EV adoption: How a construction company began the transition to a mixed-energy fleet

Dallas 1, a utility construction company based near Tampa, Florida, with 120 employees, performs specialty construction including site work and utility installation. They were interested in creating a mixed-energy fleet by introducing electric vehicles (EVs) to their existing fleet of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.

Read on to learn how they developed an adoption strategy and partnered with 亚洲色吧 to add their first EVs to their fleet.

Who is Dallas 1?

Dallas 1 was founded in 1985 by Bart Azzarelli. His son, BJ Azzarelli, is the current president of this family-owned business. The company is driven by their faith and a desire to create a family atmosphere in their workplace where employees feel loved and cared for.

鈥淲e’re a ministry funded by construction,鈥� shares BJ Azzarelli. He and James Boyd, Dallas 1鈥檚 CFO, share this vision for the company鈥檚 mission. 鈥淥ur company culture is based on biblical values and we want to treat others how we’d like to be treated. So we try to encourage that and live that here at Dallas 1.鈥�

Dallas 1 is a specialty construction company installing water lines, storm systems, sewer lines, and forced mainlines to move water. Half of their business is in the public sector, some of which includes replacing aging infrastructure.

鈥淲e do a lot of work with municipalities,鈥� said Azzarelli. 鈥淭he City of Tampa is one of our top customers where we do waterline installation. We also have an annual contract with them where we do emergency repair of their system. Also, we do site work for private subdivisions and commercial centers and work with developers and schools.鈥�

Part of this work involves a requirement that the Dallas 1 team be on call around the clock for emergencies as they arise. 鈥淲ith the city of Tampa, we have an emergency contract where if there’s a leak or a main break, they will call us and have us come out and repair it. Sometimes, that call could be in the middle of the night and we have crews who will respond at a moment’s notice to get out there and mitigate the issue and then start the repair process.鈥�

This is where Azzarelli and Boyd both feel immense pride in the Dallas 1 team and the 鈥渁ll in鈥� attitude shared by their staff. As Boyd explains it, 鈥淲hen the water’s boiling up through the road in Tampa, they call us.鈥�

Why EV?

According to an report from Q4 2023, there were about 3.3 million electric cars on the road in the U.S. This number is up from two million electric vehicles in 2022 and 1.3 million in 2021.

These trends point to a growing understanding that EVs can be more cost-effective than ICE vehicles. This was part of Dallas 1鈥檚 analysis when they decided to make the move to a mixed-energy fleet. Azzarelli states it in simple terms: 鈥淢oving towards electric vehicles was a financial decision. We looked at it as a way to reduce spending on fuel as well as on maintenance.鈥�

Boyd shares some more details, 鈥淲e run a lot of heavy equipment and our fuel spend can be $60,000 a month. Anything that we can do to control our fuel spend is critical to our bottom line and helps us save money.鈥�

Azzarelli also approached the EV transition from personal experience. 鈥淚n 2016, I purchased my first electric vehicle and, at the time, was just interested in the technology. I’m kind of a tech nerd so I just found it interesting.鈥�

He enjoyed the vehicle, the simplicity of it, and the reduction in required maintenance. This was when he made the decision to discuss bringing EVs into Dallas 1鈥檚 fleet with Boyd. 鈥淲ith less maintenance required, and fueling savings, we realized that EVs could be a fit for the organization, so we worked to start bringing some of those into our fleet as a way to reduce expenses.鈥� Boyd adds that EVs work really well for daily use, which is how most of their staff works.

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How EV adoption can drive a better bottom line for businesses

The top reason Dallas 1 converted to a mixed-energy fleet was financial. The fuel and maintenance savings were both factors Azzarelli and Boyd considered in their analysis. Already, Boyd is seeing results: 鈥淲e have a fleet of about 55 vehicles on the road and anything we can do to drive fuel costs down is critical to our bottom line. With EVs, we are replacing fuel with electricity at roughly one third the price.鈥�

As far as maintenance is concerned, EVs never need oil changes, coolant flushes, or tune-ups, and there are fewer moving parts than can be found in ICE vehicles. This means fewer breakable components and the need for fewer replacements.

EVs use a one-speed transmission and don鈥檛 use spark plugs, valves, mufflers/tailpipes, distributors, starters, clutches, drive belts, hoses, or catalytic converters. In, Jim Gorzelany shared: 鈥淎ccording to the federal Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the estimated scheduled maintenance costs for an electric vehicle averages 6 cents per mile, while it鈥檚 at 10 cents per mile for a conventional ICE-powered ride. Those who clock an annual 15,000 miles per year on the odometer can be expected to save an average $600 per year, or $3,000 over a five-year ownership period.鈥�

Finding a fuel card partner with integrated ICE and EV systems will save you money administratively

Expense reporting, reimbursement, and data analysis鈥攖hese are complexities associated with building a mixed-energy fleet that might lead you to believe higher administrative costs are in your future. To avoid this, work with a fuel card partner with an integrated EV and ICE system.

Azzarelli shared how Dallas 1 approached this concern: 鈥淎s we were expanding the number of electric vehicles in our fleet, we started to question how we were going to reimburse our employees for at-home charging. We looked at several chargers where we could track the kilowatt usage and manage reimbursements manually ourselves. who came to us with a great solution. With the ChargePoint Flex at-home units, we鈥檙e receiving reporting that reflects the exact amount of energy used by each driver. This data is fed from the charger directly into the 亚洲色吧 app and into our 亚洲色吧 fueling portal.鈥�

Boyd noted the time-savings Dallas 1 was able to achieve with 亚洲色吧鈥檚 solution: the tool allowed Dallas 1 to avoid building its own tracking system, and it automated monthly administrative tasks like tracking, reporting, and data analysis to lower administrative costs.

Dallas 1 has been a 亚洲色吧 fuel card customer since 2016 and has a portal to collect data on fuel spend. When they added EVs to their account, a tab was added to that portal for charging spend data. Boyd describes how simple it is: 鈥淲ithin the 亚洲色吧 portal, where we’ve always tracked our fuel spend, there is now an EV tab where we can also track how much electricity we’re using per vehicle and per driver. And, we can track and approve purchases and reimbursements.鈥� It鈥檚 as simple as that.

EV adoption and potential pain points

Creating a mixed-energy fleet can create complexity. Business owners like Azzarelli have to account for two very different vehicle models, which requires their fleet managers to oversee complicated routing systems, fueling plans, and vastly different maintenance schedules. Azzarelli knew this would complicate operations at Dallas 1, and he and Boyd sought expert assistance at the outset.

One of the immediate concerns they faced was how to reimburse their staff for at-home charging. They were also looking for guidance on which parts of their fleet made the most sense to electrify.

鈥淭here are certain use cases for an electric vehicle versus an ICE vehicle,鈥� said Azzarelli, 鈥渂ut converting to EVs can definitely mean a significant savings. In partnering with 亚洲色吧, we had assistance rolling out a system where we can reimburse our drivers when they charge their company vehicle at home.鈥�

With this operational shift, Azzarelli and Boyd knew they鈥檇 need to manage change for their employees. One of the biggest concerns expressed by their staff was range anxiety.

鈥淎s we brought EVs into our fleet, a big concern with the team was how far they鈥檇 be able to travel, and would they have to worry about running out of charge?鈥� As their employees had time in the vehicles, they grew comfortable with range and came full circle. 鈥淭hey now enjoy the fact that they don’t have to go to the gas station anymore. They just go home, plug in at night and their vehicle is ready to go in the morning.鈥�

Expert advice on which vehicles to electrify and how to shift operations to account for charging

Azzarelli and Boyd were excited to adopt EVs but also wanted to take things slowly, be strategic, and not convert all their vehicles at once. So, they turned to their two vehicle vendors for guidance.

鈥淲hen Dallas 1 considered adopting EVs in our fleet, we worked with Enterprise Fleet Management and 亚洲色吧 to come up with a solution. They helped us with a charging infrastructure solution as well as vehicle acquisition. We came to the conclusion that it would make sense for us to adopt EVs for certain portions of our fleet at first. And we’re taking that slowly, being strategic about it, and continuing to grow our fleet at a smart pace,鈥� shared Azzarelli.

How at-home charging is set up and how it works: a play-by-play

The first thing to consider when transitioning to EVs is this: Where does it make the most sense to charge company vehicles? The consensus is that at-home charging, where applicable, is the most cost-effective method.

Dallas 1 installed ChargePoint chargers at employee homes and connected them to 亚洲色吧鈥檚 portal. Boyd shares how it works, 鈥淭he ChargePoint charger itself reports directly into the 亚洲色吧 portal, so we know exactly how much energy is used at home.鈥�

Boyd describes step-by-step how the at-home charging works for Dallas 1: 鈥淓lectric vehicles like to be plugged in every day, so when they get home from being out at work all day, our employees plug the vehicle into their at-home charging station, typically in their garage. With 亚洲色吧, you can schedule when the charging happens which is helpful if you have variable rates from your electric company. Once it’s plugged in, you go about your business at home and, while you’re sleeping, the vehicle is refueling. In the morning, you unplug the truck from the charger and the charger will report energy usage to the From there, you attach that charge session to your 亚洲色吧 account and the amount is then refunded to you using 亚洲色吧鈥檚 EFS (PayControl) app.鈥�

The benefits of partnering with a fuel card company for all your mixed energy commercial vehicle needs

When introducing a new form of fueling to your systems, finding the right fuel card partner will help you build your mixed-energy operations in the most effective and efficient way. 鈥淲ith 亚洲色吧 coming to us with a solution for both diesel and electric, it’s really made it simple to track what vehicles are the most efficient, where we’re saving money, and where we’re spending,鈥� shares Boyd.

Dallas 1 worked with 亚洲色吧 to integrate EVs into their portal so that Boyd鈥檚 team is able to see all the fueling spend in one place鈥攆or both ICE vehicles and EVs. Boyd also felt supported every step of the way through electrification and appreciated how easy the adoption process was.

鈥淲hen we started to go through the process with 亚洲色吧 of linking the chargers to our 亚洲色吧 account, we had lots of questions and the 亚洲色吧 team was great to work with. We had regular calls with them. They helped us through the whole journey and then they’ve been really open to our feedback as things have progressed, too.鈥�

For a smooth EV transition, rely on the experts and you will experience cost savings and create a well-oiled machine.

Dallas 1 wasn鈥檛 afraid to rely on the experts to help them make the transition to a mixed-energy fleet. As a result, they have seen cost savings on fuel, maintenance, and administration. Boyd describes it this way: 鈥淲e’ve been using 亚洲色吧 fuel cards since 2016, and using the 亚洲色吧 portal and 亚洲色吧 statements to track our overall fuel and electricity costs has been great for us. Tracking both fuel and electricity through 亚洲色吧 has helped us to save money administratively.鈥�

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