When Dan Overpeck of Overpeck Gas (Marshall, Ind.) recently heard fellow propane retailers saying wholesale suppliers didn’t take care of them during the past winter, he responded by saying that wholesale suppliers don’t see it as their responsibility in many instances to take care of the retail propane marketer, especially those who take most of their propane deliveries in the winter. “I determined that we as retailers are sadly mistaken if we think we are always the highest priority for the wholesale providers,” he said. “If a cavalry is coming to save us from supply shortages, the cavalry is us!” These days, Overpeck and his fellow family stockholders are feeling they have “peace of mind” after adding 390,000 gallons of additional storage space to the...

In September 2017, as BPN’s cover story about Puerto Rico’s Empire Gas celebrating its 50th anniversary was hitting mailboxes, a major news story that would dramatically affect Empire Gas and the entire island of Puerto Rico (for months and years to come) was unfolding on the island. Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico head-on with deadly force unleashing a fury of death and destruction that left the island devastated. Most of Puerto Rico was without power, homes were destroyed, and key cities were severely flooded. The island was for the time anything but the “Island Paradise” depicted in the photo taken weeks earlier that appeared on the cover of the September 2017 issue of BPN. Nonetheless, the strength and resilience of Puerto Ricans comprise the next...

(September 2018) — There are plenty of statistics to demonstrate the inroads propane buses are making in transporting schoolchildren to and from school. Over 15,000 propane school buses are now on the road, nearly a million students ride a propane school bus daily, more than 800 school districts across the U.S. use propane buses, 530.4 million gallons of petroleum have been displaced by propane, and 400 service locations exist across the country. ROUSH CleanTech (Livonia, Mich.) has been a key player in making those statistics a reality. “Propane is going to be the lead horse for the next decade,” said Todd Mouw, president of Roush CleanTech. “Propane is usually the best solution for school districts as well as many companies we talk to when it...

After holding various positions at Ferrellgas over the past 20 years, most recently as vice president of safety, as well as numerous leadership roles in the propane industry, Randy Warner has been appointed by the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) to lead workforce development efforts in the propane industry. As an independent contractor for PERC, he will work closely with the council and the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA), in addition to many more stakeholders in the industry, to improve workforce development efforts. Warner formed his own company, Warner C3H8 Consulting LLC, in April to provide safety, training, and operations consulting. “There are four key functions in workforce development,” Warner said. “Recruitment; onboarding; training and certification; and retention are all vital to a strong...

Since 2005, propane industry members have been participating in Propane Days around June each year. Built on the principle of awareness, the goal continues to be to elevate the stature of the industry so that propane is not just lumped in with a variety of other fuels. In the past, “fly-ins” were sometimes held to stop specific legislation that was considered damaging to the industry. The concept of Propane Days was to present a more proactive approach by staying in touch with legislators even when issues aren’t as pressing. “We really have a ‘1-2-3 Punch’ in opening lines of communication,” said Aaron DeWeese, executive director of the Illinois Propane Gas Association . “Propane Days is our high-profile event, but we also have NPGA staff in...

Growing residential load by boosting the number of propane customers who also heat their water with propane can be beneficial to a retail propane company. Several industry leaders with experience growing gallons by adding water heaters spoke at a breakout session at the 2018 National Propane Gas Association’s Southeastern Convention & International Propane Expo in Atlanta. Mike Peacock, director of energy sales at Rinnai North America, moderated the session. He was joined by Mark Jaynes, central procurement director at Blossman Gas; John Jessup, president & CEO of the North Carolina Propane Gas Association (NCPGA); and Jeff Stewart, president of Blue Star Gas. The panel discussed Dead River Co. in the Northeast U.S., where Jeff Roth, director of sales, and the company’s staff recognize the same...

Under most state governments there is an agency that regulates the LP-gas industry. A few states, such as Arkansas, have an LP-gas board that is fully funded by propane industry members through fees, licenses, and fines. A couple of years ago, Kevin Pfalser became only the third director of the Arkansas LP-Gas Board since its founding in 1957. Prior to Pfalser’s hiring, Sharon Coates had led the board since 1980. Previously an inspector, she was the first woman director of an LP-gas board in the U.S. The first Arkansas director was Harry Burns, previously a leader of the Boiler Board, a panel that regulated propane along with butane until the state’s LP-gas board was formed specifically for propane by the Arkansas Legislature in 1957. According...