The propane industry is about to celebrate its 100th anniversary and as part of industry events, there is a Propane Centennial Celebration and Propane Clean Air Rally & Autogas Parade beginning on April 14, 2012. The rally and parade will kick off at 12:00 noon on April 14th in Centennial Olympic Park and will include a Blue Bird school bus and a Ford pickup truck both featuring the ROUSH CleanTech liquid propane autogas fuel system. There will also be vans, taxis, forklifts, lawn movers and more, all powered by propane autogas.

Propane was discovered in 1910, yet it wasn’t until 1912 that propane was first used in a commercial application. Shortly thereafter, in 1913, propane was used to fuel a vehicle. Thus, 2012 marks propane’s 100th birthday and according to ROUSH CleanTech, now fuels more than 17 million vehicles.

“Propane has seen many changes along its 100-year journey to what we call propane autogas today, both in application and acceptance by fleet managers, lawmakers and automobile industry leaders like ROUSH,” said Joe Thompson, president of ROUSH CleanTech. “This domestically produced, abundant fuel offers so many economical and environmental benefits to vehicle operators, and we’re pleased to celebrate its birthday and its bright future.”

The parade will kick off the 2012 National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) Southeastern Convention & International Propane Expo beginning on April 14th at the Georgia World Congress Center. On April 15, one lucky person will win a propane autogas fuel system installed in a 2012 F-250 donated by ROUSH CleanTech and raffled at 4:00 PM EST in booth 309.

Thompson added, “Propane is as American as baseball and apple pie, and that’s something to celebrate. This is a major milestone in American history as we look toward the next 100 years of propane achievement.”