TruStar Energy has announced the grand opening of Krug Energy's public-access compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station, located in Searcy, Ark.
The fast-fill station, designed and constructed by TruStar Energy, has been dispensing fuel since late December and will provide fuel for Krug's fleet of 20 new Kenworth CNG-powered tractors, as well as trucks from several other local fleets. TruStar says the station features three dispensers that are suited to fuel both smaller consumer vehicles and larger commercial tractors.
‘Krug Energy is another perfect example of a company that understands the true long-term cost of energy – and the benefits that migrating to CNG has to offer,’ said Adam Comora, TruStar Energy's president and CEO.
Krug Energy President Rush Krug saw the switch to CNG as a way to minimize fuel-supply issues and save money.
‘My trucks are burning 2,000 gallons of CNG daily. And even with lower diesel fuel prices at present, we're saving money,’ said Krug, adding that he believes diesel fuel prices would not stay this low for long.
‘We haul water for the oil fields, so we're talking to producers all the time,” he said. “Everyone knows that there's no way diesel fuel isn't going back up. All you have to do is look at the prices of diesel over time.’
Krug also sees CNG vehicle simplicity, especially in regards to their engines, as beneficial.
‘We're running the 12-liter Cummins Westport CNG engine, and we've had nothing but great success in comparison to our diesel engines,’ said Krug. ‘They're simple in comparison to similar diesel engines, and we've had very little down time with the CNG engines.’
According to Krug, the company has reduced its downtime by 75% by converting to CNG, adding that the diesel's emission sensors were constantly downing his trucks. In addition, he said, the Allison automatic transmissions in the CNG vehicles were easy for his drivers to transition to and are designed to run optimally in concert with the Cummins Westport engines.
The station, located off of exit 42 on Hwy. 67/167, is open 24/7.
