VALPARAISO, Ind. -- Family Express Corp. has unveiled plans to bring E85 to 20 communities throughout Northwest and North Central Indiana.
In an effort to complement the state's initiative to leverage its agricultural advantage by actively encouraging the building of ethanol plants, Family Express said it plans to expand consumer access to E85 by building numerous facilities throughout the northern part of the state. Family Express plans to initially make E85 available at 20 locations by the end of 2007.
Our commitment to providing [image-nocss] alternative fuel sources, said Gus Olympidis, president and CEO of the Valparaiso, Ind.-based chain, is based on the necessity for our country to fulfill its energy needs and our felt obligation to complement the State of Indiana's initiative to grow substantially our ethanol producing infrastructure.
E85 ethanol, a corn based product, is homegrown. A fuel that is 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline, it also holds the advantage of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Family Express is committed to being ready to serve its customers changing needs, as automakers continue to increase the types of vehicles available that can run on flex fuels like E85, it said.
Family Express applauds the State of Indiana's initiative to encourage retailers along its major highways to provide E85. Family Express, however, works to expand this initiative as it brings this new fuel to large and small towns throughout the northwest and north central parts of the state, it added.
Family Express's accelerated development of E85 facilities was recently completed at a location in Valparaiso and a location in Lafayette. Five more locations are scheduled to offer E85 within the next two months and within a year, 20 Family Express stores will be pumping this alternative fuel, said the company.
We are going to be deploying customer-friendly attractive facilities that will be deserving of our customers' confidence, Olympidis said. The most remarkable attribute of ethanol is that it is produced by folks near our community that are not hostile to our country and our treasured way of life. Things have changed irreversibly since Sept. 11, 2001, and it is long overdue that government and the private sector come together to make us all less dependent on foreign oil. E85 cannot do it alone, but I share the view that we could be reducing our dependence dramatically within a decade or so with a selfless commitment from the private sector and the correct public policy. We need nothing short of a Marshall Plan' like initiative to rapidly explore every single venue of alternative energy as we further deploy traditional energy sources and we need to aggressively conserve more at the same time.
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