Women In Propane: Celebrating 25 Years of Service to Clients and Communities

All Julie Kraus’ husband, Mike, wanted was help with a hose for his propane grill. When the propane companies in their area, Elko, Nev., were unresponsive, the two considered the possibility of starting their own propane company.

It was 1992 — the couple had moved from Wyoming in the late 1980s to take jobs at Newmont Gold Co., one of the world’s largest gold producers. She worked in human resources; he was in the mine maintenance department. Although they had no experience in the propane business, the couple spent more than a year researching the industry before launching Western States Propane 25 years ago.

Today, the company not only provides services to rural areas in the Elko area, but most of Northern Nevada from its four bulk plants, including locations in Winnemucca and Battle Mountain, Nev., and Riverton, Wyo.

“I’ll be honest, we really had no idea of the complexities of running a propane company,” she said, laughing.

“We did as much research as we possibly could, which was not as easy back then as it is today. As time went by, we were fortunate to meet mentors who helped us. That’s one thing I love about the propane industry: even though it’s competitive, people help each other out. It’s a family industry. It’s something we never take for granted.”

“Being naïve in the beginning was much more of a benefit,” she added, explaining how starting the company was much harder than they had originally thought. “Our drive was to take care of people, and that is what still keeps us going today.”

When they started Western States Propane, the couple had two daughters (they now have three), the youngest of whom was 9 months old, and no immediate family in the area. “We went through a lot of tough times in the beginning. Mike and I are a very strong team in family and in business.

“When we first started, I wrote myself a note: ‘Why?’ The ‘why’ was I wanted to be able to raise my family without missing the important stuff,” she said. “I wanted flexibility. I didn’t want to miss school programs, parent-teacher conferences, or anything the girls were involved in.”

The trade-off was having to work at 3 a.m. She and Mike, who just celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary, always tried to have a family dinner and put the kids to bed before one of them usually went back to work. “As a team, we did make it work, and I’m really proud of that. And, I got a great opportunity to be involved in a great business and industry.”

When they were raising their family, they had a rule — try to leave business at work. She found a balance between business and family, and even now when she is traveling, she makes an effort to be home on Fridays. “I’m selfish about my weekends with my family,” she said.

“We’ve made every mistake possible. I’m grateful for them now,” she commented. “Some mistakes were costly, but we learned every time.”

Western States began by providing propane to residential customers; services were added as the company grew—industrial, mining, agricultural, and commercial. It now has a large and growing client base, approximately 5000, with the largest percentage being residential customers.

With about 20 employees, including her three daughters, plus part-time and seasonal help, “we take care of our clients,” she said, adding that Western States Propane strives for efficiency.

“Overall, challenges we face are other energies—natural gas expansion, electricity.” The company continues to embrace the positives for propane and is very involved in the propane industry. Regulation is another ongoing challenge.

Taking care of their clients and the communities they serve continues to drive the couple. “It is our culture as a company. Our team takes responsibility, and we are all committed to taking care of clients. Finding key team members is extremely important to the continued success of the company.”

In Elko last year, for example, Western States Propane spearheaded a fundraising campaign for Hunger Is, a program designed by Communities In Schools providing food for children in the community. “We were able to raise money to donate 1700 meals for kids during the holidays. We were pleased to be joined by other companies, and appreciated their involvement in this important effort. It was a great way to promote awareness,” Julie said.

After a severe fire season in Elko and surrounding areas, the company also made a donation of $9000 to the Spring Creek Volunteer Fire Department for safety equipment.

“Once you start looking for those opportunities, you find them,” she said. “We’ve tried over the years to hone in on opportunities that really affect people and positively impact the communities in which we have the honor of serving.”

—Karen Massman VanAsdale

(April 2018)