The home heating oil industry has a long and proud history, and Fuel Oil News has been there supporting it since 1935. It is an industry that has faced many challenges during that time. In its 77th year, Fuel Oil News is doing more than just holding
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BUSINESS OPERATIONS N E W S 20 JULY 2015 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com REGISTRATION INFORMATION NOW AVAILABLE FOR JULY 5-7 PPA SUMMER CONFERENCE Conference registration and hotel reg- istration information are now available for the PPA Summer Conference July 5-7 in Ocean City, Md. A major theme of the Conference is "New Technologies—Where Are We Going?" With the reauthorization of NORA, it is time to give serious thought to the development of new technologies in the heating area. Last year, an R&D planning meeting was held to address just this question. This past winter, NORA completed their first R&D call and selection process. There are a lot of things that inform and influence the decisions about where NORA investments should be made in- cluding: lessons learned in prior NORA research projects, new technical devel- opments in other parts of the world, technical trends in other fuels, manufac- turer interests and constraints, and fuel marketer concerns and needs. Technical areas of focus now include: Biofuel capable burners; New tools to predict energy sav- ings in the field with oil heat upgrades; Advanced controls and remote systems monitoring; Low firing rate and modulated burners; Lower cost high efficiency heating systems; and Recognizing and documenting oilheat success stories. In all of these areas, the state of the technology and future plans will be dis- cussed. The introduction of biodiesel into the heating oil market, along with reduced sulfur heating oil, represents dramatic changes in this area with significant en- vironmental and performance benefits. Experience with these new fuels, im- plications of the recent changes in the ASTM fuel specifications, and prospects for further increases in the biofuel con- tent in heating oil will be discussed. Beyond biodiesel, there is strong in- terest in other alternative fuels and the status, opportunities and concerns in this area will be discussed. Bring any fuel questions and con- cerns you have to ask Dr. Thomas Butcher, keynote speaker. Butcher is a Research Engineer at Brookhaven National Laboratory serv- ing as Deputy Chair of the Sustainable Energy Technologies Department and Head of the Energy Conversion Group. His long standing research interests include oilheat research, advanced con- cepts for building heating and cooling, and the application of conventional and biomass fuels in stationary combustion applications. Butcher is a Fellow of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers. The format of the Summer Confer- ence offers seminars on Monday and Tuesday morning with the rest of the day open for time to enjoy the shore with your family. Visit www.ppmcsa.org/events for de- tailes. SMALL BUSINESSES REMAIN POSITIVE BUT SLOW GROWTH PLANS, ACCORDING TO INSPERITY SURVEY Small business owners continue to re- flect the optimism seen in January, but now show moderated growth plans re- lated to new hires, compensation levels and overall sales, according to the most recent Business Confidence Survey re- leased today by Insperity, Inc., a leading provider of human resources and busi- ness performance solutions for Ameri- ca's best businesses. Responses indicate that 40% of business owners are adding employees compared to 50% in January and 31% in October; and 52% are main- taining current staffing levels versus 47% last quarter and 64% in October. Eight% are planning layoffs, up from three% in January. "Business owners are continuing the solid growth pattern reflected in the January survey, but at a somewhat slower pace," said Paul J. Sarvadi, Insper- ity chairman and chief executive officer. Insperity also announced compensation metrics from its base of thousands of small and medium-sized Workforce Optimization® clients from across the United States. Average compensation for the first quarter of 2015 increased 2.5% over the first quarter of 2014, and bonuses were up 11.6% compared to the year-ago period. Overtime pay for the first quarter of 2015 was 10.9% of regular pay compared to 9.4% in the first quarter of 2014, above the 10% level that generally indicates a need for additional employees for the fourth quarter in a row. According to the survey, 74% of par- ticipants said they are meeting or ex- ceeding their initial 2015 performance objectives, down from 87% in January, but up slightly from 72% in October. The current survey indicated 26% ex- pect to do worse in 2015 compared to 13% in January, 28% in October and 8% in January 2014. When asked how the current economy is affecting the bottom line of their business, 22% said it is increasing earnings, 38% again re- plied with no real change, 33% stated that it is decreasing earnings and 7% are unsure. The economy and hiring the right people again ranked on top of the list of short-term concerns at 51% and 50%, respectively. Rising health care costs took third place at 44%, while control- ling overall operational costs was a close fourth at 43%. Long-term issues of con- cern to respondents were again led by government expansion and its effect on business at 50%, potential tax increases at 48%, the federal deficit and the total national debt came in at 41%, and the economy was 40%. In spite of some responses indicating a pullback from a more aggressive eco- nomic stance in January, 39% still plan to increase employee compensation, down only slightly from 41% last quar- ter. This compares to 23% in October and 28% in July. The survey indicated 48% plan to maintain compensation