One of the largest metals manufacturing companies in the world – a firm that already has its hands in the compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG) and propane autogas equipment sectors – has added another notable alternative fuels acquisition to its books.
Columbus, Ohio-based Worthington Industries Inc. announced that it acquired an 80% equity stake in dHybrid Systems: a company based in Salt Lake City that focuses on designing and manufacturing CNG fuel systems, primarily for medium- and heavy-duty trucks.
Earlier this year, dHybrid rolled out a 145 DGE back-of-cab CNG storage platform aimed at Class 8 vehicles that features a proprietary fueling manifold and receptacles. And last month, the company announced that it had opened a new 50,000 square-foot manufacturing and assembly facility in Salt Lake City.
‘The acquisition of dHybrid gives us the opportunity to increase our participation in the fast-growing CNG fuel market and enhance the value of our supply chain offering,’ said Andrew Billman, president of Worthington Industries' pressure cylinders business division, in a release.
‘We expect the combination of dHydrid's innovative system designs and Worthington's commercial and manufacturing capabilities to help drive significant growth for this portion of our alternative fuel platform,’ he added. ‘We are also analyzing the expansion of our composite cylinder manufacturing capacity, including the potential to integrate this new capacity within the fuel systems operation.’
dHybrid's product portfolio also includes a number of smaller CNG platforms, starting with an 18 DGE system that mounts on the top of a truck's cab.
For its part, Worthington – a company that racked up more than $3 billion in sales revenue during fiscal-year 2014 – has been in the alt-fuels segment for quite some time, focusing on CNG, LNG and autogas storage equipment. Most recently, the firm acquired cryogenics and LNG specialist James Russell Engineering Works Inc., as well as a 75% stake in LNG products and cryogenic vessels firm ARITAS.
Last year, Worthington bought Palmer Manufacturing and Tank Inc. – a company that specialized in the fabrication of steel and fiberglass tanks for applications including CNG, LNG, propane autogas and hydrogen.
