Source: IndeOnline.com
Kimble Companies Inc. plans to build a compressed natural gas station on Shepler Church Avenue SW that will fuel its growing fleet of CNG vehicles, and be open to the public.
The Dover-based refuse hauler expects construction to begin in September, and for the station to open around the end of October, provided the project is approved, said Keith Walker, Kimble’s head of operations.
Stark County’s only operational public CNG station is at the Stark Area Regional Transit Authority garage at 1600 Gateway Blvd. SE.
Walker said Kimble’s planned CNG station at 1511 Shepler Church Ave. SW will be similar to SARTA’s, but easier for large trucks to use.
A site plan filed with the Stark County Regional Planning Commission shows a fast-fill station — the public part — along with space for the company to park and fuel 56 of its own trucks. That parking area will eventually be expanded to fuel up to 78 vehicles, Walker said.
The Shepler Church property houses Kimble’s maintenance operation and a waste-transfer station, and is the base for 40 garbage trucks and 30 tractor-trailers that haul trash from Wayne, Stark, Columbiana and part of Summit counties.
TruStar Energy, based in Fontana, California, is building the fueling station. TruStar built Kimble’s CNG station in Twinsburg almost three years ago, Walker said. That station isn’t open to the public.
In all, Kimble has 85 CNG vehicles, and another 30 on order, Walker said.
“With the price of [CNG] fuel being half of what diesel costs, it becomes very economical,” he said. “Very quick payback on both the trucks and the station.”