Westport Cummins makes first major sale; AFS begins field trials

VANCOUVER (August 10, 2001) — Cummins Westport Inc., a joint venture of Cummins Inc. and Westport Innovations, announced today its first major order for C8.3G Plus engines in a truck application.

Specialty Solid Waste & Recycling of Santa Clara, Calif., ordered 20 low-emissions natural gas engines for new Volvo Xpeditor refuse and recycling trucks.

“The 280 horsepower Cummins Westport C8.3G Plus is an ideal, low- emissions engine for house-to-house refuse collection,” said Guff Muench, president of Cummins Westport. “We anticipate increasing interest from solid waste management fleets in this technology, especially in areas like Southern California where regulations are beginning to prohibit the purchase of new diesel-fuel refuse trucks.”

Delivery is scheduled to be completed before June 2002. The formation of the joint venture was announced in March.

Meantime, Calgary-based Alternative Fuel Systems said in-service testing has begun on its Eagle Engine Management System for the Cummins ISC engine platform. AFS makes a kit that allows diesel engines to use natural gas.

Testing is taking place in Australia, where it has been installed in an International side lift refuse truck.

The AFS electronic control module (ECM) is integrated with the Cummins ECM and does not impact the operation of any of the vehicle’s other electronic systems, AFS said. The system enables diesel engines to operate using natural gas while using diesel as pilot fuel.