U.S. Secretary of Energy Dr. Steven Chu will give the keynote address at the 2012 Green Truck Summit on Monday, March 5. The Green Truck Summit is held March 5-6, 2012, in conjunction with The Work Truck Show 2012 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.

The Green Truck Summit is jointly produced by the National Truck Equipment Association and Calstart and includes 29 educational sessions. Sessions showcase new technology and provide information on reducing fuel consumption, improving fleet management, comparing clean technology options, funding clean vehicles and more. A complete summit schedule is available at www.ntea.com/greentrucksummit/schedule.

FleetNet America announced the handling of its two millionth event.

In 1993, the company was incorporated to allow the opportunity for trucking companies to take advantage of an established nationwide breakdown service and data systems.

By 2004, FleetNet reached the first milestone of 500,000 service events handled. With the addition of new services, new customers and more managed equipment, FleetNet’s next milestone was reached in almost one third of the time. The 1,000,000 service event was performed on September 23, 2007. Four years later FleetNet is managing over 500,000 pieces of equipment and has doubled the amount of events to reach the 2,000,000 event.

Based upon future growth plans, the company expects to reach the 3,000,000 milestone in about half the time it took to reach the two million milestone.

FleetNet America is a third-party vendor management company that coordinates emergency roadside events and all other scheduled and unscheduled maintenance management services. The continental 24/7 coverage includes towing and recovery in addition to any maintenance for commercial equipment and material handling equipment through specific customer requirements in the US and Canada.

Natural gas continues to be a focus of truck operators as more than 200 Wisconsin Kenworth customers recently gathered to learn more about new available equipment and the future of natural gas in the industry. The Wisconsin Kenworth NatGas Summit, held recently at the Glacier Canyon Conference Center, featured four sessions that covered topics such as the state and federally-funded Clean Cities programs to help fleets adopt new technology using alternative and renewable fuels. The sessions covered compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas engine technology and fueling infrastructure. The sessions also gave customers opportunities to inspect two CNG-powered Kenworth T440s.

Andy Douglas, national sales manager for Kenworth Truck Co., led the summit with a keynote address on the different considerations and spec’ing choices fleets and truck operators must make before adopting natural gas as an alternative fuel. Douglas also provided information about the growth of natural gas fueling stations along well-traveled transportation routes in the United States and Canada.

Bill Boyce, east regional manager for Cummins, provided details on Cummins Westport and its ISL G natural gas-powered engine, including gearing guidelines, warranty and extended coverage. Kelly Mills, western territory sales manager for Westport Fuel Systems Inc., talked about the Westport HD 15-liter engine, including safety and warranty information, and the value proposition for LNG-powered trucks.

During the breakout sessions, truck operators learned more about an alternative fuel program adopted by La Crosse, Wis.-based Kwik Trip from Chad Hollett, Kwik Trip’s director of transportation and distribution, and Ruanna Hayes, director of alternative fuels for the convenience store operator.

Bryan Nudelbacher, business analyst with Appleton, Wis.-based U.S. Oil, provided information about CNG programs within the wholesale fuel distributor’s operation and the future of CNG infrastructure.

Lorrie Lisek, executive director of Wisconsin Clean Cities – Southeast Area, gave a presentation on various programs and projects that the Wisconsin Clean Cities coalition is funding throughout Wisconsin.

Illinois-based Truck Centers Inc. recently gave away 78 prizes as part of its “12 Days of Christmas” promotion. Nearly 500 customers at seven TCI locations across Illinois and Missouri entered to win an array of prizes, including gift certificates, safety equipment, winter truck packs, GPS units and sporting event tickets.

Winners were drawn daily, and the final winner receiveda prize pack valued at $900 that included most of the previous gifts, plus a flatscreen TV, DVD player and power converter for his truck and TCI Truck Bucks for a complementary oil change service. Winners represented 14 states. Ron Phares of Springfield, Ill., was drawn as grand prize winner after entering at TCI-Springfield. Phares has over more than decades of professional experience behind the wheel and is an owner-operator that drives a Freightliner Cascadia.

“On behalf of the entire Truck Centers’ team, I would like to congratulate all of our winners and thank everyone who participated,” says Katie Hopkins, executive vice president. “We were pleased at the response from our customers during this limited-time promotion and will continue to offer similar contests in the future to show our sincere appreciation for their business. And congratulations to our grand prize winner, Ron Phares. We wish all of our customers a safe and successful 2012 as they help deliver the goods that keep our country going.”

Parker Hannifin’s Racor Division designed its High Capacity Spin-On Filter R125 Series of fuel filter/water separators as a direct replacement for its 300, 400, 600 and 700 Series fuel filters. Both the threads for the fuel filter head and for the collection bowl are designed to be compatible.

The U.S. average diesel price declined for the fifth consecutive week after surpassing $4 a gallon, declining 3.7 cents to $3.791 for the week ending Monday, Dec. 26, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration. The latest price is 49.7 cents higher than the same week last year.

All regions tracked by DOE saw falling prices, led by an 5.9-cent decline in the Midwest, where prices fell to $3.706, the nation’s least expensive diesel by region. The smallest decrease was 0.8 cents in California, where the average price was $4.039, the nation’s most expensive diesel by region.

DOE’s report was delayed one day because of the Christmas holiday. Complete diesel price information is available on EIA’s Website.

Grote Industries has announced the expansion of its SuperNova NexGen LED lamp offering, with the introduction of its new integrated flange 4 in. stop/tail/turn and dual-system back-up lamps.

According to Grote, the new lamps feature a one-piece integrated flange design that mounts directly to the surface of a vehicle, eliminating the need for accessory mounting brackets or grommets. The lighting systems come with a gasket seal that is said to keep water and debris from getting behind the lamp while functioning as a shock absorbing mechanism. The design also incorporates a hermetic, lens-to-housing seal that resists moisture intrusion that would result in component corrosion, the company says.

“The integrated flange design is the most versatile and cost effective addition to the premium, SuperNova NexGen LED product family to date,” says Randy Staggs, Grote’s business development manager for signal lighting. “OEMs will benefit from improved assembly efficiency, while fleets and other end-users will incur simplified repair and replacement requirements.”

Grote says its SuperNova line is recognized for its high performance and the lamps are designed to be extremely durable. Each lamp is designed with an environmental encapsulate potting that cradles the lamp’s solid-state circuit board and protects it from moisture and vibration.

The lamps’ optical lens design reduces theft potential by intentionally resembling incandescent versions, but Grote says its performance on the road is nothing like its incandescent predecessors. The SuperNova NexGen LEDs is said to illuminate 200 milliseconds faster than incandescent bulbs. This faster turn-on time provides a safety benefit to the driver of the following vehicle, which can amount to more than a full car length of extra stopping distance at 65 mph.

Both the flanged 4 in. stop/tail/turn and flanged dual-system back-up lamps are available with hard-shell and male-pin termination options, which Grote says allow them to make use of existing pigtails for installation flexibility and cost effective retrofitting. The flanged 4 in. stop/tail/turn lamps and flanged dual-system back-up lamps are also said to have durable acrylic lenses and housings composed of hard-coated polycarbonate material. Both lamps carry Grote’s exclusive 10-year warranty.

The Massachusetts Right to Repair Coalition on Tuesday, Dec. 27, announced that it has received an official letter from the Secretary of State’s office confirming that 83,180 signatures have been approved from every region of the state, far more than the 68,000 signatures required. This action moves the Right to Repair question toward the state’s 2012 ballot.

“The number of signatures gathered in support of the ballot measure demonstrates that Massachusetts car owners value their ability to control where their vehicle is serviced, whether it is at a dealership or one of the thousands of independent repair shops in the Commonwealth,” says Kathleen Schmatz, president and chief executive officer of the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association. “We feel confident that next November, Massachusetts citizens will vote strongly in favor of the Right to Repair measure.”

The Massachusetts Right to Repair voter initiative would allow consumers to access all of the nonproprietary repair information required to have their vehicles repaired where they choose, at a new car dealership or an independent shop. The proposed law would require that car companies provide independent shops with access to their diagnostic software through a standardized vehicle interface and utilizing a generic laptop, thus leveling the playing field between the big car manufacturers’ dealerships and independent neighborhood repair facilities. If enacted, the ballot measure will permit all independent shops to obtain affordable just-in-time access to the latest nonproprietary automobile diagnostic and repair information that currently is available to the manufacturers’ dealers and their new car dealerships.

The Right to Repair Act was introduced in Massachusetts for the 2011-12 legislative session by Rep. Garrett Bradley (D-Hingham) and Sen. John Hart (D-South Boston) and has more than 60 co-sponsors. The legislature is expected to hold a committee hearing on the ballot petition in February and has until May 1 to act, whereby they can preclude the need for a ballot measure by enacting the Right to Repair Act.

“We are hopeful that Massachusetts lawmakers will pass Right to Repair legislation in the coming months, but if they do not act, Massachusetts voters will have the last word, thus ending the battle that has pitted the large vehicle manufacturers against the state’s consumers and the independent aftermarket,” says Sandy Bass-Cors, executive director of the Coalition for Auto Repair Equality.

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) expressed support Dec. 27 for the EPA’s final rule establishing U.S. renewable fuel requirements for 2012 and called on the Obama administration to act quickly in completing a 2013 rule that maintains the EPA’s recommended volume increases for biomass-based diesel.

The 2012 rule raises the biomass-based diesel program to 1 billion gallons, up from 800 million gallons this year. According to the latest EPA figures, the biodiesel industry had produced some 908 million gallons through the end of November, exceeding the 2011 requirement with one month of production remaining.

“This industry has shown without a doubt that it can meet and exceed the goals of this program in a sustainable way, with a diverse mix of feedstocks,” says Anne Steckel, vice president of federal affairs at NBB, the trade association for the U.S. biodiesel industry. “Our industry has plants in nearly every state in the country that are hiring new employees and ramping up production, in part because of the demand that this policy creates. As the only EPA-designated advanced biofuel being produced on a commercial scale nationwide, we look forward to continued growth in 2012.”

Steckel also urged the administration to issue a final rule for 2013 volumes raising the biomass-based diesel requirement to 1.28 billion gallons, as the EPA proposed earlier this year. On Dec. 27, the EPA postponed finalizing the 2013 volume, saying it needs more time for review.

“We would have preferred to see that number released in this announcement and hope to see it finalized soon so that our member companies can plan their investments and continue boosting this economy,” Steckel says. “The increase will create thousands of jobs, improve our energy security by diversifying the fuel supply and cut down on pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.”

GOJO offers its Scrubbing Wipes which it says deliver convenient, easy and complete clean up anywhere heavy-duty cleaning is required.

Made of dual-textured material that has been pre-moistened with a cleaning solution, the Scrubbing Wipes are said to have an extra-large size towel to provide superior cleaning capacity.

The scrubbing side removes the toughest soils, while the smooth side quickly absorbs dirt, according to the company. Skin conditioners are said to help prevent dryness and irritation.