Window-maker, Andersen Corporation, will begin converting its transportation fleet to use compressed natural gas (CNG), reducing both operating costs and carbon dioxide emissions for the company. A new fueling station, located at the Cedar County Cooperative Cenex near the company’s plant in Menomonie, Wis., will provide the alternative fuel for Andersen.

The conversion of the first seven trucks to CNG is expected to reduce emissions by 28 percent per year. The total savings that Andersen will gain will range between $1.25 and $1.75 per gallon, depending on the market price of diesel. Each truck will be able to achieve about 60 diesel gallon equivalents at 5.7 mpg, yielding a potential range of 342 miles per truck between fueling. The company plans to add more trucks to the program to support their efforts to pursue local, cleaner energy options and reduce total emissions.

The CNG station is the result of a unique partnership between Andersen, Dart Transit Company, U.S. Oil (a division of U.S. Venture, Inc.), Breakthrough®Fuel, and Xcel Energy, and highlights a new type of market collaboration implementing this new technology. The project uses Dart Transit’s Eco Tractor™ powered by U.S. Oil’s GAIN™ CNG supply program to provide the fuel, and Breakthrough®Fuel’s fuel management process to both track the program’s results and pinpoint opportunities to make the program even more efficient. Grants from the Wisconsin State Energy Office were also awarded to support this project.

“We believe finding new ways to use alternative energy is one way to help restore economic growth for everyone, and this project shows how the rubber literally meets the road,” said Lance Whitacre, vice president, logistics at Andersen Corporation. “Leveraging this unique partnership today yields far-reaching benefits for us that improve the triple bottom line – good for people, profitable for companies and beneficial for the environment.”