Midwest mail company converting fleet to autogas

Lake Michigan Mailers Inc., a company that specializes in document management, mail processing and data management, is converting its service fleet to propane autogas and traditional gasoline in an effort to reduce its fuel costs and vehicle emissions. AmeriGas Inc. and Icom North America LLC will facilitate the conversion.

Lake Michigan Mailers has processing centers in Kalamazoo, Mich., and South Bend, Ind. The company service fleet travels about 477,000 road miles each year. Since May 2009, the company says its fuel costs have risen 71 percent. With the conversion, Lake Michigan Mailers anticipates a reduction in cost per mile by 32 percent.

“We knew we had to make a strategic change in the way we propel our vehicles down the road in order to support our continued market growth in the face of rapidly rising fuel costs,” says David Rhoa, Lake Michigan Mailers president. “We evaluated every alternative fuel type currently available. Propane is the right choice for us for a number of reasons.”

The propane liquid injection conversion system Icom is providing will allow the company’s vehicles to run on both propane and traditional gasoline, with propane being the primary fuel.

Lake Michigan Mailers will begin converting its vehicle fleet in June 2012. The process to convert the company’s existing Michigan-based fleet is expected to be complete by August 2013. Lake Michigan Mailers plans to begin converting its Indiana-based fleet in the fourth quarter of 2013 with a final conversion date of June 2014.