Marc Manning was recently introduced as the CEO of Kodiak Technologies. Based on a featured partnership with Chang Robotics and design and engineering technology from Roush, Kodiak said Manning is leading the design, development, and market establishment of its American-made heavy-duty Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) for commercial and industrial snow removal unveiled at the recent 2024 Snow Symposium summit in Buffalo, NY.

Kodiak Technologies said it is in conversations with more than 35 U.S. airports interested in ordering and implementing the HEV that is anticipated to premiere in early 2025. Additional public and government locations and sectors are also anticipated to adopt this technology, which can be supported with federal and municipal incentives to assist in defraying the costs, according to Kodiak.

Manning brings more than 20 years’ experience as a consultant, public transit fleet engineering and acquisition, and product development manager at a Tier 1 automotive supplier, according to the company. As a consultant, Manning helped launch the Transportation Decarbonization practice for Jacobs. During this time, he led the business development and delivery of approximately $90M in zero-emission engineering services. Additionally, he helped to secure around $150M in grants for his clients.

Manning previously led transit bus engineering and acquisition at Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and Los Angeles Metro (LA Metro), where he supported the procurement of over $1 billion in transit buses with electric, CNG, and diesel powertrains, Kodiak said. He has contributed to the development of the APTA Bus Procurement Guidelines and the SAE3105 Charging standard. Prior to his work for public transit agencies, he also worked for nine years in product development for Cummins.

The creation with Roush is a platform design that Kodiak Technologies said it can use in the future to transfer to other vehicle types that require significant power output. For areas where MCS (Megawatt Charging Standard) infrastructure is unavailable, the design includes a series hybrid option for use with hydrogen, propane, biodiesel, or petro-diesel when required, Kodiak said.

The current and first Kodiak Technologies implementation is an FAA-compliant industrial snow blower vehicle capable of meeting the minimum FAA requirements to move 7,000 tons of snow per hour at operating speeds of 25MPH, the company said. The vehicles are eligible for federal grant programs, including the bipartisan infrastructure law (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).