HURON — Fleet owners who join the 23 million other vehicles which have been converted to a propane autogas system worldwide can expect to save 30 to 50 percent of their fuel cost, a vice president of ICOM Alternative Fuel Systems said.
Its liquid propane technology sets ICOM — a company founded in Italy in 1984 and with its North American headquarters and assembly plant opening in New Hudson, Mich., in 2004 — apart from other systems, Ed Zoglman said.
In conjunction with Gary Goeller, account manager of North Star Energy LLC, the sole distributor of the bi-fuel system in the Dakotas, Zoglman explained the advantages of propane autogas at a seminar Tuesday in Huron.
Not only will it mean fuel cost savings, it will lead to cleaner air while further weaning the country off foreign oil, he said.
He reminded those of a certain age in his audience what it was like waiting at long gas lines during the 1970s oil embargo.
“The Middle East, to me, is a powder keg and just like that we may be standing in line again,” Zoglman said.
ICOM started with a vapor system about five years ago in Springfield, Ill., and had a “so-so” success rate, he said.
The conversion to liquid propane occurred about two and a half years ago, he said.

He shared examples of the hundreds of success stories by fleet owners and managers in the public and private sectors. One is UPS, which has had 1,000 vehicles converted to liquid propane in Canada. It is now happening in the United States.
Other markets are in fleet applications for airports, cabs and limousines, transit systems, service and delivery vans, municipalities, law enforcement and the shuttle industry, Zoglman said.
“Normally we don’t go after school buses because of the liability, but they have support vehicles,” he said.
ICOM is in nine countries, and distribution is in 15 countries on five continents.
Zoglman said the system is safety tested. ICOM has an industry-leading list of more than 1,000 Environmental Protection Agency certified-vehicle platforms, he said.
He said there are nearly 30,000 propane injection systems in use in North America using ICOM technology.
It reduces emissions by an estimated 35 percent, while particulate matter is reduced to zero, he said.
Goeller has met with area business owners about the advantages of the product.
“It is ideal for businesses with fleet vehicles that run at least 25,000 miles a year because of the benefits this alternate fuel has,” he said.
Not only is it cleaner burning fuel, its use means a longer engine life, he said.
The bi-fuel option means vehicles can be seamlessly switched over from propane to gasoline as needed.
There is a network of 1,487 propane stations in the country, and Goeller and North Star Energy is working to build up the network in South Dakota.

Photos:

Ed Zoglman, vice president of ICOM Alternative Fuel Systems, explains how a vehicle equipped with a liquid propane system works during a Tuesday seminar in Huron.

Next, Zoglman and others examine the engine.