Kenworth’s First Medium Duty Pickup and Delivery
Hybrid Truck Delivered To Dunn Lumber
 Shows Early Fuel Economy Promise
SEATTLE, Wash. – 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% 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 pounds,
features a PACCAR PX-6 240 hp engine, integral
transmission-mounted motor/generator, framemounted
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 for Dunn Lumber Co. in
Seattle. “It’s still very early, but fuel economy is up
an estimated 35% 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 to 26,000 miles 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 innovative products made from
recycled or secondary materials and products which
utilize new energy-efficient technologies or lesstoxic
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.
Dunn Lumber’s Web site is www.dunnlumber.com.
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 environmentalfriendly
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.
Kenworth Truck Company, a division of
PACCAR Inc, is a leading manufacturer of heavy
and medium duty trucks. Kenworth is the recipient
of the 2006 J.D. Power and Associates awards for
Highest in Customer Satisfaction for both the Over
the Road Segment and Pickup and Delivery
Segment Class 8 Trucks, and for Heavy Duty
Dealer Service. Kenworth’s Internet home page is at
www.kenworth.com. Kenworth. The World's Best
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