Kenworth Delivers Class 7 Hybrid to Seattle Company

Mon April 28, 2008
Truck and Trailer Guide

Kenworth Truck Company and Dunn Lumber, two long-time Seattle-area companies, have teamed up to bring Kenworth’s first medium-duty hybrid-electric truck into the U.S. market.

“Dunn Lumber strives to be an environmental leader and we’re excited to put the new Kenworth medium duty hybrid into service as a step to help reduce emissions and improve fuel economy,” said Rob Dunn, chief executive officer of Dunn Lumber.

“It’s especially appropriate for Dunn Lumber to receive the first Kenworth hybrid medium-duty truck as the company celebrates its 100th anniversary in business in the Puget Sound area,” said Bob Christensen, Kenworth general manager and PACCAR vice president.

“The new Kenworth hybrid provides a state-of-the-art, fuel-efficient and environmentally-friendly addition to the Dunn fleet.“

Kenworth’s goal for its new medium duty hybrid is to enhance fuel economy by up to 30 percent in start-and-stop applications, such as pickup and delivery and utility trucks. Kenworth is offering limited production of medium-duty hybrid trucks for municipal fleets and utility companies this year with full-scale production expected to follow in 2008.

Above 30 mph, the Kenworth hybrid operates like a standard diesel vehicle with all power coming from the engine during steady driving conditions. Below 30 mph, it uses a combination of diesel and electricity with the system automatically switching between the two modes of operation.

Electricity generated through regenerative braking is stored and used for acceleration, assisting the diesel engine.

Dunn Lumber’s new Kenworth Class 7 hybrid, which can carry a payload of up to 16,000 lbs. (7,257 kg), features a PACCAR PX-6 240 hp (179 kW) engine, integral transmission-mounted motor/generator, frame-mounted 340-volt battery and dedicated power management system.

“We’ve been extremely happy with the performance of the new Kenworth hybrid,” said Mark Geyer, fleet manager of Dunn Lumber Co. in Seattle.

“It’s still very early, but fuel economy is up an estimated 35 percent in the first few weeks of operation compared to one of our similarly spec’d Kenworth T300s. The truck also looks great and is extremely quiet, which is a big plus.”

The Dunn Lumber fleet includes four Kenworth T800 Class 8 trucks and six other Kenworth medium-duty conventionals that run between 20,000 and 26,000 mi. (32,200 and 41,860 km) annually to meet the needs of customers in Seattle’s healthy home project and construction market.

“We cannot afford downtime so we rely on Kenworths,” added Geyer, who will receive service support on the new hybrid from Kenworth Northwest, its truck dealer in SeaTac, Wash.

Dunn Lumber, which operates 11 stores and a door shop, offers products made from recycled or secondary materials and products which utilize new energy-efficient technologies or less-toxic ingredients, such as decking made from recycled grocery bags and arsenic-free treated wood. Dunn Lumber’s environmental improvement activities involve product procurement from responsible suppliers, recycling, and energy use.

Kenworth has been an environmental leader in the trucking industry since introducing the industry’s first truly aerodynamic truck, the T600A, in 1985. More recently, Kenworth’s environmental-friendly commitment to producing fuel-efficient trucks that have helped reduce emissions and customer operating costs also was recognized when its T660 and T2000 models were acknowledged as SmartWay eligible trucks by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Kenworth also received the prestigious Alternative Fuel Vehicle Institute’s 2007 Industry Innovation Award for alternative fuel trucks for the Kenworth T800 liquefied natural gas (LNG) truck. The award was shared with its Southern California dealer Inland Kenworth, Clean Energy and Westport Innovations.

For more information, visit www.kenworth.com.