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Feature Articles

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

  • Monumental Study Finds Propane Buses Reduce Harmful Emissions

    (August 23, 2019) — After more than a year of testing, researchers at West Virginia University determined that emissions from propane-fueled school buses are significantly lower than those from diesel buses. Nearly a million students in more than 900 school districts across the country ride to school in propane buses each day. West Virginia University researchers measured nitrogen oxides (NOx), highly damaging emissions that are federally regulated due to their negative impact on human health and the environment. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), exposure to NOx exhaust can trigger health problems like asthma, bronchitis, and other respiratory issues. The primary source of NOx is motor vehicles—including school buses. “This study is monumental from an emissions and health perspective for students, schools, and communities…
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  • World’s Largest LPG Event Heads To Amsterdam For 2019 Global Gathering

    (August 23, 2019) — This year, the World LPG Association (WLPGA) and Liquid Gas Europe are joining together from Sept. 24–27 to bring the biggest LPG event in the world, the 32nd World LPG Forum & 2019 European Congress , to Amsterdam. The LPG industry is always seeking to reach outside the industry to help inform others about the industry and the contribution it makes to our environment, and also to encourage others to look into the LPG sector as a potential to either grow outside businesses or to grow personal and professional networks. WHAT TO EXPECT AT THE WORLD LPG FORUM AND EUROPEAN CONGRESS Traveling the globe each year, this influential event combines not only a high-level conference and a major exhibition, but also…
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  • Adapting To The Changing World: Never Stop Learning

    (August 21, 2019) — Four years ago, after having operated a propane company for some 35 years, Alan Friedman went back to school. He had been running the company since around 1980, when he was just 16 years old and still in high school. Despite having to learn everything on the job, he was accepted to the Harvard Business School Owner/President Management (OPM) program in 2015. “I needed to reinvent myself and the company in a changing world,” Friedman says. “I wasn’t tech-savvy and I felt I had to do something to take the company in a new direction and keep it going. The world was changing; I had been running the company for 30-plus years and I had to adapt to keep up with…
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  • Boehlke Bottled Gas Awarded “Transportation Partner of the Year”

    (August 21, 2019) CEDARBURG, Wisc. — GO Riteway Transportation Group recently recognized Boehlke Bottled Gas , as a premier supplier to their company that goes above and beyond to meet GO Riteway standards and is seen as an integral part of GO Riteway’s success. During its annual Night of Honors, GO Riteway’s co-owner and chairman, Ron Bast, presented Roger Boehlke and Chad Kroening of Boehlke Bottled Gas with its “2019 Partner of the Year” Award. In 2011, Riteway acquired GO Airport Connection and began incorporating propane-powered vehicles to upgrade its fleet by partnering with Cedarburg-based Boehlke Bottled Gas to build and operate a 24/7 propane autogas fueling station, according to a press release. According to the press release, “The partnership has developed and strengthened throughout…
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  • New Video Touts Propane Mower Benefits

    WASHINGTON (August 20, 2019) – The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) has added a new video to its popular Straight Talk video series highlighting Barnes, Inc., a Madison, Wisconsin-based landscape contractor that operates 75 propane-powered mowers. Available online on Propane.com , the new video provides an updated look at Barnes’s experiences using propane mowers five years after being initially featured in a 2014 Straight Talk video discussing its initial foray into operating with propane. “Barnes is a textbook example of a contractor who starts by integrating just a few propane mowers into its fleet, and then ultimately expands its propane use into much more of the fleet after experiencing the fuel’s numerous benefits,” said Jeremy Wishart, director of off-road business development at PERC. “In…
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  • National Clean Energy Week Highlights Propane’s Uses, Advantages

    (August 19, 2019) WASHINGTON — Activities being held across the country through the end of September are helping to position propane as a clean, eco-friendly fuel in the eyes of policymakers. The activities will culminate in National Clean Energy Week (NCEW), Sept. 23-27 . During that week, state and national policymakers will meet in Washington, D.C., to discuss clean energy solutions. The National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) is a sponsor of NCEW 2019. The association has been organizing activities around the event and is encouraging others in the industry to coordinate activities with NPGA. During an all-day policy symposium that is among the events to be held in Washington, NPGA’s senior vice president of advocacy and technical services, Michael Caldarera, will be a featured speaker….
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  • Implementing a 20% Rule: Why and How

    Delivery efficiency is both critical and controllable. David Lowe, vice president of Pro Image Communications (Grand Blanc, Mich.), notes that propane marketers can’t control the weather or the wholesale price of the fuel, but they can control their own company culture and delivery efficiency. With the right roster of drivers, equipment, and methods of dispatch, he says, marketers can boost their delivery efficiency and productivity. In his seminar at the 2019 NPGA Southeastern Convention, “Delivery Efficiency Case Studies,” Lowe presented data and offered tips to help marketers improve their productivity. Both the data and the tips come from real-life experience. Lowe represents Pro Image as an Energy Professional providing propane clients with unique marketing, sales, training, and consulting programs. His seminar was based on data…
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  • Kansas City’s Entire School Bus Fleet Goes Propane Saving $500K Per Year

    (August 15, 2019) — The Kansas City Star reports that Kansas City Public Schools students will board brand new propane-fueled buses this month when they head back to the classroom. The entire bus fleet will operate on propane under a new contract with Student Transportation of America. The district is rolling out 155 75-passenger buses, marking the first time a school district in the metropolitan area has operated its entire transportation service on the alternative fuel. The new propane buses “are more efficient,” Chris Walls, Kansas City Public Schools transportation director, tells the newspaper. “They are better from an emissions standpoint. They burn cleaner and they run about 30% quieter.” He added that, with propane costing about 91 cents/gal., they are also cheaper to fuel….
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  • FREE Missouri VW Settlement Funding Workshop

    KANSAS CITY, MO (August 12, 2019) — The next round of funding from the Missouri VW Settlement is now open and the state is accepting grant applications in two categories. The Metropolitan Energy Center (MEC) wants to help your company or municipality apply for this outstanding funding opportunity. A free workshop will be held Friday, August 16th, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Project Living Proof, 917 Cleaver II Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri. County and city governments are invited to apply to repower or replace Class 4-8 diesel trucks and can receive up to 75% of associated costs. Private- and public-sector bus fleets are also encouraged to apply for funding to replace or repower diesel transit and shuttle buses. Reimbursement will range from 25-75%,…
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  • Propane Fleet Honored For Clean Air Leadership

    (August 12, 2019) — When the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS; San Diego, Calif.) looked at alternative fuels to find a replacement for gasoline in its paratransit buses and minibuses, it determined that propane autogas provided the tank capacity and range those vehicles require. Today, nearly three years after it began transitioning those fleets to propane, MTS has found that the propane buses also operate cleaner and more economically. “These buses are doing a lot for the environment in San Diego and Southern California,” Jay Washburn, manager of paratransit and minibus at MTS, told BPN. “They also allow us to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars by reducing costs.” MTS was honored at the recent Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo with a Fleet…
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  • Energy Distribution Partners Acquires Kent Oil & Propane In Michigan

    (August 10, 2019) — Energy Distribution Partners (“EDP”), based in Chicago, Illinois, has announced its recent acquisition of Kent Oil & Propane, which serves propane and petroleum light oils customers in and around Nashville, Michigan. Kent Oil & Propane was a third generation business launched in 1936 by Walter and Mildred Kent as a gasoline and distillate agent for Standard Oil. The business was taken over in the late 1960’s by their son Jerry and his wife, Anne. In 1981, their son John joined the company followed by their son-law, Jeff Hynes, in 1988. In 1992 the company expanded into propane. Mr. Hynes has led Kent Oil & Propane since 1995 with assistance from his partner John Kent. Following Mr. Kent’s untimely death in 2010,…
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  • Agricultural Producers Urged To Fill Propane Tanks Early

    (August 9, 2019) — The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) is encouraging agricultural producers to consider filling their propane tanks early to prepare for higher demand this fall from later harvests and increased grain drying needs. Noted is that record-breaking flooding in the Midwest and saturated soil in many states delayed planting of most crops, which will delay harvests as well. Later harvests and an increase in crop drying—the majority of which is fueled by propane—will cause propane demand to be higher in the late fall, when it is already higher due to rising residential and agricultural heating needs. PERC recommends farmers contact their propane supplier to inquire about fuel contract opportunities to lock in lower prices, and fill propane tanks early. “We typically…
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