Clean Fuel News

Frito-Lay Replaces All Diesel Vehicles at Facility With Cleaner Tech

Originally posted by Jerry Hirsch | March 24, 2021 | Transport Topics | Original Article

Frito-Lay has largely completed the transformation of a snack food facility in California to use zero-emission and near-zero-emission technologies for production and transportation.

The company has replaced all of the diesel vehicles at the Modesto, Calif., site. It is now using 12 Crown lithium-ion electric forklifts and three BYD yard trucks for internal operations at the 500,000-square-foot factory, and six 220EV Peterbilt electric box trucks to distribute snacks to local retailers. A fleet of 38 Volvo VNL compressed natural gas tractors is handling larger local and regional hauls.

Later this year, Frito-Lay is scheduled to take delivery of 15 electric Tesla Semi rigs, also for regional hauling.

The company, a division of PepsiCo Inc., is using the factory to prototype greenhouse gas emission reduction technologies as it looks to lower its global carbon footprint.

“We are using Modesto as our proof of concept. It is showing us how we put this all together and make it robust and reliable so it can meet the needs of the business,” said Steve Hanson, senior director of fleet operations, engineering and sustainability for Frito-Lay.

PepsiCo wants to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by more than 40% by 2030. The beverage and snack company has pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040.

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