Joe Montisano, C.E.O. of the Central Florida Zoo Plans for the Future

04/11/03 -- A HUGR CleanCut48 lawnmower was delivered to the Central Florida Zoo today.  Joe Montisano, the Zoo's C.E.O., was visibly enthusiastic: "We strive to create a green environment here at the zoo.  It isn't easy.  Besides recycling, the products we review are almost always cost prohibitive or burdensome.  As a non-profit organization, the bottom line is critical.  If it increases our costs it is difficult to afford.  So here comes HUGR.  They tell me they've got a mower that runs on waste vegetable oil.  The Zoo's concession stand generates a few gallons of waste fryer oil each week.  While it all seems a bit hard to believe, there it is on the convention floor, and the guy actually starts it.  It smells like French fries.  I'm interested, but immediately the dollar signs are starting to fly.  HUGR tells me it isn't any more expensive than a comparable gas mower.  Then they tell me it uses very little HUGR Fuel.  A lot less than a gas machine.  Suddenly it all comes together.  I can use the costs for weekly landscaping to purchase the mower and add in the savings from eliminating the waste oil disposal from the concession stand.  Efficiency at it's finest.  It's cost effective and closed loop recycling.  HUGR represents one of our first opportunities to go green without negatively impacting the budget.  Our waste oil gets converted to fuel and cuts the grass while reducing or eliminating most harmful fumes and by-products.  You just can't pass something like this up.  Now we are looking for other small gas engine applications that can be replaced with HUGR's technologies."