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to be executed over the period, on a facility with 150,000 to 200,000 gallons, Trask recalled. "We removed some stor- age, and put in better containment and better off-loading positions." Every operator's needs differ, Trask said, and those requirements must be identified before a design—whether for a remodel or for a new facility—begins. "It's not all about state-of-the-art," Trask said. "It's all about what the customers' needs are. We have customers that want basic." Trask defined "basic" as "the ability to store fuel and deliver fuel to a vehicle under the required containment conditions." If the project involves a high-volume facility, speed—getting vehicles in and out—is a priority, Trask said. That's where meters factor in, and the tracking of outgoing product "for inventory pur- poses or retail," he noted. A key to creating a state-of-the-art bulk plant, such as those that feature an inventory control system, bio-blending, red-dye injection and application of cold point depressants, is the efficient integration of devices and components. "The devices that we use… are really what make the facility successful," Trask said, enabled by the technical know-how of his brothers Paul Trask, president of the two companies, Billy Trask, vice president and their father, Paul Trask Sr., who consults with the brothers and is involved daily. The company emphasizes service once a project is completed, Michael Trask said. "These are facilities that are pumping millions of gallons, and there are going to be things that need to be maintained," he said. MPE has carried out a number of extensive makeovers and updates that have been prompted in part by environ- mental regulations. The company updat- ed a site operated by Mercury Energy Distributors in Waterbury, Conn., a 2013 project that included removal of old horizontal tanks that were not envi- ronmentally compliant. That project included installation of three 30,000- gallon vertical tanks and the addition of a three-bay loading rack. The company also added concrete floors to an existing earthen dike and expanded dike areas, installed six top-loading arms and one bottom-loading arm, added a second off-load position for trailers and put in new electrical service, Ceppi said. The makeover included leaving a space for a 30,000-gallon propane tank, he added. MPE's ongoing projects include one for Wesson Energy, another dealer in Waterbury. The company is updating a Wesson facility to bring it into environ- mental compliance, Ceppi said. The proj- ect includes removal and demolition of some of the old tanks, adding an impervi- ous fabric liner in the containment dike, and installing a canopy, a new loading arm and a new off-load pump. That proj- ect is expected to continue through 2015. Another ongoing project is for Dennison Lubricants, Lakeville, Mass., which has a lubricants terminal in Worcester, Mass. Ceppi said his company is supplying and installing six 30,000- gallon aboveground vertical tanks, plus piping and pumps and a containment dike, as well as a new loading rack with containment and four new loading arms. Meanwhile activity on the pro- pane side is popping, said Ceppi, who has a professional engineer's license for design and general contracting in northeast states. "We are designing and building propane facilities," he said. "Almost every oil dealer wants to have a propane tank now." FUELS 20 April 2015 | FUEl Oil NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com l F O N