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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The session Price Protection & Advanced Risk Management by Gary Sippin of Destwin covered a range of hedging approaches and that can be used to address risk. One highlight was "incremen- tal hedging" which involves selling price protection continually throughout the year while synchronizing hedging, with software keeping track. A major advantage of this was spreading out the internal workload involved with getting perhaps thousands of customers under contract over the year instead of a short period of days. In Biodiesel Fuels: How to Sell Beyond T h e A b r i t r i d g e Paul Nazzaro of the Nazzaro Group made a strong argument t h a t B i o h e a t w a s necessary for com- panies "that wanted to be in business 50 y e a r s f r o m n o w . " C o m p a n i e s t h a t were not on board will increasingly find themselves at a competitive disadvantage. Nazzaro also expanded on the points made by Gebolys that while the tax incentives can be uncertain year-to-year, they really result in almost a lottery ticket style reward when they come through. And because these tax credits are part of a batch of tax credits impacting different industries, the politics against seeing them disappear completely are currently limited as it's unlikely to see an individual tax credit be dropped. Sean Cota, of Cetane Associates, presented the session Propane in New E n g l a n d : K n o w i n g t h e Regulations and Supply Chain. He discussed some of the advantages with propane for the oil marketer looking to diversify. These centered on providing a multi-fuel offer to the customer, good margins, similar delivery systems, similar legislations and a long- term increase in value of the business. On the disadvantage side, he noted that it is cost intensive which helps offset some of the added margin. A lot of that cost comes from customer tanks, but there is an advantage in that "those tanks are yours and you want to own those tanks," he said. "It creates sticky customers." The trade show floor featured a variety of companies offering a range of solutions for the industry. Space prevents too detailed of an accounting, but here is a rundown of some of the solutions on display. We apologize for any companies that we might have missed. Heat Solutions highlighted its marketing system to hook up dealers with high quality, automatic delivery accounts. The company is now doing business in 12 states, has over 140 dealers in the program and almost 80,000 customers. Tank Utility (see our New Vendor Awards). UEI Test Instruments showcased its DL 419 and DL 429 clamp meters. Both feature a range of traditional capabilities with the DL 429 offering an application based capability wire- lessly to smart phones and tablets. Charity Oil (see our New Vendor Awards). BOSCH displayed its Greenstar FS Series specifically designed for the replacement boiler market. Able to use either natural gas or propane, it offers a 95% AFUE capability. He VA Amplifier was offered as a wireless solution that eliminates the need to run from VA to the nozzle, thereby eliminating the need to crouch or stretch uncomfortably or for PVC pipes or long tubes to listen to VA. Fleet Navigator (see our New Vendor Awards). Caleffi Hydronic Solutions had a range of new equipment on display, but highlighted the multi-functional separator SEP4. It creates a low-pressure loss zone, making connected primary and secondary circuits hydraulically independent, and the flow in one circuit does not interfere with the flow in the other. Also, a widened cross section decreases the flow velocity and the internal element facilitates the release of microbubbles. The Ecogreen Tank Monitor was on display and works with propane, fuel and liquid tanks up to 75 feet tall. The company cites reliability and versatility as key capabilities. For example it is solar powered so there's no worry about battery life, and simple, easy-to-use screens allow access to tank data level history and forecast days from a computer, smartphone or tablet. BUSINESS OPERATIONS l F O N Gary Sippin of Destwin presents Price Protection & Advanced Risk Management Paul Nazzaro of the Nazzaro Group presents Biodiesel Fuels: How to Sell Beyond The Abritridge Sean Cota, of Cetane Associates presents session Propane in New England: Knowing the Regulations and Supply Chain "It was a tremendous success," said NEFI Chief Operating Officer Martha Leshine. "This was my first time putting on a trade show so I am pleased with the comments I have heard post show." www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | AUGUST 2015 37