Ecolab Selects Ford Pro to Accelerate North American EV Fleet

Ecolab announced it has selected Ford Pro to accelerate the electrification of its sales and service fleet, targeting complete North American fleet electrification by 2030.

Electrification of Ecolab’s North American fleet begins in California with the conversion of its sales and service vehicles to EVs by 2025.

Ecolab will purchase and deploy more than 1,000 Ford F-150 Lightning Pro trucks and Mustang Mach-E SUVs, creating what is anticipated to be the largest all-electric sales and service fleet in California.

“Ecolab has worked closely with Ford Pro, our fleet management company, and other partners to validate the many use cases we have in our fleet," said Mike Hauge, Fleet Electrification Manager, Ecolab. "We will prioritize the best-fitting use cases first in this deployment and move to the more challenging use cases as we progress. We feel California is the perfect place to start accelerating our EV journey in part due to public charging infrastructure and a general familiarity with EVs, which we expect will help limit the changes needed in our operations.”

Ford Pro offers a full suite of charging and telematics software that Ecolab will use to help the business maximize vehicle performance and fleet productivity.

The move to EVs is a step in Ecolab’s efforts to achieve net-zero emissions globally by 2050.

“Ford and Ecolab have worked closely for almost 100 years, from water conservation at Ford now to electrification at Ecolab,” said Ted Cannis, Ford Pro CEO. “Together, we’re showing that sustainability is good for the bottom line and the environment.”

Ford and Ecolab have a business relationship dating back to 1925, including collaboration on reducing and reusing water in Ford manufacturing plants.

Today, Ecolab operates more than 10,000 light-duty vehicles in its North American fleet, 95% of which are Ford vehicles. During the past decade, Ecolab has purchased more than 31,000 Ford vehicles.

“Ecolab’s history is rich with collaboration between like-minded companies committed to sustainable business growth,” said Christophe Beck, chairman and CEO of Ecolab. “Ford and Ecolab have worked together for nearly a century, most recently to help conserve water and energy while improving business performance. This next phase of our relationship will help support Ecolab to move quickly and at scale with the goal of improving profits through renewable energy and EV solutions for the betterment of our employees, business, and the environment.”

Business, Environmental Benefits of Ecolab, Ford Pro Collaboration

In going electric, Ecolab estimates that it can lower overall costs, with internal financial models forecasting a lower total cost of ownership over the life of the vehicles compared to ICE vehicles. Ecolab can potentially save roughly 50% in annual fuel costs per 2023 F-150 Lightning Pro truck, a savings of approximately $1,400 in fuel per vehicle each year.

Once vehicles are deployed, Ecolab plans to use Ford Pro productivity software and service solutions to manage and maintain its California fleet.

Ford Pro productivity software and service solutions have been shown to help optimize fleet operations. In a Ford Pro survey of Sonoma County Winegrowers, respondents estimated that, on average, they could reduce their idling hours by 49%, their time spent tracking maintenance schedules by 37% and their time spent tracking fuel usage by 58% with a solution like Ford Pro Telematics.