Ferguson, a North American distributor of plumbing and HVAC supplies; Holman, a global automotive services organization; and Electrada, an electric fuel solutions company, announced a fleet electrification pilot. According to a statement, this effort delivers a turnkey fleet management and electrification solution enabling Ferguson to deploy medium- and heavy-duty all-electric vehicles throughout California while streamlining the development of the necessary charging and energy management infrastructure.

“This electrification project supports Ferguson’s overall corporate sustainability strategy to reduce our carbon footprint, and through our position in the value chain, help build a better world,” explained Denise Vaughn, Ferguson’s Vice President of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG). “Fleet emissions account for a sizable portion of our Scope 1 emissions and future reductions require an accelerated conversion from medium- and heavy-duty fleet to electric vehicles. Electrada’s comprehensive solution positions us to gain rich learnings from this program and expand with scale as technology progresses.”

This new electrification program aligns with Ferguson’s overall corporate sustainability strategy as the company is committed to sustainable transportation and reducing the fleet’s carbon footprint. The scope of this phase is highlighted by the 30 Class 6 through 8 all-electric delivery trucks from Peterbilt and Freightliner integrated into Ferguson’s fleet in the months ahead.

The project also includes the charging infrastructure from Electrada to serve five depot locations across the company’s operating footprint in California.

Key to this electrification project is Holman and Electrada’s innovative strategic partnership that helps North American fleet operators accelerate, scale, and seamlessly integrate electric vehicles into their fleet mix. This collaboration with Ferguson is the first to leverage Holman and Electrada’s holistic electrification-as-a-service model, thus providing inclusive fleet management services along with electric fuel and infrastructure development, significantly streamlining fleet electrification and allowing organizations to scale their electrification programs expeditiously.

“With the electric vehicle segment evolving rapidly, discussions around integrating these units into the fleet mix have quickly moved past simply determining which model is the best fit. Today, stakeholders from across an organization – fleet, sustainability, operations, facilities, etc. – are all involved in the process,” said Emily Graham, Director of Sustainability, Holman. “As we approach potential electrification projects with our customers, it is a very consultative conversation, ensuring all the parties are aligned on the goals of the initiative. Throughout this collaborative effort with Ferguson, their intent was clear and it quickly became apparent that our partnership with Electrada could help them accelerate their goals.”

Together, Holman and Electrada offer fleet operators a comprehensive, fully capitalized (vehicle and charging infrastructure) fleet management and performance-guaranteed electrification solution that allows organizations to simplify their transition to electric vehicles. This unique approach to fleet electrification provides a predictably priced contract that eliminates the significant upfront capital investment and long-term energy cost risks that often prevent organizations from adopting a robust EV program.

“Electrada couldn’t be more thrilled to work with a company as forward-thinking about sustainable transportation as Ferguson. We’re making a long-term program investment commitment, providing and operating all of the infrastructure, while eliminating the fuel price and operational risk of Ferguson’s historic fleet transformation effort because that’s the core of what we do, that’s the essence of 360 Charging-as-a-Service,” said Kevin Kushman, CEO, Electrada. “We developed a deep understanding of Ferguson’s electrification needs based on their location-specific, real-world use cases. The solution not only provides the reliable electric fuel infrastructure that Ferguson needs to successfully accomplish their fleet electrification goals but will also reduce fuel cost per mile from day one versus fossil fuel.”

Construction of the depot-charging infrastructure is underway and Ferguson anticipates taking delivery of the initial all-electric trucks before the end of the year.  

Find out more about Holman's investments into electric vehicle tech, like AmpUp!