Parker's RunWise® Hydraulic Hybrid Technology Placed on EPA's Emerging Technologies List

CLEVELAND, March 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Parker Hannifin Corporation (NYSE: PH), the global leader in motion and control technologies, has received acknowledgement from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  that Parker's RunWise® Advanced Series Hybrid Drive has been placed on the National Clean Diesel Campaign's Emerging Technologies List.  EPA's Emerging Technologies Program provides an opportunity to foster the development of cutting-edge technologies to reduce emissions from the fleet of heavy-duty diesel engines. The program promotes the deployment of innovative technologies by providing funding to develop and evaluate these technologies in the field.  Parker's RunWise Advanced Series Hybrid Drive is capable of reducing fuel use and emissions by as much as 50 percent depending upon the application and duty cycle and is the only drivetrain technology on the list.  

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"We are excited by this development and appreciate that the EPA recognizes the potential of this technology to have a significant impact on reducing fuel use and carbon emissions," said Jeff Cullman, Group President, Hydraulics for Parker Hannifin. "Being placed on the Emerging Technologies List gives fleet owners the opportunity to obtain federal funding to test the technology on their vehicle fleets and for Parker to pursue full EPA verification.  This in-use testing can further validate existing field results in pre-production units that indicate that our RunWise technology is the best technology available for reducing fuel use and carbon emissions in heavy start, stop duty cycles such as in refuse vehicles."

Developed and tested with support from the EPA at its National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the technology is already in use on refuse vehicles in communities in South Florida and cities across the country are considering the new system.  Eleven trucks have been purchased by the Cities of Hialeah, Miami and Miami Dade County.  

Danny Diaz, Director of Fleet Management for Miami Dade County who purchased six Autocar E3 refuse vehicles equipped with the RunWise technology, said, "What we are seeing right now is a 45 percent fuel reduction. With automated garbage trucks in this type of stop and go application, the fuel economy is typically very poor on a traditional vehicle. The savings we are seeing is significant when you look at the long-term with these hybrid trucks and the uptime has been running at very high levels."

Parker's RunWise Advanced Series Hybrid Drive is unique in that it can recover as much as 70 percent of the energy typically lost during braking and reuse it to power the vehicle.  It uses a two speed hydrostatic drive combined with a mechanical direct drive that allows the vehicle to optimize performance at low and high speeds. United Parcel Service (UPS) and Fed Ex have become the first companies to order a variation on the technology for use on delivery vehicles scheduled to be on the road in 2011.  Parker is developing further advancements in this technology on advanced bus and terminal tractor platforms.  For additional information on the RunWise advanced series hybrid drive system visit http://parkerhybrid.parker.com

With annual sales of $10 billion in fiscal year 2010, Parker Hannifin is the world's leading diversified manufacturer of motion and control technologies and systems, providing precision-engineered solutions for a wide variety of mobile, industrial and aerospace markets. The company employs approximately 55,000 people in 46 countries around the world. Parker has increased its annual dividends paid to shareholders for 54 consecutive fiscal years, among the top five longest-running dividend-increase records in the S&P 500 index. For more information, visit the company's web site at http://www.parker.com, or its investor information web site at http://www.phstock.com.

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SOURCE Parker Hannifin Corporation