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Published on January 4, 2008

The deal involves selling Omnitek's proprietary diesel-to-natural-gas engine-conversion kits and new natural-gas engines used to repower diesel lorries and buses.

US-based Omnitek Engineering will hold a 15-per-cent stake in the venture, the company said in a press statement.

Omnitek Engineering is a leader in the development of advanced engine technologies and emissions-control systems for internal-combustion engines burning petrol, diesel and alternative fuels like natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas and hydrogen.

In the statement, Omnitek Engineering said the joint venture would purchase conversion kits and new natural-gas engines from the US parent and sell them to fleet owners in Thailand.

Omnitek Engineering will offer training to allow fleets to convert their own diesel engines to natural gas in their own workshops.

"Previously, the vehicles had to be delivered to conversion workshops to perform the transformation from a diesel engine to a natural-gas engine. As a result of the limited workshops in Thailand, only a small number of vehicles could be converted every month," said Omnitek Engineering CEO Werner Funk.

"Allowing fleet-maintenance garages to perform their own conversions, assisted by technicians from Omnitek Thailand, will greatly accelerate the conversion process."

Omnitek estimates that with this arrangement, up to 5,000 engines can be converted each year. "Thailand is an important market for Omnitek," Funk said. "The low-interest-rate loans available to the fleet operators to repower trucks and buses or convert existing diesel engines to natural gas opens up a large market for Omnitek's technologies."

Thailand is a dynamic and rapidly expanding natural-gas-for-vehicle (NGV) market. Thailand's leading energy supplier, PTT, has been at the forefront of Thailand's NGV programmes. PTT is responsible for granting low-interest loans to fleet operators to fund conversion of diesel engines to natural gas or buy engines to repower vehicles.

Established in 2001, Omnitek Engineering seeks to find products to counter increasing oil prices, global warming and air pollution. Natural gas has emerged as a perfect solution to these challenges.

Diesel engines have been the backbone of the transportation industry. Valued for their power, fuel economy and durability, diesel-powered lorries and buses are used worldwide, but they are heavy polluters and contribute significantly to global warming. Omnitek has developed a system for converting any existing diesel engine to a clean-burning natural-gas one at a fraction of the cost of a new engine.

 The Nation