Ethridge, Tenn.-based Sharp Transport, Inc. has become the first carrier in the United States verified by the EPA to earn the SmartWay Elite Trailer designation. Outfitted with low rolling resistance tires, side skirts and the Stemco TrailerTail, Sharp Transport's trailers are equipped to achieve more than 10 percent fuel savings.
For a trailer to earn the right to bear the SmartWay Elite Trailer mark, it must be equipped with low rolling resistance tires and a high-performance combination of fuel-saving aerodynamic technologies such as side skirts and TrailerTails. In conjunction, these devices help decrease the load on the engine and reduce fuel consumption. Only trailers using aerodynamic technologies that result in a fuel efficiency improvement of nine percent or more are eligible to earn the designation.
"Our existing customer base and new customers alike are starting to request these certifications and rankings during bid renewals and new quotes," says Jarit Cornelius, Director of Maintenance at Sharp Transport.
"We've always been an efficiency-conscious fleet, but just couldn't quantify the adoption of any more aerodynamic additions to our fleet until the STEMCO engineers paid us a visit earlier this year," he explains. "They sent their team out to retrofit one of our trailers, took one of our drivers for the day and compiled comparison data with and without their product. When the reports came back, we immediately standardized their TrailerTail on all of our new over-the-road trailer fleet orders."
"Helping fleets like Sharp Transport cut fuel expenses and reduce carbon emissions are two of the major goals of STEMCO's Innovative Tire and Mileage Solutions division," says Bob Montgomery, Stemco vice president of Innovative Tire & Mileage Solutions. "We take pride in helping fleets stay competitive, profitable and compliant while helping lower the amount of pollutants they introduce to the environment.
"Also, as the EPA and NHTSA develop their phase two greenhouse gas standards, more and more carriers like Sharp Transport are turning to fuel-saving aerodynamic technologies like the Stemco TrailerTail in order to get a jump on compliance," adds Montgomery.
"Our customers are not only doing their part to improve the future, they are starting to only partner with carriers that care as much as they do," said Cornelius.
