Reviva, a diesel engine re-manufacturing company based in Minneapolis, Minn., said Thursday it has formed a strategic partnership with Omnitek Engineering Corporation to produce a “drop-in” natural gas alternative for Navistar DT 466E and DT 530E truck engines.
Reviva President Josh Stahl says the unit will be able to operate under compressed natural gas (CNG), liquified natural gas (LNG) or propane power, adding the companies targeted the medium-duty Navistar engine based on the earlier efforts of a now-defunct company.
“Another company had worked prior to us for beverage fleets, to help them convert the 466 to natural gas,” he says. “So there is a little more infrastructure there, and there are some customers with an already natural gas converted DT.”
The companies say they plan to offer additional engine models at a later time, but will maintain a focus on the medium-duty segment.
“Growth would be dictated by the voice of the customer,” Stahl says. “The Mack E7 would make a lot of sense, being in the refuse market and natural gas’ presence in that segment.”
Omnitek says it expects to begin shipping the remanufactured Navistar engines later this year.
Stahl also didn’t rule out eventually picking up the big bore mantle recently dropped by Westport when it announced plans to drop production and sales of its 15 liter power plant effective this month.
“I would like to think that we might at some point,” he says in developing a high-horsepower NatGas engine, “but right now we’re working with re-manufactured engines.”
