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LONG BEACH, CA - December 8, 2008 – One year after first making an update call to California Cartage Company to brief them on the Prop 1B funding opportunity, GNA was on hand to help launch the delivery of 132 LNG trucks in the San Pedro Bay Port. What began as a simple briefing call on an available funding program has turned into the nation’s largest deployments of LNG powered trucks.
Gladstein, Neandross & Associates spearheaded this effort on behalf of Daimler Trucks North America’s Los Angeles area dealer, Velocity Vehicle Group. On behalf of Velocity Vehicle Group and California Cartage Company, GNA was able to successfully secure $11.7 million in incentive funding for the purchase and deployment of these dedicated LNG trucks. The result is one of the most innovative public/private partnerships to date involving the aforementioned companies, as well as the South Coast Air Quality Management District, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and California Air Resources Board.
Funding was secured by GNA from the South Coast AQMD and the California State Infrastructure Prop 1B Bond funding as part of the “Early Program.” This project received more than 25% of the total statewide Prop 1B funding made available by the California Air Resources Board. The incentive package assembled by GNA provided $122,000 for each truck, including: $50,000 from the Prop 1B Early Program, $40,000 from South Coast AQMD and a federal U.S. EPA grant, and a $32,000 federal tax credit. In total, GNA coordinated $15.9 million in incentives for this project.
These ultra low-emission LNG trucks were placed into service in the operations of California Cartage, a third-generation, family-owned business that has operated in the San Pedro Harbor for over 50 years. California Cartage Company is an industry leader and now has the largest alternative fuel on-road truck operation in the nation.
The 132 LNG trucks are the first trucks with US EPA 2010 emission compliant engines to be deployed in the United States. These near zero emission trucks will significantly reduce localized diesel exhaust emissions, reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions more than 20% compared to even the most state-of-the-art diesel trucks, and demonstrate how clean, domestically-produced natural gas can work in the nation’s largest port complex.
The December 8, 2008 ribbon cutting ceremony was attended by a host of VIPs with presentations made by: - The Honorable Mayor Bob Foster, City of Long Beach
- Chris Patterson, President & CEO, Daimler Trucks North America
- Robert Curry, Sr., President, California Cartage Company
- James C. Hankla, President, Port of Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners
- Jerilyn Lopez Mendoza, Vice President, Port of Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners
- Dr. Chung S. Liu, Deputy Executive Officer and Chief Scientist, South Coast Air Quality Management District
Click HERE to read entire event press release and the below headlines for stories on this project.
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