Maker of Alternative Fuel Systems Seeks Fleet Appeal

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In its effort to penetrate the potentially lucrative fleet market, Enova Systems Inc. has delivered two vehicles retrofitted with alternative fuel systems to one of the country’s largest fleet operators.

The Torrance manufacturer of power management systems for electric and hybrid vehicles delivered a new GM truck and new Ford van installed with the company’s “post-transmission parallel hybrid drive system” to a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc. The Atlanta-based newspaper and television company operates more than 15,000 vehicles.

The Enova system includes an electric motor, a controller and an energy management device; the system can be installed during vehicle production or afterward as a retrofit. Hybrid drives allow vehicles to be powered by a combination of electricity and fossil fuels.

Terry Morano, Enova’s director of global sales, said the relationship with Cox is important for his company.

“We see building fleet relationships as part of the long-term strategy,” said Jarett Fenton, the company’s chief financial officer.

Most of Enova’s $6 million in annual sales is derived from supplying to original equipment manufacturers, with the fleet business accounting for less than 5 percent. Enova recently announced that it shipped 375 drive systems in 2007, a tenfold increase over 2006.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.


Vessels Down


Commercial vessel traffic in San Pedro Bay during 2007 was down for the first time in years, hurt by a suffering economy and lagging container imports.

The Marine Exchange of Southern California, a non-profit trade organization, announced that vessel arrivals at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports last year fell to 5,881, a 3 percent drop from the prior year.

Traffic had been increasing annually in the harbor, hitting one of its highest points ever in 2006, with 6,087 arrivals.

The organization tracks a variety of vessels, including general cargo ships, which fell 30 percent; vehicle carriers, which were down 6 percent; and cruise ships, which declined 2 percent.

The year started well, with January recording a jump in year-over-year arrival statistics, but nearly every other month was down. And with the entire economy struggling and early vessel statistics lagging in 2008, the group does not expect the picture to brighten anytime soon.

“There is no reason to believe that arrivals will increase in the near future,” said Manny Aschemeyer, executive director of the organization, in a report. “But rather, that we will continue to see at best a ‘status quo’ by hopefully holding the arrival counts the same for this coming year in our annual totals.”



Cleaner Cranes


The Port of Long Beach has taken another step toward “greening” its operations as it prepares to convert a number of its gantry cranes from diesel power to electric.

The port has approved a $5 million program to convert its 85 moveable “rubber-tired” cranes to the cleaner technology. The cranes are capable of moving shipping containers around the port. Currently, all of its stationary, huge gantry cranes that move cargo on and off ships are powered by electricity.

Richard Cameron, the port’s director of environmental planning, estimated that this program will reduce the port’s air pollution by 350 tons per year.

“This is a cost-effective option that will have a significant air quality benefit,” he said in a statement.

Under the port’s clean air program, the cranes must be converted by 2014.



Airport Compromise


Los Angeles International Airport officials reached a settlement last week with five airlines over a dispute that has lasted for the past year.

Under the agreement, United, Continental, American, Delta and Northwest will pay a combined $33 million for terminal maintenance and in return will get a $20 million credit for past expenses.

The dispute arose last year after airport officials changed the leasing policy in a way that increased airline fees as much as threefold. A number of airlines filed a complaint with the Department of Transportation and three United, Continental and American filed a lawsuit.

This agreement expires at year’s end.



Airline Cutting Back


Angelenos headed to the South Pacific may soon have fewer travel options.

Air New Zealand Ltd. recently announced that it will suspend its three flights a week between Los Angeles and Fiji’s main international airport near Nadi beginning in April.

To offset some of the cutbacks, the airline plans to expand its code-sharing agreements with Air Pacific Ltd. from four services per week to six. Code-sharing is when an airline sells seats under its own name on another airline’s flight and shares the revenues.


Staff reporter Richard Clough can be reached at (323) 549-5225, ext. 251, or at [email protected].

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