and our plan is to relocate back to the Midwest in the next 12 months.
You can reach him at Adam.Wilkum@roush.com.
Strolling the floor at the National Truck Equipment Association’s Work Truck Show in Indianapolis last week, one booth had a large baby blue box van in it. Among the rest of the displays in the booth, this truck, built on the Ford (NYSE: F) F-750 truck platform, was powered by propane (sometimes called autogas) in a system developed by Roush CleanTech. The truck generated a broader question – “Why don’t more fleets use propane as a transportation fuel?”
Blue Bird Corporation has proudly delivered its 5,000th gasoline-powered school bus, following it’s “first-to-market” introduction just over two years ago. The Type C gasoline bus has grown in popularity due to low upfront costs, reliable cold-weather startup and heating capabilities, ease of fueling accessibility and maintenance cost savings.
We just finished up the largest commercial truck event in the country at the NTEA Work Truck Show in Indianapolis. It’s clear our message of reduced complexity, decreased emissions and much lower total cost of ownership with propane autogas is resonating with current and future customers.
A video from a Minnesota school district shows the ease of starting a propane autogas school bus in extreme temperatures. The bus started in -41-degree temps after sitting for two days! As one district rep says, “If I didn’t see it and do it myself, I wouldn’t believe it.”
As more bus fleets look for ways to lower emissions and comply with government regulations, many are turning to propane autogas as a proven, clean alternative fuel. Not only are propane autogas buses better for the environment than traditional fuels, such as gasoline and diesel, but they are also better on a bus fleet’s budget and provide the convenience fleet managers are accustomed to with traditional fuels.
Across the nation and in all types of wintry weather and driving conditions, hundreds of school districts are saving money by using a less expensive fuel. This makes drivers and passengers more comfortable with propane buses. Diesel school bus drivers in Minnesota’s Proctor Public Schools district cover themselves with blankets, in order to endure cold cockpits in winter. Frost lines the bus floor, and unless the buses are plugged in overnight to a block heater, they won’t start in the region’s brutal winter temperatures.
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