Eastern Propane and Oil goes green with propane-fueled delivery truck

DANVERS — If you’re a company that sells propane, wouldn’t it make sense to deliver it to customers in a truck fueled by it?

Most of Eastern Propane and Oil’s delivery fleet run on diesel, but the company is testing a new, propane-powered delivery truck its officials say runs more cleanly and efficiently.

Fleet Manager Mike Gagne and District Manager Jim Blake said the company used to have propane-powered delivery trucks, but the technology was not quite robust enough, so the company switched to diesel around 2000.

In August, the company took possession of a Freightliner S2G propane-powered bobtail truck, one of only 25 in existence, and one of the first to be put in service. The company has five more on order, Gagne said.

“The drivers can’t believe the power and the drivability of the vehicle,” said Blake, who added that drivers were hesitant at first to drive the propane-powered truck because some remembered the old technology that did not work well. 

“They love it,” Blake said. The cost of the propane-powered truck is competitive with that of a diesel delivery truck, Gagne said.

Eastern Propane and Oil is headquartered in Rochester, New Hampshire, but its roots in Danvers started in 1932 when the Clement family began selling bottled gas as part of Danvers Hardware on Maple Street. 

In 1959, what was then known as County Gas Distributors expanded to four states, according to the company’s website. The operation grew in Danversport, where there was a rail siding and a large propane tank, Blake said. The hardware store was later sold.

Today, Eastern Propane serves Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island. About 40 people work at the location in Danversport, where the new gas delivery truck first went into service. Its durability is now being tested in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. See original article here.