Trilogy chooses Luxfer lightweight 26-inch-diameter G-Stor Cylinders
12 November 2014
STEPHENVILLE, Texas—(Business Wire)—Significant weight reduction is the primary reason Western Dairy Transport (WDT) recently chose compressed natural gas systems from Trilogy Engineered Solutions for its growing fleet of CNG-powered class 8 heavy-duty trucks—and a major factor is new, lighter-weight, 26-inch-diameter G-Stor Go Type 4 cylinders from Luxfer Gas Cylinders.
Trilogy Vice President and Chief Finance Officer Matt Lawrence said: “Switching to Luxfer’s new cylinders resulted in a 13 to 18 percent weight savings over Type 4 cylinders Trilogy previously used. We were specifically looking to reduce the overall weight of our systems, and Luxfer has helped us do that.” He said that using Luxfer cylinders also yielded a 4 to 5 percent performance increase in terms of diesel gallon equivalents (DGE), a notable improvement since a single heavy-duty truck can consume more than 20,000 gallons of fuel per year.
In addition to lightness of weight, Trilogy wanted a strong, long-lasting cylinder. “Heavy-duty trucks have a lifespan on the road of up to 10 years,” Lawrence said. “That’s why Trilogy builds a robust back-of-the-cab system with a rigid steel frame that can endure such long life on the road. The durable Luxfer cylinders we selected have a 20-year life.”
For the WDT systems, Trilogy is using boss-mounted Luxfer cylinders in lengths of 60 inches and 90 inches. Three cylinders are installed on a truck. Each 3,600-psi (248-bar) cylinder is built around a purpose-engineered lightweight boss and high-density polymer-liner interface to provide the highest levels of performance and gas retention. Wrapped with aerospace-grade carbon fiber, Luxfer polymer liners have corrosion-resistant, seamless body construction that is free from inherent leak paths.
“The weight savings was a huge game-changer for us,” said WDT President and Chief Executive Officer David Shelton, noting that lighter fuel system weight means improved fuel economy and longer range for his company’s CNG trucks. Another important reason WDT prefers the Trilogy system, Shelton said, is that it features “two-sided fueling,” which allows cylinders to be filled from either side of a truck.
With a fleet of more than 1,000 heavy-duty trucks traveling about 115 million miles per year, WDT (www.wdtmilk.com) is the largest transporter of milk and dairy products in the USA, and the company also serves customers in Mexico. Shelton said that using CNG provides a monthly fuel savings of about $1,000 per truck compared to the cost of diesel. “In addition to the savings, we also like the green image of using cleaner-burning fuel,” he said, adding that cooperation between WDT and environmentally conscious dairy shippers has helped motivate the move to CNG.
Luxfer Gas Cylinders President Andy Butcher said: “We are pleased to be supplying our new 26-inch G-Stor Go cylinders to Trilogy. For more than 50 years, Luxfer has specialized in reducing cylinder weight while ensuring the highest levels of safety, durability and performance.”
About Trilogy Engineered Solutions
Founded in 2012, Trilogy Engineered Solutions (www.trilogy-es.com) specializes in the design and manufacture of compressed natural gas fuel distribution systems for the heavy-duty truck market. A privately owned offshoot of metal fabricator Wrayco LLC, the company is located in Stow, Ohio.
About Luxfer Gas Cylinders
An operating company of Luxfer Group (NYSE:LXFR), Luxfer Gas Cylinders (www.luxfercylinders.com) is the world’s largest manufacturer of high-pressure aluminum and composite cylinders, including both Type 3 and Type 4 cylinders for alternative fuels (www.luxferaf.com). The company also has a global presence in markets such as medical, life support, specialty gas, beverage, fire extinguishers, aerospace, inflation, scuba, and performance racing. Luxfer operates manufacturing facilities in the USA, Canada, England, France, Germany, China and India.
