The management and employees of White Mountain Oil & Propane (North Conway, N.H.) like to think of their company as an innovation leader in the New Hampshire area. The business is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, and it has sold propane for about 65 of those years. White Mountain Oil & Propane’s marketing director Dana Jones said it was one of the first in its area to sell propane, beginning in the late 1940s. “The company has always been innovative in this region,” said Jones, who started as a truck driver with White Mountain Oil & Propane in the winter of 1978-1979. “They were doing whatever was new and modern.” In 1941, Ben Saunders and his wife, Ethel, formed the White Mountain Oil Company,…

By now, it’s no secret. Truck driver recruitment and retention are a great concern for propane marketers. Several marketers mention the driver shortage, and hiring problems in general, as the top issue currently facing the propane industry. “The only way you haven’t seen it is if you haven’t had to hire a driver,” said Chris Earhart of Dixie Gas & Oil Corp. (Verona, Va.). Asked to list the main issues they see in the propane industry and their businesses, propane marketers also mentioned increasing regulations, the supply of propane, and expansion of natural gas into traditional rural propane territory as pressing concerns. “I think supply, especially dealing with the big swings in demand, is a big issue in the propane industry, and I think the…

By Tamera Kovacs… The retail propane industry was largely built by entrepreneurs who believed they could create something of value by doing things just a little differently and better than everyone else. Most had a vision for the business they wanted to create. It may have been a scratch start-up or it may have been added on to an existing business. It was one person’s ability to see the opportunity coupled with the leadership traits to make that vision a reality. These entrepreneurs, or business owners, have the ability to paint the vision of the future of their company for everyone to see. The best of them also realize they can’t do it alone. Business owners, like all individuals, have their strengths and weaknesses and…

As residential builders in California move toward meeting state energy efficiency standards that will eventually require residential buildings to produce as much energy as they consume, the Western Propane Gas Association (WPGA) is emphasizing the role that propane can play in meeting the goal known as “zero net energy.” Zero Net Energy (ZNE) is a term meaning that a building structure generates as much energy as it consumes, measured over a one-year period. More specifically, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, a zero net energy building “produces enough renewable energy to meet its own annual energy consumption requirements, thereby reducing the use of non-renewable energy in the building sector.” The California Energy Commission (CEC), through Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, has…

COLUMBIA, MO (August 4, 2016) – MFA Oil Company has acquired select assets of Fuels & Supplies and Jim Woods Marketing, Inc. The sale includes propane operations in northeast Oklahoma and refined fuel/ tank wagon operations in northwest Arkansas and northeast Oklahoma. The purchase represents a major step into refined fuel operations for MFA Oil in the state of Oklahoma. This is the company’s third propane acquisition in Oklahoma in 2016. MFA Oil previously acquired Terry’s Propane Inc. of Washington, Oklahoma in May and R&S Propane, Inc. of Dibble, Oklahoma in January. “This is a great opportunity to expand our distribution network and increase efficiencies in Arkansas and Oklahoma,” says Don Smith, MFA Oil Director of Mergers and Acquisitions. “Fuels & Supplies and Jim Woods…

United Parcel Service (UPS) on Aug. 2, 2016 announced the company has achieved its goal of driving 1 billion miles in its alternative fuel and advanced technology fleet one year earlier than planned, and marked more than 10 years of learning from its “Rolling Laboratory.” UPS’s long-term commitment to sustainability is transforming commercial transportation and logistics, spurring growth in the clean fuels market and powering critical engineering advances. The company’s wider sustainability progress is detailed in its recently released 14th annual Sustainability Report. “We had a big sustainability goal as we set out to make the most of our rolling laboratory by driving 1 billion clean miles in alternative fuel vehicles – that’s the equivalent of well over 4,000 trips to the moon,” said David…

(Bethlehem, PA) Aug. 2, 2016 – After several decades of hard work, research, artifact collection and countless hours of volunteer time, a permanent museum exhibit, Propane: A Century of Challenges and Opportunities, has officially opened that tells the story of propane and showcases the history and contributions of the propane industry. An official ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Aug. 2, 2016, celebrating the Grand Opening of the new National Museum of Industrial History (NMIH), in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The Museum is home to exciting exhibits, engaging programs and amazing history that chronicles the many contributions that paved the way for our nation’s industrial revolution. The celebration continues its Grand Opening this weekend, August 5-7, 2016. A schedule of special programs includes: insider tours, a live, on-site broadcast…

(July 25, 2016) The World LPG Association and AEGPL Management Committee unanimously decided to relocate the 29th World LPG Forum and AEGPL Congress to Florence, Italy, during the week of Nov. 14, 2016