New Company Brings New Technology to Tri-State

By: Zakk Gammon
March 29, 2012

"The days of black smoke from diesel trucks are pretty much over," said Tom Sensbach.

In a world of global warming, Blue Sky Heartlands is trying to clean the air. At the company's grand opening, leaders showed us how it works.

"The main process and quality control of this product is deionized water," said Blue Sky Heartlands Vice President, Robert Arbasetti.

It sounds confusing, but get past the scientific jargon, and what you basically get is a big, blue machine. It removes the hardness from water. When you mix that in with bags of urea, you have Diesel Exhaust Fluid, or DEF for short. It's essentially fertalizer... that goes in your car.

"The trick is it does help your fuel efficiency and just the sound of the engine and the performance of the vehicle itself is improved," Sensbach said.

Not only is this product supposed to control emissions from a diesel vehicle, you also get better gas mileage.
But it's not just a good idea for environmentalists; in 2010, the EPA made it law.

"So it just cleans the engine itself," he said.

All new diesel vehicles made after 2010 come standard with a tank for the DEF liquid. Tom Sensbach says it's inexpensive and can last in your car for several miles, meaning you don't have to fill it up often. It's already available in a lot of places. He says just check your local truck stop and even some gas stations.

So why choose Owensboro? Sensbach says the company's choice for a location was a no-brainer.

"Part of being green is not shipping your product over long distances," he said.

The company is separated into regions. Owensboro's new facility will cover seven states. That keeps more trucks off the road, therefore keeping the environment clean.
And not only is Blue Sky bringing cleaner air, but also a boost to the economy. Company officials are already talking about the future.

"Probably at that point, we'll probably be running 24 hours a day, five days a week."

That means about 15 new jobs in the area. The company isn't hiring just yet, but officials are accepting applications. To apply, visit www.blueskyeast.com