Three South Florida communities got “greener” on Sept. 15. Miami-Dade County along with the cities of Hialeah and Miami became the first local governments in the country to receive the most environmentally friendly refuse trucks in the U.S.
Representatives from Autocar and Parker Hannifin were on hand to turn over the first Parker hybrid-powered refuse trucks in the country to municipal waste agencies. The Autocar E3 features the most advanced hybrid technology and energy recovery system available — RunWise Advanced Series Hybrid Drive — developed by Parker Hannifin that increases fuel savings up to 50 percent, lowers carbon emissions up to 38 tons per year and reduces noise levels and overall operating costs.
Mayors from all three municipalities were on hand at their respective ceremonies throughout the day to receive the new hybrid trucks. They were joined by representatives from the EPA who spoke about the need for hydraulic hybrids and congratulated the communities for enhancing their refuse truck fleets.
“We are excited to be able to make South Florida a greener place to work and live,” said Jeff Cullman, group president, Hydraulics for Parker Hannifin. “These vehicles that use Parker technology will not only contribute to keeping South Florida cleaner, they will save each of the municipalities a considerable amount of money every year.”
The first “key off” ceremony took place at the Miami-Dade Government Center where Mayor Carlos Alvarez accepted six vehicles.
“Miami-Dade County is constantly looking for ways to ‘go green’ and become environmentally friendly, so we are happy to be the first municipal government in the nation to use this unique hybrid technology in our waste collection vehicles,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez. “We will consume less diesel fuel and reduce our carbon footprint with the help of this new equipment.”
RunWise is a new Advanced Series Hybrid Drive system from Parker Hannifin. The RunWise system replaces a Class 8 refuse truck’s conventional drive train with a series hybrid drive system that marries the variable features of a hydrostatic drive for urban routes during refuse collection with a mechanical drive for efficient operation at highway speeds.
By combining hydraulic components, advanced control software, and brake energy recovery technology, which captures more than 79 percent of a vehicle’s otherwise lost braking energy, RunWise reuses this stored energy, saving fuel, to power the truck during collection routes.
With annual sales of $10 billion in fiscal year 2010, Parker Hannifin is the world’s leading diversified manufacturer of motion and control technologies and systems, providing precision-engineered solutions for a wide variety of mobile, industrial and aerospace markets. The company employs approximately 55,000 people in 46 countries around the world.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.parker.com. For additional information on RunWise visit http://parkerhybrid.parker.com.
Autocar LLC, headquartered in Hagerstown, IN, is a manufacturer and marketer of LCF Class 8 trucks for refuse and waste disposal.
For more information visit www.autocartruck.com.
