22 MAY 2014 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com
pivot from burner tips to fuel injectors.
The great thing about that is that as you
build that summer demand you create
incentives for that infrastructure to grow
and become more resilient. As a result,
we would like to extend the alternative
fuel tax credits, and we have a lot of other
good ideas.
FON: What is an exciting off-season
opportunity for propane marketers?
Roldan: One market that's fasci-
nating, and it could be 1 billion gallons,
is commercial mowing. We are the only
industry out there that has "clean-air"
commercial mowers from several manu-
facturers. You cannot get a natural gas
mower — the technology does not exist
today. But we have technology that is in
the field that landscapers love because
they get to save money compared to
gasoline, and it cuts greenhouse gas
emissions by about half. Those land-
scape companies that have occasional
problems with employees pilfering fuel
— that is not an issue with propane so
it's just a fantastic story.
Value propositions can range from poor
to great, but there are not a lot of proposi-
tions out there that are simply no-brainers.
FON: What is the delivery mecha-
nism for getting the fuel to landscape
customer?
Roldan: The fuel would be facilitated in
several ways, either through on-site storage
or through a cylinder delivery arrangement.
Most customers would have a cylinder cage
on their property and the marketer would
turn those over at a predetermined cycle.
That is great for golf courses in particular.
You can compare it to the way business is
done with forklifts. If you are a big operation
you probably have on-site filling capability
and bulk storage, but not you would likely
be using replacement cylinders.
FON: Let's talk a bit about your certi-
fication and training programs.
Roldan: We began our certification
program about 20 years ago for our indus-
try employees. We have an outstanding
curriculum. About 15 years ago we cre-
ated a check off program the Propane
Education and Research Council, and
that is our research arm funded by an
assessment on every gallon of propane
sold that is odorized. So we have ceded
the programs related to curriculum to
PERC for safety; research and develop-
ment; and consumer education. But, we
maintain the certification part of it which
is a hand-in-glove relationship with our
sister organization, and we feel it's an
outstanding program.
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