Cummins Westport receives San Bernardino order for 57 bus engines
VANCOUVER, Nov. 26 - Cummins Westport Inc. a joint venture of
Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CUM) of Columbus, Indiana, and Westport Innovations Inc.
(TSX:WPT) of Vancouver announced today an order for a total of 57 low-
emissions natural gas engines for buses purchased by Omnitrans, San
Bernardino's transit agency.
Forty five 8.3-liter C Gas Plus engine will be installed in 40-foot
transit buses manufactured by New Flyer of America of Crookston, Minnesota.
The first 22 buses will be delivered in the fall of 2003 to the San
Bernardino, California, transit agency. A further 23 buses powered by the C
Gas Plus engines will be delivered in the fall of 2004. Another order of 12 B
Gas Plus engines will be installed in 32 1/2-foot buses manufactured by Thomas
Dennis Co. LLC of High Point, North Carolina, with delivery by June 2003.
These orders follow an earlier one by Omnitrans for 11 C Gas Plus-powered
New Flyers that were delivered a year ago. The Cummins distributor responsible
for the orders is Cummins Cal Pacific of Los Angeles. Omnitrans will use the
new natural gas-powered buses to retire older diesel buses and after delivery,
93% of the transit authority's total fleet of 176 buses will be powered by
natural gas.
"Orders for our natural gas engines in North America are being driven by
the quality, reliability and cost effectiveness of our engines and our
reputation for customer service," says CWI President Hugh Foden. "With the C
Gas Plus and B Gas Plus engines, urban fleet operators are able to operate
vehicles which have significantly lower emissions than the EPA's new emissions
regulations."
The 280-horsepower C Gas Plus and 230-horsepower B Gas Plus are state-of-
the-art spark-ignited natural gas engines that have electronic instead of
mechanical controls of the throttle as well as the Plus control system which
allows for improved performance, robustness and flexibility. Both have been
certified as emitting 28% less oxides of nitrogen and non-methane hydrocarbons
and 90% less particulate matter than the current levels laid down by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency which came into effect in October this year.
They also produce approximately 8% less greenhouse gases than their diesel
equivalent.
Cummins is a global power leader in engines, electrical power generation
systems and related technologies. Westport Innovations is the leading
developer of natural gas fuel systems for diesel engines. Cummins Westport,
formed in 2001, develops and markets low-emissions alternative fuel engines
manufactured by Cummins. The C Gas Plus is manufactured by Cummins in Rocky
Mount, North Carolina. |
