Highway Safety

The FIRST Lion Zero-Emission Electric TMA Unveiled at The Utility Expo!

J-Tech, an innovative builder of TMA (Truck Mounted Attenuator) trucks, has teamed up with Lion Electric to bring the efficiency of EVs (electric vehicles) to the highway safety industry.

J-Tech’s TMA trucks provide protection and safety to both maintenance workers and roadway users in highway maintenance work zones.

The result of this collaboration is the Lion Electric LION 6 chassis on which J-Tech builds its best-in-class TMA body that has become a standard in the industry across the United States and Canada.

J-Tech’s and Lion’s innovative use of EVs as TMA trucks in highway work zones can now provide added environmental benefits and increased efficiency to those highway job sites.  The industry now has the means to reduce TMA diesel trucks that need to idle all night in work zones to power warning lights and equipment. 

Lion Electric, headquartered in Canada has quickly become the de facto choice for commercial electric service vehicles throughout North America. Lion manufactures all-electric box, refuse, and bucket trucks, passenger buses, and school buses.

Scott Offerman, Lion’s Director of Marketing, first learned about J-Tech truck mounted attenuators from a mutual acquaintance and reached out to Seth Woelkers, Strategic Account Manager at J-Tech to explore the possibility of a partnership. “It’s a perfect partnership,” said Seth Woelkers “Lion is expanding the types of vehicles that customers can build using their system. They started with busses and now have a new production facility in Illinois that will produce the Lion 6 very efficiently giving us a robust source of cab and chassis on which we build our trucks.”  “The challenge of building on a new platform is the same as dealing with any unknown,” Woelkers added “We had to work through some new complexities, but Lion engineers provided very good navigation in those areas.”

The Lion and J-Tech teams recently showcased the EV TMA together at the AEM Association of Equipment Manufacturer’s Utility Expo in Louisville, KY where interest was extremely high. The EV TMAs are available for ordering now and interested customers can contact J-Tech to start the process of an EV TMA build.

“It makes great sense for organizations that focus on safety and efficiency to consider the EV TMA” continues Woelkers.  “These vehicles produce no emissions and there is minimal maintenance compared to a TMA with an internal combustion engine”.

One challenge, like EV automobiles, is that electric trucks are more expensive than traditional ones. There are grants available that can help with the upfront purchase and required charging infrastructure. Additionally, customers can expect to recoup fuel and maintenance savings fairly quickly over the years.

A second challenge is that as an emerging technology, end users must develop new processes, training, and standard operating procedures to reflect the differences in using all-electric vehicles.  While this will require an initial outlay of time and resources, the long-term advantages clearly demonstrate the value of the investment.  It is up to the operating companies and government agencies to take that challenge and allocate the resources to make this a mainstream solution.

ABOUT J-TECH
Respected throughout the North American highway safety industry, J-Tech is known for its innovative roadway maintenance safety vehicles and equipment. J-Tech has been helping highway contractors, traffic management companies, state transportation departments and tollways make their work zones safer workplaces since the introduction of the J-Tech TMA (Truck Mounted Attenuator) truck, aka “crash truck” in August 2007.  J-Tech’s TMA Trucks, Pattern Trucks, Dynamic Lift System Trucks, LaneBlade®, and Safety Baskets are some of our many innovative products that give operators a safety and efficiency advantage.