UK-based Eminox has beaten tough international competition to win a prestige order to supply emissions control systems to 1,400 diesel-powered buses in Paris as part of a major clean-up programme in the city.
The transport authority, Regie Autonome Des Transports Parisiens (RATP). aims to operate the cleanest urban public transport system in the world, and has chosen Eminox equipment to help it meet that target. Managers at the company’s Gainsborough headquarters learned that they had won the business just before the year’s end, and officially announced the contract on January 7. They will be recruiting 14 new staff to help deal with the order.
The business is initially worth £3-4 million, and is for Eminox’s Continuously Regenerating Trap (CRT®) systems, which eliminate over 90% of all particulate matter, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide in diesel exhaust emissions. The company will also trial the next generation of emissions control products in the city – and will open a French centre to service the work and generate further business.
Most of the buses involved in the contract are Renault / Irisbus Agoras. In order to fulfil the order, Eminox has conducted extensive development work, fine-tuning its systems to work with the relevant vehicles, and with Paris’s demanding urban driving conditions.
Eminox says the initial part of the order will take approximately 12 months to complete. The emissions control systems will be shipped to France for fitting locally.
But Eminox General Manager Paul Priestley says the most important aspect of the new business is the commercial reverberations which it will create across Europe – he and his team hope that the high profile win will lead to work in other cities.
Following RATP’s decision, French Ministers are considering committing an extra nine million Euros to encourage cities elsewhere in France to follow the capital’s example.
“It was not just about cost, they wanted the right product for the job, and we won the technical argument, which was very satisfying,” said Mr Priestley. “It is a terrific way to kick off the New Year, and I know that this order will be noticed across Europe. Other cities and regions have been watching to see who won this business.”
The company’s Market Development Manager, Mr Andy Frost, said: “The relationship between health and air quality is now very clear, and the problem can be solved with technology such as that being fitted to these vehicles.”
In the UK, air quality targets for local authorities across the country will be reviewed this April, and the indications are that 95% of authorities will fail to meet their targets. I am delighted that this company is able to take a pivotal role in helping cities such as Paris to provide cleaner air for its citizens.”
The £30m company has sold its equipment into many European cities and says it is in discussions with major bus and coach manufacturers across the Continent with a view to helping them meet the requirements of Euro 4, due to be introduced next year.