Waste Industries, a sustainability-focused refuse hauler headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, recently purchased 38 Autocar Xpeditor ACX refuse trucks, most of which are equipped with clean-burning CNG engines. Autocar, the refuse truck innovator that introduced CNG to the refuse industry in 2004 in conjunction with Cummins-Westport, is widely known as the most reliable natural gas expert in the refuse industry.
"I'd say the primary driver for why we buy Autocar is that they have a lot of experience in natural gas," said Josh Thompson, Purchasing Manager at Waste Industries. "Waste Industries is currently converting the majority of our trucks to run on CNG. Being able to partner with Autocar, the leader in CNG, gave us a lot of comfort and exposure to working with people who are natural partners for that."
Thompson continued, "We buy Autocar trucks because they have the best uptime of any vehicle that we've had exposure to, by as much as 25%. We've been buying Autocar sporadically over last decade, but are now moving towards converting the majority of our fleet to Autocar. Their willingness to work with body manufacturers to integrate Autocar's chassis with their bodies is unsurpassed."
Ever since Autocar introduced CNG to the refuse truck market, the clean, efficient fuel has emerged as an industry-wide trend. As Americans seek to lower their dependence on foreign oil, municipalities and private enterprises across North America are expanding CNG infrastructure. Like Waste Industries, national haulers such as Republic Services (NYSE) and Waste Management (NYSE) are also increasing the share of CNG trucks in their fleets every year.
