Contacts:
Steve Patterson 501-537-0190 or steve@arkansasadvancedenergy.com
Mollie Campbell, 501-537-0190 or mollie@arkansasadvancedenergy.com
Little Rock, AR – Instructors at Pulaski Technical College South Campus are wrapping up a week-long training today for converting vehicles to run on compressed natural gas (CNG). It’s the state’s first CNG training program and will help meet the demand in Arkansas for vehicle conversion to CNG.
Within the Train-the-Trainer workshop, led by Fort Smith- based company Falcon CNG, LLC, instructors received hands-on instruction on the CNG conversion process. They converted a pickup truck with an EPA certified conversion kit as well as a standard, non-EPA certified conversion kit for training purposes only. A small, home-fueling type CNG station was also installed which the school will be able to use to fuel their own natural gas powered vehicles.
“Having the state’s first CNG training program is much needed if we intend to make CNG part of the state’s comprehensive energy program,” said Barry Rowton, President of Falcon CNG, LLC. According to Rowton, neighboring Oklahoma has established CNG training programs, and the state has 93 CNG stations across the state to meet demand.
At Pulaski Tech, a 40’ x 90’ mobile training station has been built on-site that will allow the instructors to set up work stations for students. These work stations will give students an opportunity for a hands-on experience of configuring a CNG system correctly. The training station allows students to train on every aspect of a CNG conversion and repair using compressed air for safety reasons.
PTC’s CNG certificate will be awarded to those students already enrolled in the college’s Automotive Technology program who take 4 additional CNG-focused classes. PTC claims that the demand is significant for students graduating with the Automotive Technology certificate, and the CNG certificate will only increase this demand. PTC says they could graduate twice as many automotive students and still find jobs for all of them.
Falcon CNG, LLC, performs natural gas vehicle conversions as well as maintenance of these systems for several businesses in the NW Arkansas area.
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Arkansas Advanced Energy Association is a business group dedicated to growing Arkansas’s economy by expanding our energy workforce and manufacturing base through the increased development, manufacture, and utilization of advanced energy technologies. www.arkansasadvancedenergy.com
The Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation is the educational affiliate of the AAEA. The Foundation promotes greater public understanding of advanced energy in Arkansas through research, public education programs and economic and workforce development. The Foundation is dedicated to informing the energy policy debate with well-researched, fact-based data on the advanced energy economy in Arkansas and by providing a public forum where state leaders can address Arkansas’s energy challenges for the future. www.arkansasadvancedenergyfoundation.org
Falcon CNG, LLC provides compressed natural gas, or CNG, conversions for gasoline and diesel vehicles. They also provide CNG filling stations, CSA fuel system inspections, service, repair, and maintenance. Falcon CNG is authorized to install factory Ford, GM, and Chevy conversions. However, the majority of the conversions by Falcon are custom applications: City Transit buses, E450 20’ box vans, flatbed 2-ton field service trucks, etc. With a mechanical engineer on staff, Falcon can design, fabricate and install custom CNG systems for vehicles ranging from ½ ton pick-ups to transit buses to 15 L class 8 tractors. Falcon also provides on-site CNG filling stations ranging from small home units to fast-fill or slow-fill stations to service large fleets. www.falconcng.com
Pulaski Technical College is a comprehensive two-year college that serves the educational needs of central Arkansas through technical programs, a university-transfer program and specialized programs for business and industry. The College’s mission is to provide access to high quality education that promotes student learning, to enable individuals to develop to their fullest potential and to support the economic development of the state. www.pulaskitech.edu
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