A company operating at the Port of Los Angeles announced Thursday that it was using a federal grant to replace 16 yard tractors with the cleanest cargo handling equipment available.
APM Terminals at Pier 400 also donated 12 of the outgoing yard tractors to auto mechanic training programs in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
“This is a great outcome on all fronts,” said Steven Trombley, managing director of APM Terminals, Los Angeles. “We’re running a cleaner terminal and doing our part to improve the air for those who live and work in the harbor area. At the same time, we’re supporting workforce training by providing students the equipment they need to prepare for high-skilled, good-paying jobs in the goods movement industry right here in Southern California.”
APMT said the Port of Los Angeles helped secure a $500,000 Diesel Emissions Reduction Act grant through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and that company also invested more than $1.5 million in the project.
“This project is a model of sustainability,” Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said. “We applaud APMT for its foresight, creativity and willingness to invest in green growth and education.”
APMT also sought and obtained EPA approval to donate the retired yard tractors to LAUSD, as DERA grants typically require outgoing equipment to be permanently disabled.
Eight went to Harbor Occupational Center in San Pedro, two to Bell High School, and two to Van Nuys High School.
“We were very excited and honored to get this equipment from APM Terminals,” said Principal Sonya Ramirez of Harbor Occupational Center, which specializes in adult education and career technical training. “Until now, our students have largely been working on older equipment.
These tractors with Tier 3 engines allow our students to graduate and enter the workforce with the advantage of hands-on experience with the type of equipment they will actually see on the job.”
The new tractors are built with the cleanest available technology compliant with Tier 4 final diesel engine standards established in 2014, APMT said.