Propane Autogas on a Roll With Roush CleanTech
A Q&A with Roush CleanTech’s Todd Mouw, VP, sales and marketing
By Propane News staff
Contact: Burney Simpson, 202-452-8975
Q&A w/Todd Mouw —
Todd Mouw brings more than 15 years of experience in the automotive and high tech industries to
Roush CleanTech. He manages the national sales staff, leading the charge in helping Fortune 500
fleets find ways to reduce their carbon footprint and operating costs through utilizing alternative fuel
technologies. Mouw has been working with fleets to incorporate liquid propane autogas vehicles into
their fleet programs and has seen great interest in Roush CleanTech propane autogas vehicles.
Q: Where does Roush CleanTech fit in the fleet vehicle market today?
A: Roush CleanTech designs, engineers, manufactures and installs propane autogas fuel
systems for light and medium-duty Ford vehicles. We are the premier provider of propane
autogas fuel systems for the alternative fuels market. Current Roush CleanTech customers
include state and local government, school districts and Fortune 500 companies.
Q: How would you describe Roush CleanTech’s major selling points?
A: We deliver a product that is safe and reliable while reducing our customer’s operating
costs and carbon footprint. All vehicles equipped with the Roush CleanTech liquid propane
autogas fuel system are in compliance with California Air Resources Board, Environmental
Protection Agency, NHTSA, FMVSS, and NFPA-58 regulations, which is a reflection of the
safety and reliance of our fuel systems.
Consider these major selling points. Propane autogas:
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can bring up to a 40 percent reduction in operating costs, which includes a
decrease in fuel prices and maintenance costs
significantly reduces greenhouse emissions (24 percent), nitrogen oxide
emissions (20 percent), and carbon monoxide emissions (60 percent) when
compared with gasoline
Roush CleanTech systems offer the same horsepower, torque and towing
capacity as their gasoline-powered equivalents
propane autogas is domestically produced – 97 percent is produced from North
America.
Q: How many Roush CleanTech autogas vehicles are on the road today?
A: At the end of 2012 we will have over 3,500 propane autogas powered vehicles on the
road.
Q: What Roush CleanTech autogas vehicles are now available?
A: Blue Bird Vision Class C School Bus (6.8L V10)
Micro Bird Class A School Bus (6.8L V10)
Ford E-150, E-250, E-350 (5.4L V8) Cargo and Passenger Vans
Ford E-450 DRW Cutaway (6.8L V10) Chassis Cab.
Retrofits available:
Ford F-250/F-350 (5.4L V8) 2009-2010 Pickup Trucks
Ford E-350 DRW Cutaway (5.4L V8) 2007-2011.
In addition, we have received CARB approval of our propane autogas fuel system for
retrofitting 2010 model year 5.4-liter Ford E-150, E-250 and E-350 cargo vans and wagons.
The CARB approval of our 2009, 2011 and 2012 propane autogas fuel systems for the Ford
E-150, E-250 and E-350 cargo vans and wagons will be coming soon.
Q: What Roush CleanTech vehicles should we be looking for in the next 12
months?
A: We will launch the following new products:
2012 Ford F-250/350 (6.2L V8) Pickup Truck (October 2012)
2012 Ford F-650 (6.8L 3V) (Q2 2013)
2011 Ford F-450/550 (6.8L 3V) Chassis Cab (Q2 2013)
2013 Ford Transit (3.7L V6) (Q4 2013).
We will continue to look at the market and other products of interest such as the Ford F-59
Strip Chassis.
Q: How does Roush CleanTech interact with local marketers when it sees a
fleet sales opportunity?
A: The Roush CleanTech team and propane marketers need to contribute an equal effort in
initiating interest in a fleet sale. Propane suppliers already have a built-in customer base for
our systems. We will discuss the capabilities and technology of the propane autogas fuel
systems while propane marketers explain the propane autogas infrastructure available.
When a Roush CleanTech sales rep visits a fleet manager we get into such variables as fuel
consumption, vehicle platforms, areas of operation and refueling options. We provide the
customer the demo vehicle they would like to test. They can then learn the vehicle and the
refueling infrastructure. And the firm’s mechanics have the opportunity to develop their
technical knowledge of the propane autogas fuel system.
It is important that our propane marketers have demo models to offer to our customers when
they exhibit interest in propane autogas. That’s one way we work closely with marketers in
our sales efforts.
We have three sales representatives for government, school and propane accounts that
cover the West, Central and East regions of the United States:
Brad Beauchamp, West Region – brad.beauchamp@roush.com, 734.679.2756
Robert Little, Central Region – robert.little@roush.com, 734.679.7526
Chelsea Jenkins, East Region – chelsea.jenkins@roush.com, 734.812.1965
We also two sales representatives for private, Fortune 500 companies:
Eric Bates, West Region – eric.bates@roush.com, 602.989.5086
Peter King, East Region – peter.king@roush.com, 313.529.8518.
Q: Once you’ve got an order how does the job get fulfilled? What are the steps
in meeting a specific order?
A: Let me answer that by citing a recent contract win.
DHL Express, the world’s leading international express services provider, announced its
commitment to purchase 100 Roush CleanTech propane autogas Ford E-250 cargo vans for
pickup and delivery services. The vans were ordered directly from Ford and will be shipped
to National Fleet Services, a certified upfitter, for the installation of the Roush CleanTech fuel
system. After the installation is complete, the vans will be shipped to several different Ford
dealerships for the wide variety of DHL locations.
That’s a very efficient system. To get there, we developed a ship-through delivery process
that significantly reduces the order to delivery timing. To best meet our customer needs we
ask them these questions:
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What applications are commonly used in your fleet?
What is your minimum range requirement?
Where do you prefer the propane autogas fuel system to be located on the vehicle?
What wheelbase and cab to axle do you require?
What cab configuration is primarily used?
Will you be using public or private fueling?
What is your alternative fuels strategy? Describe your current alternative fuels profile.
Do you purchase the vehicles in your fleet through a Ford dealer or leasing company?
How much are you expecting to reduce your operating costs? Do you have an
estimated time of when you want to receive your return on the investment?
10. What is the next twelve month budget for vehicle replacement?
Q: Are customers more or less open to propane autogas vehicles than they were
a few years ago?
A:Demand for and awareness of propane autogas vehicles have increased dramatically
since we launched the Ford F-150, 5.4-liter, V8 back in 2007.
In the last two years, we’ve worked with large customers such as Sears, Microsoft, Time
Warner, Blue Bird, Frito Lay, DirecTV and DHL. On the public side we are working with
Cincinnati, Indianapolis, King County (Washington) and several other federal, state and local
governments. That kind of customer adoption brings credibility to our brand, our product and
to propane autogas.
Roush CleanTech is getting more coverage in the media than ever before, helping to make
propane autogas better known. Our press activities have generated over 570 million
impressions in 2012 so far (January through July), and we are active in trade shows. We
have now reached thirteen vertical markets, including telecommunications, food and
beverage, utilities, medical equipment providers, and more in just the last two years.
Q: Where do you see the autogas market in five years?
A: We have invested almost $30 million since the inception of this initiative and believe that
by 2014 we will sell 8,000 to 10,000 units a year. The incremental demand for propane as we
ramp up our introduction will be in excess of 100 million incremental gallons of autogas
annually. The typical life cycle of a Roush CleanTech propane autogas fuel system is seven
to eight years. That translates to roughly one billion gallons of propane autogas being used
per propane-powered vehicle in the marketplace.
With continued support from the propane industry, we will continue to see fleet adoption of
propane autogas from Fortune 100 Companies, and public accounts. Greater fleet adoption
will drive an increase in the fueling infrastructure.
Major fleet adoption stories like DHL, DirecTV, Sears, Frito Lay and Time Warner will
become more commonplace during the next five years. The momentum is not going to stop
now – businesses are just beginning to realize why propane autogas is such a feasible option
for their fleets.
Thanks Todd, we appreciate your time and information.
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