Navistar scores Blue Sky award

Alternative fuels consortium WestStart-CalStart has awarded Navistar International Corp. – the parent company of International Truck & Engine Co. – its 2007 Blue Sky Award for contributions to the commercial development of diesel-hybrid technology.

This award is given annually to companies, fleets and others that help accelerate the growth and development of clean and energy- efficient transportation technologies.

“It spotlights those who are ahead of the pack in moving clean, efficient fuels and vehicles to market,” said John Boesel, president and CEO of WestStart-CalStart. “Navistar has invested the engineering, development and field assessment time … to make hybrids into a commercial product. Just as important, it is moving this technology into the truck world, which on a per-vehicle basis has a huge air quality and climate change impact.”

Boesel cited several key hybrid truck developments spearheaded by Navistar that helped the company win the Blue Sky award this year including: its bus subsidiary IC Corp.’s partnership with Enova Systems to develop the nation’s first hybrid school bus; Navistar’s partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Army, UPS and Eaton Corp. to develop the first-ever series diesel hydraulic hybrid urban delivery vehicle; and Navistar’s development, again with Eaton, of its International medium-duty diesel-electric hybrid truck.

“We are honored to receive this prestigious award,” said Dee Kapur, president of International’s Truck Group. “It underscores that diesel- hybrid technology is now commercially available on a mass scale. Thanks to the energy efficiency and the emissions reductions made possible by diesel-hybrid vehicles, truck and bus customers will be able to save thousands of dollars in fuel costs per vehicle each year, while knowing that they are delivering significant clean-air benefits as well.”