Dean Foods, one of the nation's largest food and beverage companies, will begin adding 64 medium- and heavy-duty trucks powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) and a fueling station at its Houston plant under a new agreement with Clean Energy Fuels Corp.

Dean Foods is introducing 57 Freightliner M2-112 straight trucks and seven Freightliner Cascadia over-the-road tractors powered by Cummins ISL-G and ISX12-G engines over the next few months. The trucks will be outfitted with Agility CNG fuel tanks.

Dean Foods set a goal in 2008 to reduce its distribution fleet's emissions by 50,000 metric tons by 2013 – a goal surpassed by the end of 2010. The goal was revised in 2012 to reduce distribution emissions 95,000 metric tons by 2020.

The company is adding the CNG fueling station to its Oak Farms Dairy plan in Houston. The staion, which is expected to be completed in the second half of 2015, can eventually be expanded to accommodate 120 CNG vehicles.

A grant covering a portion of the vehicle costs has been provided to Dean Foods under the Texas Natural Gas Vehicle Grant Program (TNGVGP), which is funded by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TECQ). Through this voluntary grant program, monies are provided to reduce nitrogen oxide emission by replacing older diesel engines with cleaner-burning natural gas engines.