PITTSBURGH, Feb. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- GENCO ATC, North
America's second largest and a Global Top 50 third-party
logistics provider, announced today that it is partnering with
customer Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB), Plug Power Inc.
(Nasdaq: PLUG), Air Products (NYSE: APD), and the Aiken-Edgefield
Development Partnership to launch the nation's first multi-use
industrial park fueling station to supply hydrogen directly for
industrial, commercial, and government use.
The fueling station supplies hydrogen directly to
Kimberly-Clark's
450,000-square-foot distribution facility managed by GENCO ATC to be used with fuel cells powering
Toyota forklifts. Both the fueling station and the
Kimberly-Clark facility are
located in Sage Mill Industrial Park, Graniteville, South Carolina.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony and technology demonstration will take
place inside the Kimberly-Clark
facility on Friday, February 11, 2011
at 11 a.m. and will feature several
executive speakers and Bobby
Harrell, Speaker of the South
Carolina House of Representatives.
"Kimberly-Clark is constantly
looking for innovative ways to minimize the impact of our
operations on the environment," said Rick
Sather, Vice President of Customer Supply Chain at
Kimberly-Clark. "We are
pleased to partner with GENCO ATC,
Plug Power and Air Products to help expand hydrogen fuel cell
technology to our entire forklift fleet. This energy technology can
reduce our carbon emissions by hundreds of metric tons per year,
lower costs and drive efficiencies to power our operations."
The fueling station and hydrogen-powered forklifts were made
possible through the use of $1.1
million of a $6.1 million
cost-share award made to GENCO ATC
by the U.S. Department of Energy through the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act.
"GENCO ATC is committed to green
technology initiatives that are viable, equitable and sustainable
for our customers and our company," said Herb Shear, Chairman and CEO, GENCO ATC. "Hydrogen fuel cells represent
the best in energy innovation as a sustainable, productive and
clean alternative to lead-acid batteries."
The supply chain industry estimates that annual greenhouse gas
emissions created by an average 20-truck lead acid battery-powered
forklift fleet can be reduced by hundreds of tons a year simply by
converting to fuel cell-powered equipment. By using hydrogen fuel
cells instead of lead-acid batteries, greenhouse gases can be
reduced by over 90%, according to customer consumption
estimates.
"Today's event marks a key step in South Carolina's emergence as a leader in
hydrogen fueling infrastructure and commercial use of hydrogen fuel
cells," said Bobby Harrell, Speaker
of the South Carolina House of
Representatives. "This fleet of hydrogen-powered forklifts
will enable recognized employers such as Kimberly-Clark, GENCO
ATC and Bridgestone to operate in a more efficient and
environmentally sustainable manner, which embodies the practical
applications of alternative energy that the state should
encourage."
About GENCO ATC
GENCO ATC is North America's 2nd largest and a Global Top
50 third-party logistics provider and the recognized leader in
reverse logistics. The company manages 120 operations and 37
million square feet of warehouse space throughout North America for a diverse range of retail,
manufacturing and government customers, including many Fortune
500 companies. As the industry's most innovative product
lifecycle logistics provider, GENCO
ATC provides a complete range of solutions, including
forward logistics, transportation logistics, parcel negotiation and
audits, reverse logistics, consumer electronics test & repair,
product remarketing, damage research, pharmaceutical services,
government logistics and operations management, supply chain
technology and automotive remanufacturing. For more
information, visit www.genco.com.
About Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark and its
well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for
people in more than 150 countries. Every day, 1.3 billion people -
nearly a quarter of the world's population - trust K-C brands and
the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and
well-being. With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups,
Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark
holds the No. 1 or No. 2 share position in more than 80 countries.
To keep up with the latest K-C news and to learn more about the
company's 139-year history of innovation, visit
www.Kimberly-Clark.com.
SOURCE GENCO ATC