The United States Marine Corps has acquired two all-electric Smith Newton trucks from the Smith Electric Vehicles US Corporation. This acquisition has made the Unites States Marine Corp the first military organization to order Smith Newtons using the Government Services Administration (GSA) schedule. The GSA is a list of approved suppliers to Federal government agencies. The Newton Trucks are set to be transferred to Camp Pendleton, Calif., the Corps’ largest West Coast training facility, and the home base of the First Marine Expeditionary Force.
“We’re proud to be part of the Marine Corps’ efforts to create a cleaner environment and improve energy efficiency at Camp Pendleton,” said Bryan Hansel, President and CEO of Smith Electric. “The Marines are setting a strong example for the other branches of our armed services as we all work together to address America’s energy and efficiency concerns.”
The Center for a New American Security drew up recommendations in a September report that America’s armed forces need to move towards operating all of its systems on non-petroleum fuels by 2040. The Marine Corps has been especially focused in this area and has already aimed to reduce the corps’ energy use 30 percent by 2015. In addition it is set to enlarge its dependence on renewable electrical energy to 25 percent by 2025.
“Smith Electric Vehicles U.S., is a company in the vanguard of green technology that reduces our nation’s dependence on foreign oil,” said Corey Singman, representative of Wynston Hill Capital, which is Smith Electric Vehicles lead investment banker.
The Newton truck, produced by Smith Electric remains the only all-electric medium duty commercial truck on the GSA list. The trucks are set to be built in Smith Electric’s plant based in Kansas City, Mo. They are set to reach Camp Pendleton in February 2011.
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