Aviation Industry Expo 2009 featured seminars geared toward the ground support industry in the areas of alternative technology and conducting business internationally. Here are some of the highlights of each.
Alternative Fuels
Panelists:
Bill Jacob, vice president of airline ground support equipment, UPS
Kevin Morrow, vice president, Electric Transportation Engineering Co.
Greg Zilberfarb, education and outreach consultant, Propane Education and Research Council
The group of panelists gathered to discuss the latest innovations in alternative technology and how those developments could have application in the GSE industry.
Bill Jacob, vice president of airline ground support equipment at UPS, gave an overview of the company’s commitment to alternative technologies. The company boasts the largest private fleet of alternative-fueled vehicles. With 100,000 ground vehicles worldwide, the company has experimented with a number of different technologies, including electric, CNG, LNG, propane, electric hybrid, and hydraulic hybrid.
Jacob says a promising alternative technology is the hydraulic hybrid, which combines a small diesel engine with hydraulic components. The company has seen a 50-percent improvement in fuel economy in laboratory testing and a 40 percent reduction in CO2 emissions.
“You’re seeing that technology in refuse haulers now. You’re starting to see it come out in the on-road [vehicles] and obviously everything that has an on-road style chassis, it can use this hydraulic hybrid concept,” Jacob says. “We think it will come into GSE.”
Another alternative technology that was discussed was hydrogen. Kevin Morrow, vice president of Electric Transportation Engineering Co., discussed the company’s work in building hydrogen stations, and its recent conversion of F-150 vehicles to hydrogen.
Greg Zilberfarb, education and outreach consultant at the Propane Education and Research Council, discussed the various applications for propane-fueled equipment. As an alternative technology, it has grown to be used in more than 12 million vehicles worldwide.
In industrial vehicles, propane products include tugs, forklifts and sweepers.
“We have all different propane products with different applications,” Zilberfarb says. “What I’ve heard from fleet managers is that managing multiple fuels becomes a very, very hard thing to do, so we try to have something in every category that runs on propane.”
Doing Business Globally
Andrew Edlefsen, director, U.S. Export Assistance Center, U.S. Commercial Service
Edlefsen spoke on behalf of the U.S. Commercial Service, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. “Our purpose as the US Commercial Service is to help U.S. companies to find international opportunities; to help them navigate any obstacles they may come across doing business internationally and to ultimately protect their interests internationally.”
Catering to small- and medium-sized companies, much of the services are free. The agency can provide assistance to companies in five areas: trade counseling, market research, partner location, providing business programs, and advocacy and compliance. The US Commercial Service is located in more than 100 US cities and 85 countries. The offices are specific to industries and regions in the world. “With all of our offices around the world, we act as a global network of trade specialists,” he says.
“We’re usually the best first point-of-contact when you need exporting help,” he says.
Edlefsen provided statistics that made a convincing argument for companies to go global, including that 95 percent of the world consumer market is outside the United States. “If you have a good product with a good application, there is definitely a market out there for you,” he says.
Online resources:
To find your local USEAC
http://www.buyusa.gov/home/us.html
U.S. DOC web portal
www.export.gov
Bureau of Industry & Security (export controls)
http://www.bis.doc.gov/
U.S. Commercial Service offices (Export Assistance Centers)
www.buyusa.gov
Office of Foreign Asset Controls (U.S. Treasury Dept.)
http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/
Market Research Library
http://export.gov/mrktresearch/index.asp
Electric-Powered GSE Vehicles
Panelists:
Kai Fladung, global marketing manager, Cavotec
Todd Allen, president, Allen Energy
Ryan Gibson, product manager, AeroVironment
Kevin Morrow, vice president, Electric Transportation Engineering Co.
Martin Lock, customer service manager, Charlatte of America
Industry leaders in the subject of electric technology for GSE converged for a discussion on the latest technology available and addressed some of the issues surrounding the use of electric on the ramp.
A central topic discussed was the simpler design of some components to increase user friendliness and decrease maintenance. Martin Lock, customer service manager at Charlatte of America, says the company has designed some of its products, such as tugs and belt loaders, with simpler components to minimize maintenance. “Any new mechanic coming in, basically all he has to understand is how to plug into the diagnostic,” he says.
When it comes to the batteries, there is new technology being produced that decreases the maintenance and increases the life cycle. “EnerySys is working on a couple things … one thing is thin-plate pure lead, which I believe would be a Holy Grail for batteries, because batteries are hard to maintain; you have to water them, they can break,” says Todd Allen, president of Allen Energy, which is a dealer for EnerSys batteries and chargers for airlines and GSE. “Thin-plate pure lead increases the power density, so you would have more capacity and it’s also a sealed battery, so you wouldn’t have to water it, so there is practically no maintenance. And it takes a fast charge better.
“It takes a high current, so you could get even a more rapid charge and the cycle life should be longer. We see the technology working on the automotive side, so we’re adopting it for the industrial side,” he says.
Ryan Gibson, product manager at AeroVironment, says there is other battery technology on the horizon. “There are also some advance chemistry batteries out there that are promising,” he says. “When you get to nanotube, alternano technology, we’re charging 40-kilowatt packs in eight minutes, so a 40-kilowatt pack will run a bag tractor for a shift.
“The packs are being developed now for cars … I think it will trickle down into this environment in maybe four or five years,” he says.
Another hot topic regarding the use of electric has been the infrastructure. Bucking traditional thought on the subject, Gibson says the infrastructure for electric is actually similar to that of internal combustion engines. “Everybody here operates at an airport with a fuel farm. That airport was built with the fuel farm and that fuel farm costs several million dollars,” he says. “So we’re introducing a new technology and the airports are starting to learn that they need to provide the fuel for electric vehicles.
“The infrastructure is an upfront cost now, because they weren’t built in with the airports like a fuel farm was, but it’s no different,” he says.
Kevin Morrow, vice president of Electric Transportation Engineering Co., discussed the company’s Bridge Power Manager product, which was designed to work off the existing power supply on bridges to charge electric GSE, as a possible solution. “Utilizing the Bridge Power Manager with the fast-charging system can save a lot of dollars with the infrastructure and it’s installed quickly, can be independent of the bridge type or manufacturer,” he says.
Kai Fladung, global marketing manager at Cavotec, which provides in-ground supply systems for the ramp that can supply 400 Herz to an aircraft, says its systems can deliver power anywhere on the ramp and eliminate the need for most traditional-fueled equipment. “Wherever you can’t use electric vehicles, we have a direct connection up to the aircraft,” he says.
The panel agreed that there is state and federal assistance for funding, but much of it goes unused. The key is being aware of the available opportunities. “I would say your best source of funding and opportunity is to go to the local airport where you’re operating and see what they have to offer and your local utility companies,” Gibson says.
To hear complete audio of the seminars, please visit the Aviation Industry Expo Web site at www.aviationindustryexpo.com.
