CNG Search & Rescue Ford F250 under development
Venchurs Inc., a Michigan-based specialist company serving the automotive OEM and aftermarket industries, has set up a new division — Venchurs Vehicle Systems (VVS) — to meet the expanding commercial and fleet market for natural gas vehicles. Designated a FORD QVM (Qualified Vehicle Modifier), VVS unveiled its new CNG Dedicated and Bi-Fuel conversions for Ford light trucks at the Green Fleet conference in Grapevine Texas on October 3, 2011.
VVS is dedicated to promoting green philosophies and practices for a sustainable future by providing cutting-edge CNG conversions and installations. The 38 year old firm believes that the inherent cleanliness, safety and domestic supply of natural gas, combined with current tax credits and grants available to green fleet operators, will make CNG a viable option for fleet operators big and small in the coming years.
“The Venchurs team welcomes the opportunity to bring our OE industry expertise and resources to this very important emerging market,” states Venchurs’ CEO Jeff Wyatt.
To illustrate its CNG capabilities, VVS has partnered with Michelin and is working with several national parks to build a CNG Search & Rescue Ford F250 four-wheel drive extreme-duty truck to demonstrate the viability of CNG for park fleet use and to showcase VVS technology in the harshest of conditions. This truck is designed, engineered and equipped as a “hardened” vehicle to operate in the harshest California desert environments to the frozen extremes of the Rockies in the role of Search & Rescue, law enforcement, avalanche control and environmental education and research.
Each CNG conversion will be performed at the Venchurs’ state-of-the-art 135,000 square foot conversion facility in Adrian, Michigan. The converted Ford vehicles maintain their original warranty, as VVS is dedicated to quality and all conversions are monitored and inspected by QC technicians.
(This article compiled using information from a Venchurs Inc. press release)
