Investing in the future of trucking through technology and education
Roseburg produces a wide range of sustainable wood products – but those products are no good if they can’t get into the hands of people building homes, offices, and other projects. That means Roseburg relies heavily on our Logistics team to keep things moving.
September 10th through 16th mark National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, so in addition to celebrating the folks who keep Roseburg moving, we’re also taking a look at some recent initiatives within Roseburg to invest in the future of trucking.
Roseburg launches pilot project for hybrid trucking
When Roseburg’s Transportation team noticed signs of aging and wear in Roseburg’s fleet of trucks, they recognized an opportunity to launch an experiment in fuel efficiency. While the latest truck models brought big improvements in tailpipe emissions thanks to advancement in automobile technology, they wanted to aim higher. So, the team set out to retrofit one of the fleet’s trucks into a hybrid model.
The Transportation team partnered with Hyliion, a vehicle electrification company, to update an existing Roseburg truck with an electrified powertrain solution. The goal was to assess whether the technology could bring additional improvements to emissions and fuel economy. Over time, this could be a win for not only the Transportation team, but for the environment.
“The hybrid technology bridges the gap between diesel and battery electric vehicles,” Dillard Support Services Operations Manager Garret Ogan said. “While fully electric trucks are beginning to emerge on the market, their limited range, high upfront cost of ownership, and lack of charging infrastructure create barriers that most (if not all) carriers are not able to overcome.”
The pilot truck will travel nearly 500 miles per day during this project while delivering resin from our suppliers to Riddle Plywood, Coquille Plywood, and Riddle Engineered Wood. This project could result in a 10-12% reduction in fuel consumption, which, over the course of a full year, reduces tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions by 15 metric tons a year. That’s the equivalent of removing four cars from the road – and that’s only one truck.
We applaud our team’s drive for innovation in testing a more sustainable transportation solution for the company. The project has exciting potential for improving efficiency and inspiring a greener future for the world of transportation.
Roseburg donates truck to Umpqua Community College driving school
Roseburg recently donated a truck to Umpqua Community College (UCC) for students in the school’s truck driving program to practice their driving skills. The truck hauled veneer and plywood for Roseburg for five years but will now live in Myrtle Creek for students’ use.
UCC’s four-week truck driving program currently trains 30-50 students a year. The college said its truck driver program has a 95% completion rate, with over 85% finding a job within the first few months of completing the program.
We hope the donation helps the future of the program, and increases the potential for additional instructors to take up educating at the campus as interest in trucking picks up at UCC.