Watch Mack Anthem trucks haul dry ice in new RoadLife 2.0 episode

The seventh episode of Mack Trucks' RoadLife 2.0 series features Reliant Holdings, Ltd., a supplier of liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) and dry ice to a variety of industries using the Mack Anthem model to safely and efficiently deliver its products. 

"My father bought some ranching property in New Mexico, and underneath that property was one of the largest naturally occurring sources of CO2 in the country," said Vance Vanderburg, chief operating officer, Reliant Holdings, Ltd. "Today, under the umbrella of Reliant Holdings, we have a number of profit centers that deliver CO2 products."

Reliant Holdings, founded in 1989, provides liquid CO2 to a wide range of industries, including restaurants and convenience stores for their beverage systems, and bulk quantities for food processing and beverage bottling plants. The company also provides CO2 to oil and gas well operators for use in enhanced oil recovery projects.

With oil and gas customers located across western Texas and eastern New Mexico, Reliant Holdings needed trucks that could withstand the unimproved roads commonly found in oil patches.

"Up to 95 percent of our trucks' lives can be on an unpaved road, and with our Mack trucks, it's unbelievable how much better they've done in that environment," Vanderburg said. "They hold up better, and you can bring one out of that environment, put it back on-highway and still get a useful life out of it."

Mack Anthem models come standard with Mack Road Stability Advantage by Bendix, a fully electronic stability control system designed to help mitigate the chances of a rollover or jackknife incident, and Bendix Wingman Fusion, a camera- and radar-based system that provides collision mitigation, adaptive cruise control and lane departure warning capabilities. 

"When we go to renew our insurance, and we tell them what kind of truck we're spec-ing out, we're going to get a discount," said Vanderburg. "If you spend a little more for safety equipment in a truck, it's going to pay you back."