Equipment
Tucson Rail Terminal Construction Completed
NRG Rail LLC (Tucson, Ariz.) has built a much-needed rail terminal that will serve surrounding areas.
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Safety
Ski Resorts Rely On Propane For Warmth, Safety During Pandemic
Bruce Whitney, executive director of the New York Propane Gas Association, developed an appreciation for propane at a young age. Back then, it wasn’t about all of the ways propane benefits his association members throughout New York these days. “As a teenager, I worked on Ski Patrol and at the lift house at the top of the mountain at a small but very steep ski area in Vermont called Dutch Hill,” he explained. “When the propane ran out to heat the tiny shack that housed the person responsible for the T-Bar lift, my job at that 4- by 6-foot uninsulated hut got colder and colder.” Whitney was at the mercy of another member of the ski area team to get a 100-lb tank of propane. “That... -
Public Policy
Increasing Uses And Users Amid “Electrify Everything” Challenge
Regardless of whether the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) meets virtually or in person, the 800-pound gorilla known as the “electrify everything movement” does not sit unnoticed for long. Once again, PERC met virtually on Nov. 10 due to the coronavirus to review and continue progress on the 2020-2022 Strategic Plan, which includes: • Increase Propane’s Voice in the National Energy Conversation; • Grow the Autogas Market Through Industry Adoption; • Create Market Growth Opportunities; and • Develop Skilled Workforce and Trade Allies Through Safety and Technical Training A top item on the agenda was a report from the Environmental Task Force, which has two representatives from PERC and two from the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA), to discuss messaging strategy to challenge electricity. “The ‘electrify everything movement’... -
Feature Articles
Propane Cylinder Requalification Changes And Clarification Update
On Oct. 30, 2020, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) of the Department of Transportation (DOT) published a final rule announcing its approval of the National Propane Gas Association’s (NPGA) petition on the requalification of DOT-specification cylinders by hydrostatic testing, also known as volumetric expansion testing method. In 2017, PHMSA changed the requalification period for the hydrostatic and proof pressure testing methods without providing any rationale or substantiation for the changes or addressing them in any form as required by the Administrative Procedures Act, according to Sarah Reboli, NPGA’s senior counsel, regulatory and industry affairs. “NPGA engaged PHMSA immediately because the altered requalification periods negatively impacted millions of propane cylinders in the marketplace, and the change was without any safety basis,” Reboli said.... -
Feature Articles
Look Ahead To 2021: State Associations, PERC Review 2020
Like everyone else, state propane gas associations have dealt with a lot of COVID-19-related challenges this year. These challenges just added to those they had seen on their radar for a longer period of time such as the “electrify everything” movement, workforce development for the propane industry, and finding more ways to increase propane sales across the United States. COVID-19 CHANGES THE LANDSCAPE “MPGA ( Missouri Propane Gas Association ) and MOPERC ( Missouri Propane Education and Research Council ) replaced in-person meetings with video conferencing or conference calls,” said Steve Ahrens, president/CEO of MPGA and MOPERC. “We plan to continue with online board meetings in the future, with a couple of exceptions, as it saves travel time for our volunteer leadership, some of whom... -
Feature Articles
The Important Role Of Customer Service Representatives
“There are some in propane who believe that training only needs to be given to people who handle propane, but what about people who handle people?” In the June webinar series hosted by Virtual Propane Expo (VPE), Paula Laney, director of safety for Energy Distribution Partners (EDP; Chicago), discussed the important role customer service representatives (CSRs) play in the propane industry. Her webinar was titled, “5 Critical CSR Mistakes Every Propane Company Makes and How to Fix It.” Laney listed five common mistakes a CSR can make: Making assumptions about the caller’s situation before getting all the facts. Failing to treat an emergency or priority call as an emergency. Not remaining calm during emergency calls and not delivering the necessary and complete safety message to... -
Marketing
Marketing In New Normal: Meeting Needs Of Today’s Propane Customers
For the past several years, the “new normal” in marketing has centered around digital communications and new opportunities presented by technology, especially with the dawn of smartphone use, to communicate with customers. In the year 2020, the availability of digital marketing brought a lot of new adopters as COVID-19 became a threat to people around the world. “Suddenly, my father, who was used to ordering food by phone to pick up, was using DoorDash to order and pay for food with contactless delivery,” said Gary Corbett of Warm Thoughts Communications. Corbett presented a webinar titled “Marketing in the New Normal” during the Virtual Propane Expo in late June. “For those who were behind in technology usage, the pandemic presented real benefits to getting caught up... -
Feature Articles
Blind Ad Leads Dixon To Propane Career And PERC Chairmanship
Daniel Dixon responded to a blind ad placed by a headhunter for a financial consultant position in 1997 while living in Kansas City. He had no idea the industry was propane and the company was Propane Resources (Mission, Kan.). “Turned out to be a great opportunity for me at the time and I have loved the propane industry ever since,” Dixon said, speaking to BPN about his new role as chairman of the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC). “The industry is full of great companies, people, and principles. I’ve been fortunate to meet people from all over the country in my time at Propane Resources and AmeriGas.” Having earned an undergraduate degree in accounting and an MBA, Dixon first applied his financial background in... -
Feature Articles
Navigating The Challenges Of COVID-19, Winter 2020-21
Chris Caywood, owner and president of Caywood Propane Gas, Inc. (Albion, Coldwater, and Hudson, Mich.) was attending an NBA basketball game with National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) Benchmarking colleagues last March in Texas when a notice he saw on his cell phone told him that the basketball season was coming to an abrupt halt. A player on another NBA team had tested positive for the coronavirus. The game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Denver Nuggets continued to its completion and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was caught on television at the game learning about the suspension of the season on his cell phone just as Caywood had. “I told my benchmarking colleagues that we were attending the last basketball game of the year,” Caywood later...
