Author

Steve Relyea

Steve Relyea has written for B2B publications for more than 30 years. He has specialized in reporting on skilled trades, small businesses and entrepreneurs.

\n
  • Feature Articles

    Apps Boost Customer Convenience, Propane Marketer Efficiency

    When Proulx Oil & Propane (Newmarket, N.H.) saw that half their customers were doing business them over mobile phones, the company decided to make that contact even easier. The provider of propane, fuel oils, and equipment contacted the provider of its e-commerce system and invested in an app. In mid-June, the Proulx Oil & Propane Mobile App was officially launched. Now, with just a tap on their phone or tablet, customers can make payments, view their transaction history, order fuel, view delivery history, manage tank locations, see their current price plans, and request service. “We realized that our customers were increasingly looking to do business with us over their mobile phones and this application gave us an all-new way to get closer to them,” Maribeth...

    Read More →

  • Feature Articles

    Gas Fireplace Inserts: Quick Install, New Propane Usage

    Wood fireplaces are cozy, inviting, warm, captivating, and nostalgic. They’re also drafty, inefficient, inconvenient, and dirty to operate and maintain. Casey Harvey points this out and notes that it creates an opportunity for propane marketers to sell direct vent gas fireplace inserts. These offer the benefits of a wood fireplace without the drawbacks. As director of sales at Ray Murray Inc. (RMI; Lee, Mass.), Harvey has found that propane marketers who are already doing HVAC work are in an excellent position to add a gas fireplace insert to a job they’ve sold and will soon be doing. They can start the conversation with customers by asking what they like and don’t like about their existing wood fireplace. Then, explain the advantages of an insert. A...

    Read More →

  • Feature Articles

    Gas Logs: The Ambience Of A Wood Fire, Without Ash And Smoke

    For homeowners who are interested in a fireplace primarily for the beauty and ambience it provides, propane gas logs are an attractive option. Gas logs are cleaner and more convenient than a wood fire and more affordable than a fireplace insert. “A better way to enjoy the beauty of a wood fire is with a gas log, vented or vent free,” says Jerry Scott, senior vice president of RH Peterson Co. (City of Industry, Calif.). RH Peterson has been manufacturing gas logs in southern California since 1949. Gas logs are intended to be installed in an existing fireplace, replacing wood with ceramic objects in a variety of styles and a flame fueled by natural gas or propane. Compared to wood, they are cleaner and more...

    Read More →

  • Training

    Distributor Reacts To New Norms With Product Mix, Training

    Reacting to the changing needs of customers has never been more important than it has been in the last few months. For a company whose customers are contractors, the pandemic has brought about changes in both the products that are selling and the ways product training must be delivered. “Our priorities go where the customers are; we run to what people want,” says Ray Kazakewich, national LPG manager at R.E. Michel Co. (Glen Burnie, Md.), a wholesale distributor serving professional contractors. “It seems every week, we have to react to different norms—not just in business, but in everything—and that certainly translates into our business.” For one thing, he says, there has been a shift in demand of products. “The mix of products and inventory has...

    Read More →

  • Feature Articles

    Propane Gas Fireplaces Offer Contemporary Looks, Modern Features

    As people spend more time at home, many are browsing websites and looking for ways to upgrade their surroundings. So says Richard Constant, a product specialist at Bergquist Inc. (Toledo, Ohio), a wholesale propane equipment distributor. His areas of expertise include fireplace and gas hearth products as well as outdoor products. “With people staying at home, they are getting tired of looking at the same thing,” he says. “They are ready to update.” Many are choosing to update by modernizing their indoor fireplace. “It looks like we’re moving into a contemporary look and operation of the fireplace,” Constant reports. “There’s more emphasis on higher-end direct-vent fireplace inserts. People are also remodeling—tearing out the old brick-and-masonry units to gut and redo them.” A contemporary look generally...

    Read More →

  • Feature Articles

    NPGA Celebrates Industry’s Resilience, Announces Current Projects

    The industry’s resilience in coping with the pandemic and preparing for winter after unprecedented changes in upstream production, was the focus of the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) 2020 Annual Meeting & June Board Meeting. Speakers noted how propane marketers have adapted, how NPGA has assisted, and how some current projects will help the industry continue to respond. Held June 15, the event was, for the first time, a virtual meeting. Originally scheduled to be held in Washington, D.C., it was moved to a webinar format due to uncertainty around restrictions on large gatherings and travel. THE NEW REALITY Reflecting on the change, and on the many happenings during his year as NPGA chair, Randy Thompson said, “A year goes by quickly. Mine started with...

    Read More →

  • Beyond the Mains

    Beyond The Mains: Stay home, in comfort…

    When there’s trouble in the world, many people will seek to add comforts to their homes. The propane industry is well positioned to meet that demand by offering fireplaces, fire pits, cooking equipment, hot water heaters, and similar propane appliances. Casey Harvey has seen this in the past, and he is seeing it again during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is director of sales at Ray Murray Inc. (RMI; Lee, Mass.), a distributor of gas equipment and heating, hearth, and outdoor living products. “We are absolutely seeing an increase in interest in both outdoor kitchens and fireplace products as people stay home, improve their quality of life at home, and look for ways to feel comfortable,” he tells BPN. “Fireplaces and outdoor living are really comfort...

    Read More →

  • Feature Articles

    Propane Industry Advocacy Continues During COVID-19 Pandemic

    The pandemic has led to cancellations of travel and meetings, but the propane industry can and should continue to advocate for its interests in other ways. Four members of Congress delivered that message during webinars hosted by the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA), June 8-10. The webinars themselves were one way NPGA is carrying on its advocacy. Around the time members of the industry would normally have flown to Washington, D.C., for the annual Propane Days, the webinars allowed attendees to hear an industry advocate talk with the four representatives in a virtual forum. “As we heard from the representatives, if they don’t hear from us about our issues, they don’t know what they are,” Michael Baker, NPGA’s director, legislative affairs, told BPN after he...

    Read More →

  • Feature Articles

    New Cooperative Aims To Help Independents Across The Country

    Several years ago, Kris Magnusson ran into Ed, a family friend, who had started a flooring company more than 30 years earlier called Ed’s Flooring. Magnusson noticed it was now named Ed’s Flooring America. Ed explained that he had become a member-owner of Flooring America, a purchasing cooperative. He added that he now had access to more products and marketing, his purchases were aggregated with other independently owned flooring companies, and they had better buying power collectively. Magnusson, having grown up as the fourth generation of her family’s energy business in southern New Hampshire, had witnessed consolidation within the industry firsthand. Two years after this chance meeting, she co-founded a member-owned cooperative of local energy distributors. Launched in October 2019, it is named IDEAL Energy...

    Read More →

  • Feature Articles

    What’s New In Trucks And Transport Trailers?

    While much of the country has had to shut down during the pandemic, the propane industry and its trucks have kept rolling. The companies that build and service those trucks, too, have been busy refining existing products and adding new ones. Since the industry was not able to gather at spring trade shows this year to see the latest trucks and transport trailers firsthand, we asked several builders to share with BPN readers the options they are currently promoting. Several mentioned that one feature to be highlighted during these unusual times is product availability. Production of many of the chassis used to build propane trucks was halted for several weeks during the pandemic. As this was written, the plants of the chassis manufacturers had just...

    Read More →