Partner Article

Smith takes a big bite out of American market

GLOBAL snack giant Frito Lay has enlisted the help of a North East electric vehicles maker to distribute its products across America,

The company behind Doritos and a plethora of other tasty favourites, is to acquire 176 electric delivery trucks from Smith Electric Vehicles US, the American offshoot of Washington-based manufacturer Tanfield.

The company, a division of PepsiCo, will deploy 21 of the Kansas City-built vehicles this year, beginning with five this month in New York City and later moving to routes in Columbus, Ohio, and Fort Worth, Texas. It said it expects to add 155 trucks in 2011.

Smith Electric CEO Bryan Hansel said Frito Lay’s widespread use of the trucks will help drive acceptance of all-electric vehicles.

“More importantly, the insights gained operating in urban environments will be invaluable in extending electric vehicle technology to consumer markets in the future,” Hansel said.

The trucks can carry as much as 16,000 pounds and travel as far as 100 miles on a single charge, releasing no carbon emissions. Frito-Lay estimated that operating the trucks will save 500,000 gallons of fuel a year and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent.

Frito-Lay is one of several corporate clients for Smith Electric. Others include Coca-Cola, Staples, AT&T and Kansas City Power & Light Co., a subsidiary of Kansas City-based Great Plains Energy Inc.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .