MHQ – Meeting a Rising Demand for Natural Gas-Powered Emergency Vehicles

As an emergency vehicle supplier to police, fire and transportation departments in Northeastern United States for the past 34 years, MHQ has a good sense of what its customers want. Recently, more of its customers are telling the company they want to drive natural gas vehicles (NGVs).

Tom Emig, MHQ Fleet Account Manager, said he noticed a change in demand about two years ago, as more fleet managers were becoming aware of the price discrepancy between natural gas and diesel, and wanting to take advantage of it.

Since then, MHQ has sold an increasing number of Ford Westport WiNG™ Power System pickup trucks, plows and vans to its largest customer, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Transportation. They have purchased about 30 dedicated compressed natural gas (CNG) Ford F250s in the last two years.

“We are the biggest contractor selling vehicles to the state, so we responded to their demand,” Tom says. “Several other cities are also purchasing them as they take advantage of state and federal level-incentives.”

CNG Gives AAA Oklahoma a Boost

It’s not uncommon to see one of AAA Oklahoma’s compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered Ford F-250s servicing a gasoline or diesel-powered car or truck on the streets of Tulsa and Oklahoma City. That’s because almost half of the association’s fleet of 56 vehicles runs on natural gas.

AAA Oklahoma has a fleet of  23 natural gas vehicles, including this CNG-powered Westport WiNG™ Ford F-650.
Fleet Manager Dana Storey says the association saves around $400,000 annually on fuel by using natural gas vehicles.

Dana Storey, AAA Oklahoma’s fleet manager, says the association started converting its fleet to natural gas in 2011, and over the past two years has purchased or converted a total of 23 natural gas vehicles (NGVs). Ten of the fleet’s vehicles are bi-fuel Ford F-250s featuring the Westport WiNG™ Power System with service bodies, operating on CNG and gasoline, and twelve are dedicated Westport WiNG™ Ford F-650s operating solely on CNG.

Pioneer Natural Resources: 'Fuelling Vehicles with Natural Gas Makes Sense and Cents'

A Wider Lens – Guest Blog Series 

This is the first installment in our guest blog series: A Wider Lens. 

This series will feature first-hand accounts from people driving natural gas vehicles, industry leaders and decision-makers in the natural gas transportation industry.

By Guest Contributor – Lynn Lyon, Pioneer Natural Resources

Natural gas as a vehicle fuel is a new idea to most people. When provided with a less expensive and cleaner alternative, some people are skeptical. As individuals and companies hear about opportunities for fuel cost savings they become more interested. Those who do the analysis are increasingly deciding that moving to natural gas makes sense and cents.

Lynn Lyon, Director of Fuel Market Development at Pioneer Natural Resources Company: "We have significant savings, with high-mileage drivers saving up to $500 a month in fuel costs." 

Companies with high mileage and strong logistic insight are the first adopters because they know how to assess the impact across their operations. They have the time and the motivation to learn more about their fuel options. With over ten per cent of Fortune 100 companies currently using natural gas to fuel transportation, Pioneer Natural Resources is in good company. Leading companies in retail, food services, shipping, technology and consumer products are learning about the benefits of switching to natural gas.

Pioneer Natural Resources started converting fleet vehicles to run on compressed natural gas in 2008 with a small pilot project in Southern Colorado. As an early adopter, we had an opportunity to learn about how our product, natural gas, could be used in our fleet vehicles. Our first station was not big enough and we had some frustrating but manageable problems with our trucks. Our perseverance paid off though and we are proud of the results.

We have learned that the technology with trucks and stations have improved and provide a stable base for operations. With widespread natural gas pipelines to access and the rapid increase of public stations, we have increased confidence in our ability to fuel up at locations throughout Texas. At this point the biggest challenge is the willingness to change.

Pioneer Natural Resources has over 270 natural gas vehicles with operations in Texas, Kansas, Colorado and Alaska. 

We currently have over 270 natural gas powered vehicles in our fleet. The majority are bi-fuel Ford F-250 Trucks with the bi-fuel Westport WiNG™ Power System. We also use dedicated Peterbilt heavy duty trucks and Honda Civic NGV sedans. We developed three private stations in remote field operations to use local gas. We have teamed up with retail natural gas fuel stations in some locations and expect to use more gas from retailers in the future.

We have significant savings, with high-mileage drivers saving up to five hundred dollars a month in fuel costs. Our trucks and stations have been performing well with minimal issues. When we do have a problem, our relationship with Westport helps us resolve issues quickly.

I personally drive a Westport WiNG ™ Ford F-250 and have been impressed with the seamless transition from natural gas to gasoline when I drive to a remote location without natural gas fueling access. The engine switches fuels while the truck is moving with no interruption – the only way to know that it has switched is to watch the fuel gauges.

Affordable fuel is good for Pioneer and everyone. In the not too distant future, we are expecting more fueling stations and competitive prices for compressed natural gas, at $1-2.00 below the prices of gasoline. We our building off of our successful fleet transition by assessing gasoline and diesel displacement projects with our third party suppliers, drilling operations, pressure pumping services and mining operations.

Switching to natural gas fueling may provide significant savings in many parts of our operations in the future.

Lynn Lyon is the Director of Fuel Market Development at Pioneer Natural Resources Company. Follow her on Twitter: @lynnmurraylyon

To learn more about Pioneer Natural Resources, visit their website: http://www.pxd.com/

Grand Opening of the Westport Kentucky Integration Center (WKIC)

One June 26th the Westport Kentucky Integration Center (WKIC) celebrated its official grand opening with staff, distinguished guests, and members of the automotive community. The facility, right next to the Ford Kentucky Truck Plant, is the assembly center for the WiNG™ Power System, which integrates into Ford F-250 and F-350 pickup trucks to enable them to run on both gasoline and CNG (bi-fuel).

(L-R: Mike Biagi, John LaPetz, George Burgess, Carolyn Tandy, Dr. Ted Smith, Ian Scott and John Howell)

Several Westporters and local dignitaries gathered inside the plant for the official grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony. The establishment of WKIC marks not only an investment in the Louisville community and growing automotive industry, but also a visible demand for natural gas vehicles that help reduce the U.S.’s dependency on foreign oil.

Fun Fact: The Mayor of Louisville officially proclaimed June 26 as Westport LD Ribbon Cutting Day!



By opening the facility right across from the Ford Kentucky Truck Plant, the trucks can easily be sent to the WKIC to be fitted with the components required to allow them to run on both fuels and then returned to Ford for distribution to authorized dealerships.

Thank you to the city of Louisville for the warm welcome, and to all those who visited us on our opening day!