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Feature Articles

In-depth feature stories examining the trends, challenges and innovations shaping the propane and LPG industry.

  • Workers’ Compensation Dilemmas For Propane Marketers

    (July 8, 2020) — An article in the June 2020 issue of BPN, “Workers’ Compensation Dilemmas” by Frank Thompson, provided an example of an employee doing clerical or outside salesperson’s duties along with filling propane bottles. It stated that if the propane marketer kept Verifiable Time Records, an independent workers’ compensation (WC) auditor would be allowed to utilize a lower WC code for the majority of the employee’s payroll. The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) reports that this would not be allowed: “Whether or not separate verifiable records for time spent in the office vs. time filling propane tanks were kept, a division of payroll would still not be allowed per NCCI Basic Manual Rule 2-G. The employee would be assigned to the appropriate…
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  • Part II: The Propane Industry’s 30 Under 30 Leaders

    Thirty young propane professionals, who were nominated by others in the industry, have been selected as Charter Members of the Young Gassers’ 30 Under 30 Program. Each of these young adults will receive a variety of assignments, perks, and recognition within the propane industry for their participation. This is the inaugural year of the 30 Under 30 Program. Created by the International Association of Young Gassers in conjunction with the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) and the Canadian Propane Association (CPA), the program is meant in invest in, engage, and encourage young professionals working for companies directly involved in the propane gas industry. Following is a brief description, as provided to BPN, of 15 inaugural members of 30 Under 30. The previous 15 young leaders…
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  • Eastern Propane & Oil’s Denis Gagne Sworn In As NPGA Chairman

    (Rochester, NH) On June 15, 2020 — Denis Gagne, Senior Vice President of Supply & Acquisitions at Eastern Propane & Oil, was sworn in as the new Chairman of the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA). The NPGA is the national trade association representing the U.S. propane industry. Its membership includes small businesses and large corporations engaged in the distribution and servicing of propane gas and related equipment. Its mission is to promote and support the use of propane as a low carbon, reliable, resilient, and abundant source of energy to meet the needs of households and businesses in the United States. Denis has a lifetime of experience in the propane industry having worked in his family’s propane business, Gagne’s Bottled Gas. Denis joined Eastern in…
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  • Industry Veterans Band Together To Present Virtual Propane Expo

    As the coronavirus shuttered all possibilities for industry members to physically attend the popular annual trade shows and expos this spring, industry members banded together with alternative ideas to address the situation. On what would have been the final day of the NPGA Expo in Nashville, a group of industry veterans announced plans for a day of virtual expo activities on April 29. Similar to the Energize 2020 Conference, a full day of seminars that was held earlier in the month, the Virtual Propane Expo (VPE) included the day of webinars with a virtual trade show added to the mix. A website at www.virtualpropaneexpo.com is now the hub of VPE. The group plans to host a similar event monthly near the end of the month….
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  • Future Of Renewable Propane Autogas Showcased In New Video

    WASHINGTON (June 15, 2020) – In an effort to showcase the zero-emissions outlook of propane autogas, the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) unveiled a new video highlighting renewable propane: the energy source for fleets now and into the future. “As the next generation of sustainability, renewable propane is an energy source that will play a critical role in caring for the environment,” said Steve Whaley, director of autogas business development at PERC. “Renewable propane has all the benefits of conventional propane autogas – it’s clean, affordable, and provides fleets with the same performance and reliability they’ve come to expect – but at the point of combustion, it’s carbon neutral.” Renewable propane is a byproduct of the renewable diesel and jet fuel production process, which…
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  • NPGA Adds COVID-19 To Propane Industry Priorities

    At the beginning of 2020, BPN spoke with the National Propane Gas Association ’s (NPGA) Jeff Petrash, vice president and general counsel, and deputy counsel regulatory affairs, Sarah Reboli, about the coming decade. Midwest propane supply issues had consumed their time in late 2019. “Electrification will be a big issue for a number of years ahead for NPGA,” Petrash told BPN in January. Other issues discussed included a plan to go back to FERC in June to address how index pricing is set for liquids shipped on pipelines; natural gas expansion issues brewing in Utah and Iowa; and new requirements from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). With the spread of COVID-19, addressing the pandemic and its many challenges while still focusing on all…
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  • Key Data Helps Propane Marketer Make Improvements, Achieve Goals

    What key numbers should retail propane marketers be reviewing? What is the importance of tracking key numbers in running a retail propane business? As discussed in the January issue of BPN, for each marketer, the key numbers will be different depending on the goals and objectives of the business. Recently BPN followed up with Chris Caywood, president of Caywood Propane Gas Inc. (Albion, Coldwater, and Hudson, Mich.), who has updated his list of key numbers he tracks based on the continued refining of goals and objectives for his business. “If it is an important area of the business, we want to measure our progress. We measure and evaluate strategic and business data,” Caywood said. “All of it helps us identify and prioritize opportunities for improvement…
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  • Propane With A Village Touch

    From September to April, the best time to catch Steve Frey, owner of Frey’s Propane in Stapleton, Neb., is from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., Monday through Saturday. If you miss him, he’s either filling up his 3000-gal. propane delivery truck at his 18,000-gal. bulk plant or making a delivery. Unless it’s the noon hour, which means he and Cindy, his wife, business partner, and only other employee, will be religiously taking an hour break for lunch. Sunday is his day off. As the number of family-owned propane marketers dwindles, Frey’s Propane continues to serve the small village in mid-Nebraska and surrounding areas in the same way it has since 1979. “I have very loyal customers. I haven’t really had to change how I do…
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  • Virtual Propane Conference Maximizes Learning Opportunities

    (June 9, 2020) — What do you do when a virus pandemic cancels your premier industry event of the year? As an industry, we faced that challenge with the cancellation of the annual NPGA (National Propane Gas Association) Expo scheduled for April 6-8 in Nashville. Chris Brablc, senior director of marketing for Tank Utility (Boston), didn’t have to think too long for a solution. He reached out to Brian Weit, manager of marketing at Cargas Energy (Lancaster, Pa.), among others, to see if there was interest in helping to put together a virtual conference. “As it turned out, others were thinking the same thing,” Brablc said. “We were moving in that direction,” Weit told BPN. “Chris was just a few days ahead of us.” Brablc…
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  • 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…
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  • Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Extension & Increased Flexibility Legislation Moves Forward

    (June 5, 2020) — This morning, President Trump signed H.R. 7010, Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (PPPFA), which will increase the program’s flexibility and increase access for small businesses. Congress approved the bill on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis with the House voting in favor 417-1. The Senate quickly followed suit, passing the bill under unanimous consent on Wednesday evening. The PPPFA makes several modifications to the program, including: A 6-month extension, moving the end date of the program from June 30, 2020, to December 31, 2020. An increase in the forgiveness window for expenses from 8 weeks to 24 weeks and extension of the rehiring deadline. An increase in the current limitation on nonpayroll expenses, like rent and utility payments, for loan forgiveness from 25…
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  • 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…
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