Pilot Travel Centers on Friday, July 17, announced installation plans for the rollout of 100 diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) “at-the-pump” locations. The Knoxville, Tenn.-based company will carry prepackaged supplies of DEF at all 350 Pilot retail stores.
Pilot’s initial plans call for the installation of 100 bulk dispensing pumps at locations spread out nationally and at a rate of 25 pumps per quarter beginning in the third quarter of 2009 through the second quarter of 2010. The initial phases of Pilot fuel island DEF pump locations will include Amarillo, Texas; Avondale, Ariz.; Bordentown, N.J.; Brooks, Ore.; Carlisle, Pa.; Charlotte, N.C.; Cheyenne, Wyom.; Denver; Dexter, Mich.; Effingham, Ill.; Ft. Pierce, Fla.; Gallup, N.M.; Greenville, Va.; Hepseria, Calif.; Houston; Meridian, Miss.; Milford, Conn.; Murfreesboro, Tenn.; Oak Creek, Wis.; Oklahoma City; Santa Nella, Calif.; Seville, Ohio; St. Cloud, Minn.; Stanfield, Ore.; and West Memphis, Ark.
Mark Hazelwood, Pilot executive vice president, says the company worked closely with Detroit Diesel Corp. and Daimler Trucks North America, as well as Gilbarco, to develop Pilot’s bulk dispensing capabilities and a billing/transaction system that would meet customers’ need for ready DEF supply and fuel island convenience.
“The maximum distance between any two of our locations will be 2,618 miles,” Hazelwood says. “That is the distance between Milford, Connecticut, and Santa Nella, California, and it is also within the normal range for one tank of DEF on a Class 8 on-highway truck.” The company expects to offer DEF “at-the-pump” at prices that are equal to or less than diesel fuel. “Pilot will leverage its national network in a rollout of DEF pumps at travel centers from coast to coast,” Hazelwood says.
DEF will be required by selective catalytic reduction (SCR) engines to comply with 2010 emissions standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “Pilot’s rollout plan for DEF will serve the industry’s need for bulk DEF availability and pricing, and will support customers while demand for DEF builds and the rest of the DEF supply infrastructure develops,” says David Siler, spokesperson for Detroit Diesel and Daimler Trucks North America.
