Shoppa's Material Handling Ltd has replaced more than 100 propane-powered forklifts for its rental fleet and external customers under the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP).
Recently, Shoppa's was authorised for an incentive grant of USD757,300 for customers to replace 50 forklifts, says Patrick Wilson, administrator of the propane equipment initiative with the Austin-based Railroad Commission of Texas (RCT).
During 2008, Shoppa's was authorised for a separate RCT incentive grant to replace 50 forklifts in the firm's rental fleet. Shoppa's has seven locations in Texas.
Other TERP grants have resulted in replacement of more than 1,732 older forklifts
(Forkliftaction.com News #400).
Shoppa's has made customers aware of the environmental benefits of alternative fuels and the government programs that are available for funding conversion to green technologies. "We take care of the application process" for interested customers, notes Stephanie Bagley, sales coordinator for Fort Worth-based Shoppa's. "The old trucks must be scrapped and destroyed." An owner must drill a hole in the engine block and obtain a scrap receipt for presentation to TERP auditors.
Full-service dealership Shoppa's markets forklifts under the Toyota, Bendi and Drexel brands, aerial equipment for the Genie, Aichi and JLG brands and industrial floor cleaning equipment from Nilfisk-Advance Inc along with providing warehouse products, safety training and products, and warehouse design/installation/tear-down/liquidation services. In addition to Fort Worth, Shoppa's has Texas operations in Amarillo, Brownwood, Lubbock, Odessa, San Angelo and Wichita Falls.
"The Railroad Commission has received an additional USD6 million from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to continue the propane equipment initiative," says Heather Ball, assistant director of marketing and public education with RCT's alternative fuels research and education division. "This brings the total grant for the program to USD30 million. Although the program will not accept new requests for estimates until 1 September, when the State of Texas fiscal year begins, the program is proceeding to process payments for forklifts that have already been delivered and comply with all program rules."
A grant-seeker submits a request for an estimate prior to applying to the commission. A separate application is filed for each forklift and projects the lower emissions from that equipment over five, six or seven years.
The Texas legislature created TERP in 2001 to help reduce emissions of smog-producing mono-nitrogen oxide emissions in 34 counties in which air quality fell short of federal standards. Texas has 254 counties.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality supplies legislature-authorised funding through subcontractors including the RCT, the North Central Council of Governments for the Dallas-Fort Worth region and the Houston-Galveston Area Council.