Stevens Transport Completes First Year of Plan to Outfit Truck Fleet with Oil Purification Systems' Innovative OPS-1 On-Board Oil Refiner System
SHELTON, Conn.--March 27, 2006--| Company Achieves Significant Savings on Oil Maintenance by Eliminating 3 to 5 Oil Changes Per Year, Per Truck |
Oil Purification Systems (OPS), manufacturer of the OPS-1 Oil Refiner system, announced today that Stevens Transport, one of the largest long-haul refrigerated truck carriers in the United States, has successfully completed the first year of its long-term plan to outfit the company's entire fleet with the OPS-1 on-board oil refiner system. At the end of the first year, Stevens Transport has outfitted the OPS-1 system on nearly 50 percent of its fleet of more than 1,600 trucks.
Stevens Transport's director of maintenance and equipment Eric Smith said, "With a large fleet of trucks, one of our most costly reoccurring maintenance expenses has been oil changes. The OPS-1 Oil Refiner enables us to decrease our maintenance costs with fewer oil changes, and also saves us money in decreasing the time required to take each truck off the road to perform an oil change. By keeping the oil cleaner, the system also helps extend the life of the engine as well as ensure compliance with EPA regulations."
Smith continued, "As our entire fleet is outfitted with the OPS-1 system over the next couple of years, we expect to save more than a million dollars per year on the cost of oil changes alone."
The OPS-1 is an on-board oil refiner system that can be easily mounted on any brand of diesel truck engines. The OPS-1 reduces or eliminates the solid and liquid contaminants from engine oil, thereby greatly extending the time between oil changes - or eliminating them entirely. Instead of changing the oil every 30,000 miles, analysis of the oil determines the required interval for an oil change. Weighing only 11 pounds, the OPS-1 is a compact, two-piece system that can be split up for easy installation on the engine.
The company's fleet maintenance crews are continuing to install the OPS-1 on approximately 50 trucks per month. During the year, Stevens Transport estimates that it has achieved an 80 percent oil maintenance cost savings on each truck fitted with the system by eliminating three to five oil changes per year. By keeping the oil cleaner and preserving the engines, Stevens expects to be able to use its trucks a year or two longer, with an even greater savings on capital expenditures.
The company first installed the OPS-1 on three trucks in March 2003 for a pilot test. The first truck in the test ran 70,000 miles before an oil change was performed. The Stevens truck maintenance crew changed filters every 30,000 miles, and sent oil samples to a third-party laboratory for analysis. Although the oil analysis at 70,000 miles didn't mandate an oil change, Stevens chose to take a conservative approach and change the oil during this testing phase. As the company became more comfortable relying on the oil analysis to determine oil change intervals, the second test truck ran approximately 140,000 miles, while the third truck was able to run 192,000 miles before an oil change was necessary. After the successful pilot test, Stevens Transport made the commitment to outfit its entire fleet, which is expected to be completed within the next two years.
Tom Bock, Oil Purification Systems vice president of operations, said, "With oil prices continually on the rise and new EPA regulations expected in 2007, Stevens Transport is ahead of the technology curve with its decision to outfit its entire fleet with the OPS-1 Oil Refiner. We are extremely pleased that they have chosen the OPS-1 to help their trucks run more efficiently."
About Stevens Transport
Founded in 1980, Stevens Transport is one of the most reputable irregular route refrigerated truckload carriers, operating the largest line of late model Kenworth T-2000 and Peterbilt Conventional Tractors in North America. Headquartered in Dallas, Stevens Transport operates 14 service centers throughout North America. Strategically located, these service centers provide the company with the flexibility to easily handle customers' incremental truck capacity demand due to seasonal spikes and end-of-quarter surge demands. The company continually strives to remain at the top of the industry by investing in technology, equipment and people. For more information, please call 800-233-9369 or visit http://www.stevenstransport.com/.
About Oil Purification Systems
Oil Purification Systems, Inc. (OPS) manufactures the OPS-1 Oil Refiner which allows engines to run with clean oil by eliminating solid and liquid contaminants from engine oil and hydraulic fluid. By extending the useful life of engine oil, customers are able to enjoy less downtime, greater productivity, significantly lower oil maintenance expenses, and longer engine life. Founded in 2002, OPS is headquartered in Shelton, Conn. and has production facilities in Bradenton, Fla. For more information, please call 866-645-7873 or visit http://www.oilpursys.com.