CalArk — a 30-year-old Little Rock, Ark.-based fleet operating more than 700 company and owner-operator power units — has signed an agreement for the installation of IdleAire in two of its terminals.
Under the agreement announced at this week’s ATA Management Conference and Exhibition in Boston, IdleAire will install its Advanced Truckstop Electrification technology in two CalArk terminals — 32 spaces at the Laredo, Texas, terminal, and 30-50 spaces at its Little Rock terminal.
“With IdleAire’s current deployment, we have 200 drivers who are already heavy users,” said CalArk President Rochelle Gorman. “We have 500 more that want to use it because of the comfort and lifestyle benefits it brings to the cab. And we want them using it because we see the value of providing drivers a cleaner, quieter, more relaxed place to sleep. It makes a difference to our drivers, and that’s good for retention and recruitment — and it will make a difference in our safety program. It also reduces costs by conserving fuel and reducing engine wear. Installation in these two terminals will make the IdleAire benefits available to all our drivers, while making our terminals cleaner and quieter. It’s a real win-win.”
Lynn Youngs, executive vice president of IdleAire, said the company already has received many calls from fleets using the IdleAire service asking how to have the IdleAire system at their terminals, and IdleAire COO David Everhart currently is in discussions with fleets that own 150 terminal locations.
“CalArk is one of over 1,300 fleets that have signed agreements with IdleAire to make our technology available to their drivers,” Youngs said. “The fleet terminal market is exploding for us because these fleets are recognizing IdleAire as a new tool, as they see real impacts on their bottom line and on driver satisfaction. It’s natural for them to want to extend those benefits into their terminal environment. It’s an entirely new level of acceptance for the IdleAire system within the industry.”
