FUELS
16 MAY 2015 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com
BY STEPHEN BENNETT
The Tank Advantage
Propane dealers can leverage owning the tanks at their customers' locations
O
wning and having control of customers' tanks
—a given in the propane business—also pres-
ents opportunities for fuel dealers to grow
their business, experts said. Programs that
offer appliance installation, maintenance and
repair can generate added revenue, for example, and
remote tank monitoring can reduce dealers' costs. These
offering also can create stronger ties with customers, and
help dealers extend the longevity of accounts.
Norco Cylinder Gas Co., a propane dealer in North
Collins, N.Y., offers, in addition to fuel deliveries, ser-
vice plans designed to provide maintenance and repair
of customers' appliances, almost all of which Norco also
installs. These include home heating systems, hot water
tanks, "gas logs" for fireplaces, wall heaters, space heaters,
tankless water heaters and radiant floor heating systems.
The company also performs conversions to gas cooking
appliances and to gas clothes dryers and generators. For
businesses Norco provides 33-lb. motor fuel cylinder
exchange cages and 20-lb. grill cylinder exchange cages,
and installs propane pump stations, bulk storage and
temporary heating. For farms in rural western New York
State where it operates, Norco installs and maintains crop-
drying systems and commercial water-heating and boiler
systems. This wide array of offerings "ties your customer
in pretty good," said Jim Renaldo Sr., the owner of the
family-operated company.
Newcomers to the propane business, preparing to
supply residential and/or commercial accounts, have to
purchase an array of equipment including tanks, bobtails
The tanks pictured here belong to Norco Gas Cylinder Co., a propane dealer in North Collins, N.Y. Dealers own the propane tanks that they install – a fact that can be
leveraged to build stronger ties with customers, said Jim Renaldo Sr. of Norco.
PHOTO
COURTESY
OF
NORCO
GAS
CYLINDER
CO.
