Pilot to offer diesel exhaust fluid at 100 stores
A new generation of cleaner diesel engines is creating the market for a new product that truck stop giant Pilot Travel Centers will begin offering in the coming months.
The Knoxville company will install tanks and pumps for the sale of diesel exhaust fluid at 100 stores across the country on a staggered schedule starting this quarter through the second quarter of 2010.
Diesel exhaust fluid, a urea and water solution, will be used in the diesel engines of trucks to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions, according to federal requirements that go into effect next year.
“What you do is you inject that urea right into the exhaust system into the catalyst, after the exhaust gases have come out the engine,” said Bill Mulligan, vice president of development, facilities and environmental matters for Pilot.
The DEF combines with the exhaust, converting nearly all of the nitrogen oxide into nitrogen, water and carbon dioxide. The technology used for this type of emissions control is known as selective catalytic reduction.
Pilot will install tanks and pumps at a rate of 25 per quarter and at a cost of $50,000 per installation, Mulligan said.
Trucks will come equipped with a 13-gallon tank for the fluid, known as DEF. Because truckers only will need to refill the tanks every 3,900 miles, Mulligan said the company studied traffic patterns to ensure that truckers could easily get to a refill site without having to place pumps at every Pilot station. The maximum distance between Pilot-owned DEF pumps will be about 2,600 miles.
The only Tennessee installation will be in Murfreesboro. Cost of the product has yet to be determined, although “the company expects to offer DEF ‘at-the-pump’ at prices that are equal to or less than diesel fuel,” according to a statement the company recently issued.
While the company may locate DEF pumps at most stations eventually, demand likely won’t accelerate for several years, he said. Fleets replace trucks every 42 to 48 months, Mulligan said, so it will take several years before all vehicles require DEF. All Pilot locations will sell the product in 1.5- and 2.5-gallon containers if drivers get stuck between stops.
Installing the infrastructure represents a big investment for Pilot, although Mulligan said the company eventually should make money on it.
“We don’t give anything away — everything we sell has a revenue stream,” he said. “Do I think this is a huge revenue stream? No. … We have relationships with our customers and our customers are going to buy those trucks, and we want to be able to accommodate them.”
Pilot is one of the largest operators of travel centers in the United States with more than 300 locations in 41 states and Canada. Pilot Travel Centers announced last week merger plans with Flying J Inc., another top U.S. operator of travel centers, with 250 centers across the country and in Canada. The combined company, to be based in Knoxville under the Pilot Travel Centers banner, would be the largest travel center operator in the country.
Larisa Brass is a freelance contributor to the News Sentinel.
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