Electric Garage Talk: King’s Transport Refrigeration — Leading the charge in sustainable cold storage solutions

by Timur Tufail | June 24, 2025

Overview
Founded in 2011, Pacific Van Liners LLC (DBA King’s Transport Refrigeration & Bus AC Services) is a family business headquartered on Oahu and run by Santos and Nikki Gomez. Over the years, it has grown into a specialized service provider for refrigerated transport equipment in Hawaii, covering Oahu, Kauai, and Hawaii Island (and soon Maui). Their expertise lies in servicing and upfitting refrigeration units on containers, trailers, vans, and box trucks that power Hawaii’s food distribution chain. In recent years, they’ve taken a bold step forward by embracing electric vehicle (EV) technology — a move that positions them as trailblazers in the transition toward sustainable logistics.

Background
Fleet electrification in Hawaii presents unique challenges: high upfront vehicle and EV related equipment costs, limited access to incentives, and a lack of widespread public charging infrastructure. These challenges are compounded by Hawaii’s relatively high land and labor costs, which can make electrification projects particularly expensive. Electric vans and trucks often cost significantly more than their diesel counterparts and installing the necessary charging stations for medium- and heavy-duty fleets can require expensive electrical upgrades and permitting. Despite these barriers, King’s Transport Refrigeration is pioneering efforts to adapt and innovate within this space.

After training for the 2022 Honolulu Marathon, Nikki and Santos noted that “it was six months of grueling training, but when we finished it, we wanted to take that lesson of expansion, growing, doing hard things and see if we could just start taking cargo vans, fitting them up, and selling them in the market.” Recognizing a need from customers who had challenges importing and maintaining refrigerated vehicles from the continental US, Nikki and Santos decided to become the local experts at upfitting vans with refrigeration. In fleet industry terms, “upfitting” refers to the process of customizing a vehicle — such as a van or truck — by adding specialized equipment or features (e.g., refrigeration) after it has been manufactured, in order to meet specific commercial or operational needs.

The EV Pilot: Upfitting an Electric Refrigerated Van
In 2024, King’s was approached by a local business with a strong commitment to sustainability. The customer purchased an all-electric Ford E-Transit van and asked King’s to install a custom refrigeration and insulation package. Since King’s had previously only worked on internal combustion engine (ICE) vans, the project marked new ground — not just for the company, but for Hawaii as well. Despite the novelty, the electrification process was seamless. “It was about as easy as it can get,” noted Santos. “In our field, electrical components are just simpler than mechanical ones. I’m hoping more customers get on board with this.”

Santos, who brings a strong technical background in electrical engineering, collaborated with counterparts in Southern California and consulted with existing EV refrigerated fleet operators to inform the design of the new electric refrigerated van and understand leading practices. “I reached out to Penske Truck Leasing to ask what was working, what wasn’t. That gave us a foundation.” After the upfit was completed, the vehicle exceeded performance expectations — cooling faster, running more smoothly, and doing it all with a far easier installation process than a traditional ICE van.

To maintain temperature and efficiency, King’s had to make the cargo area smaller and optimize insulation. The van used a dual-mode refrigeration unit that could operate from the EV’s battery or via a plug-in standby mode with a wall outlet. “It was very experimental,” Nikki recalled. “But it turned out to be a huge hit at the Hawaii Restaurant Association Food Service Expo.”

“Compared to a gas-powered setup, installation was actually way smoother,” Santos explained. “No extra refrigerant lines or complex wiring. The electric system made things simpler. In fact, the unit got colder faster than we’ve seen before.”

The team is now exploring ways to integrate auxiliary battery systems into future builds. “If we can give customers an eight-hour shift on a standalone refrigeration battery, without drawing on the vehicle battery, it’ll completely change the game,” he said.

Challenges and Learnings
Despite King’s success with the electrification job, challenges remain in the fleet industry. High upfront costs and a lack of trained vendors mean the EV transition is still in its infancy.

“You might be buying a unit that’s going through trial and error from the manufacturer,” Nikki said. “It’s about being okay with doing something hard and new. You will be paying more upfront.”

Santos added, “In our industry, most people don’t have EV experience. My advice? Keep asking questions until you find people who actually know what they’re doing.”

Looking Ahead
While King’s does not yet operate its own electric fleet, they’re seriously considering it — starting with personal EVs to gain comfort and experience.

“We’re all for supporting electrification as much as we can in our industry,” Nikki said. “If more customers come forward, we’ll be there to upfit and support them.”

Nikki noted that their recent E-Transit van customer had installed a charging station at its warehouse, but that most customers rely on public charging stations, including Hawaiian Electric’s DC fast chargers. For operators on a schedule with a lot of deliveries, time is a real constraint, and waiting in line at crowded chargers is not feasible.

The King’s team sees an opportunity for Hawaiian Electric and other partners to accelerate adoption by:

• Increasing public fast-charging infrastructure
• Engaging with commercial vehicle dealers to incentivize EV sales
• Educating and supporting small businesses on available rebates and incentives

“More public charging stations — that’s the one thing we hear again and again,” said Santos.

King’s Transport Refrigeration is doing more than just keeping Hawaii’s food cold — they’re proving that small, local businesses can lead big changes. With the right support, they are primed to be Hawaii’s go-to experts for electric refrigerated vehicles.

“We want customers to know we’re ready,” Nikki concluded. “Bring us your cargo vans. We want to make electrification real in Hawaii!”

Considering electrifying your fleet? Here are some resources to help get you started:

• 🚗 Explore Hawaiʻi’s Diesel Replacement Rebate
• 🔌 Apply for an EV Charging Station Incentive
• 💸 Learn about EV tax credits
• 🧭 New to EVs? Read Hawaiian Electric’s FAQs

Timur Tufail is an electrification of transportation senior program manager at Hawaiian Electric.