H&S Bakery, a Baltimore provider of hearth-baked goods, recently unveiled its fleet of clean-operating alternatively fueled vehicles.

“We want our customers and community to know that we are investing in them and working hard to meet our sustainability goals,” says Chuck Paterakis, vice president of transportation and logistics for H&S Baking. “With propane autogas, we’re doing just that with a domestically produced fuel that lowers emissions across our delivery area.”

Funded in part by a Maryland Clean Cities Coalition grant from the Maryland Energy Administration, the autogas fleet is expected to reduce carbon monoxide emissions by 60 percent, nitrogen oxide by 20 percent and greenhouse gases by up to 25 percent compared to gasoline. Over its lifetime, each of H&S Bakery’s ROUSH CleanTech Ford F-59 trucks will eliminate about 117,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions from the company’s carbon footprint.

The company has installed a private refueling station that includes an 18,000-gallon underground propane tank. The station is located outside of H&S Bakery’s new eco-friendly distribution center, which has achieved two Green Stars through the Baltimore City Green Building Standards.

“Propane autogas provides an economic, environmental and competitive advantage for America’s industry leaders like H&S Bakery,” says Todd Mouw, vice president of sales and marketing for ROUSH CleanTech, manufacturer of the autogas fuel system. “With the adoption of autogas, H&S reduces fuel and maintenance costs, and helps lessen Maryland’s reliance on imported oil.”

H&S Bakery, along with propane provider AmeriGas and ROUSH CleanTech, celebrated the clean fleet deployment at its facility with a key handoff, a refueling demonstration and a speech from Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

Over the next two years, H&S plans to operate about 10 percent of its current 600-vehicle fleet with propane autogas.