"Green Environment, Green Energy, and Green Economics for a Green Illinois"
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"Green Environment, Green Energy, and Green Economics for a Green Illinois" |
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| Pat Quinn, Governor | ||
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EL MILAGROChicago, Illinois
El Milagro is a family-owned business on the south side of Chicago that manufactures corn- and flour-based Mexican food products such as tortillas, tortilla chips, taco shells, and tostadas at three production facilities. El Milagro's products are delivered to and sold at retail grocery store chains in the Midwest, including Jewel, Dominicks, Meijers, and Cub Foods located throughout Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana. The company also operates four restaurants and sells its products to many Mexican restaurants in the Chicago area. Between the production facilities and restaurants, El Milagro has about 400 employees. Founded in the early 1950's, El Milagro is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary in business. |
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El Milagro has a fleet of 32 delivery trucks, of which 24 operate exclusively on propane. The company started acquiring propane trucks for its fleet in 1999. The trucks come from the auto manufacturer as "conversion ready" and are converted to propane using a system that is certified to the Environmental Protection Agency's Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) emission standard. The remaining 8 gasoline and diesel delivery vehicles in its fleet will be replaced with propane units in the near future. El Milagro's objective is to have its entire delivery fleet operating on clean-burning propane. The only exceptions to this policy are three larger long-haul diesel trucks that are used for deliveries to areas hundreds of miles from the Chicago region. El Milagro also has its own propane refueling station at its headquarters where its trucks can conveniently refuel before heading out on deliveries.
The cost to convert each truck to operate with propane is about $3,000. However, with the Illinois EPA's Alternate Fuels Rebate Program, El Milagro receives $2,400 for each unit from the State.In addition, El Milagro's propane costs have ranged from 80 to 97 cents per gallon, compared to the range of retail gasoline and diesel fuel prices in the Chicago area from $1.40 to $1.80 over the past few years.
El Milagro is one of several small businesses in the Illinois Green Fleets Program, and like many of the Illinois EPA's "green fleets," the company is subject to the Clean Fuel Fleet Program, a Clean Air Act requirement for Chicago area businesses and local governments with motor vehicle fleets. However, instead of just complying with a government program to reduce emissions, El Milagro realized the benefits of implementing a really clean fuel along with ULEV-certified vehicles for its fleet and took the spirit and intent of the Clean Fuel Fleet Program to heart. The company did the research and took the initiative to make an environmental program work in its favor. Mr. Morales sums it up best by reporting that "the savings are amazing, and our kids get a chance to grow healthier." |
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Therefore, El Milagro has realized fuel cost savings of 60 cents to $1.00 per gallon, which adds up to a significant amount for a delivery operation in which the trucks average 40,000 miles per year. According to Bobby Morales, fleet manager of El Milagro, the fuel savings alone pay for the extra costs of each truck in less than one year. In addition, Mr. Morales emphasized that the propane trucks perform very well and have had very few maintenance issues, especially since the company's profits depend on timely deliveries to locations in the Chicago area and throughout much of the Midwest. The clean-burning propane is expected to add longevity to the trucks since significantly less carbon deposits and less wear on the engine are expected, resulting in fewer truck purchases over time.