Challenger Motor Freight Partners With Transtex To Obtain Substantial Fuel Savings

Mar 15, 2022 - 3 years ago

Challenger Motor Freight, a Canadian leader of transportation services, has partnered with TRANSTEX, supplier of leading-edge trailer aerodynamic solutions, to save fuel and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Challenger selected 100 EDGE ELITE AERO SYSTEMS (EEAS) for their newest trailer order. Third party testing has proven up to 10.49% in fuel savings, or $4,618 per vehicle, from equipping the EEAS on 53 ft. dry van trailers. The system includes the E-2330T EDGE SKIRTS, the EDGE TOPKIT+, and EDGE FLAPS.

"After rigorous evaluation, we concluded that TRANSTEX's trailer aerodynamic technology is the far superior collective solution that checks all the boxes for our fleet's needs," said Jim Peeples, Challenger Motor Freight's President and COO. The company looked at five main features when considering what solution to equip:

Best fuel efficiency results and how they're validated,
Best product durability,
Least driver inconvenience and interactions,
Product simplicity, and
Most comprehensive warranty.

With fuel being one of the largest expenses for fleets, Challenger considers further reducing this operating cost to be a main goal in supporting their long-term growth trajectory. The EDGE ELITE AERO SYSTEM successfully addresses a trailer's key aerodynamic deficiencies at the sides and rear. Pierre-Yves Lacroix, TRANSTEX's Engineering Director, states, "As innovators and first movers in trailer aerodynamics, leveraging R&D and various comprehensive testing methods are at the core of our success. To ensure we give our customers only the best in-class solutions, TRANSTEX's side skirts, rear aerodynamic fairings, and aerodynamic mudflaps are subject to wind tunnel testing, computational fluid dynamics analysis, road testing, and much more. This is how we've been able to reach fuel savings results of up to 10.49% for dry vans."

An added benefit that Challenger appreciates from the EEAS is the increased sustainability for their fleet. "If the products align with our fuel savings initiatives meant to benefit our organization and they're also good for the environment, then it's a win-win situation," said Adam Wolk, Challenger Motor Freight's Director of Maintenance.
In addition, as a for-hire fleet, Challenger affects its customers' Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) score. Therefore, they're no strangers to emissions data audits. With TRANSTEX's EDGE ELITE AERO SYSTEM, Challenger not only improves their audit data, they also extend the fuel savings and GHG improvements to their customers.

Jim Peeples describes Challenger Motor Freight as a fast follower when adopting technology across their fleet. They were looking for a partner whose trailer aerodynamic solutions helped them achieve their fuel savings goal, are valued by major fleets across North America, and are meticulously tested by independent third parties. TRANSTEX met each of their product and partnership requirements.

Source: Challenger