CHICAGO – Two and a half years after agreeing to invest in five electric trucks for its Chicagoland delivery routes, Alpha Baking Co. said it has agreed to acquire an additional five Workhorse E-GEN electric trucks from AMP Holding Inc., Cincinnati. Alpha said it is planning to make the vehicle a fleet standard in the future.
The step vans achieved 40 M.P.G.e. (miles per gallon equivalent) fuel efficiency for Alpha, six times more efficient than the baker’s conventional step vans. The electric vehicles (featuring a range extender) reduce emissions by 75%.
Robert McGuire, vice-president and director of logistics at Alpha Baking, said the vans have “exceeded our expectations.”
 |
| Robert McGuire, vice-president and director of logistics at Alpha Baking |
“Our drivers love it, and customer feedback has been extremely positive,” he said. “We are excited to accelerate the integration of Workhorse vehicles as a standard for the Alpha Baking fleet moving forward.”
Alpha Baking operates six fresh and frozen baking plants across Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan, and currently operates more than 300 fresh delivery routes. Three of the six plants are in Chicago.
The E-GEN step vans provide an average range of 125 miles on a single charge, with 75 miles all-electric utilizing Panasonic Li-Ion battery packs, and an additional 50 miles using an integrated BMW range extender. The vans feature a proprietary chassis design, powertrain, battery management system and real-time Metron telematics system for tracking and monitoring.
Alpha Baking first announced plans to purchase Workhorse E-GEN trucks in February 2015. About two years earlier, the company deployed a fleet of 22 autogas liquid propane vehicles in the Chicago-metro area.
