By: Doyle Sumrall, NTEA Managing Director
This article was published in the January 2019 edition of NTEA News.
I know I’ve said it many times through the years, but this is the most interesting decade for truck equipment I have ever experienced. I count myself lucky to have had a career, for a few decades now, in the work truck industry.
Technology integration into trucks continues to be a key emerging area. This involves every component of a vehicle — tires, engine, steering, and all of the items we add to turn trucks into working tools. We’ve also experienced continuous evolution in the areas of alternative fuels, lightweighting, telematics, and more, which is what led to the development of Green Truck Summit.
The Summit, scheduled March 5, 2019, is held with Fleet Technical Congress and The Work Truck Show® 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. As the industry’s premier conference on clean energy innovation for commercial vehicles, it offers insights on new productivity options and advanced technology implementation from fleet managers, vocational truck manufacturers and regulatory agencies.
This event addresses current and upcoming productivity and efficiency opportunities for work trucks — a significant shift from its early focus on hybrid vehicles. This year, presenters will provide insights on topics ranging from how trucks are integrating into other company systems, to how the approach to trucks and technology has changed to encompass impacts of government regulations, chassis requirements and smart equipment.
Key topics
Carlton Rose, president, global fleet maintenance & engineering for UPS, is the 2019 Green Truck Summit keynote speaker. He will share his perspective on the evolution of work trucks and what to expect over the next decade.
Speaking of progress, it seems as though we’ve reached an inflection point where industry and fleets have selected a direction and are moving faster than regulations. Decisions being made to improve productivity and efficiency, integrate technology and leverage truck intelligence are also outpacing regulatory developments. In the general session, Industry and Government in Flux: Evolving Supply, Technology and Government Positions, thought leaders will explore this topic and share how these changes will affect the future.
Electrification of truck systems and traction drive are becoming more prevalent. Major announcements of large fleet orders; traditional engine and truck producers adding electric to their offerings; and a shift in government pressure all combine to make for an interesting current state. In the general session, Truck Electrification: No Longer a Science Project, representatives from Motiv Power Systems, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck of America Inc. and Penske will address how electrification is meeting today’s needs and how it will evolve moving forward.
New for 2019, Green Truck Summit and Fleet Technical Congress general sessions will run on the same schedule, so event attendees can choose to go to sessions from either program. These two important industry conferences set side-by-side offer all the elements needed for a great day of knowledge-sharing. I hope to see you in Indy!
Learn more about Green Truck Summit and Fleet Technical Congress at worktruckshow.com/summitandcongress.
