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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38 OCTOBER 2016 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com BUSINESS OPERATIONS NEWS ANGUS FINANCE HIRES A DIRECTOR AND A FINANCIAL ANALYST Rashaan Baskerville has joined the Angus Finance advisory team as director. Baskerville is experienced in budgeting, cash flow analysis and operational review in the energy services field, Jeff Simpson, managing director, said in announcing the hire. In addition, Stephen Smith has joined Angus Finance as a financial analyst. Smith has more than 20 years of experience in finan- cial planning and reporting. Angus Finance assists clients in the fuel industry to improve earnings through bud- geting, reporting and consulting. It is a division of Angus Energy, which has offices in Connecticut, Florida, New York and Pennsylvania. HEDGE SOLUTIONS HIRES RACHEL LUC TO MANAGE CLIENT SUPPORT Hedge Solutions announced that it hired Rachel Luc to manage client support. Luc received her Master of Science degree in finance, as well as certification in business analytics, from Bentley University in Waltham, Mass. She also earned a bachelor of commerce with distinction from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. Her professional experience includes retail banking and corporate finance. Before joining Hedge Solutions, her work included one-on-one personal banking responsibilities with clients in Vietnam and the U.S. She also served with a U.S. non-profit organization as an assistant treasurer. "We are excited to have Rachel join our team at Hedge and Northland," said Richard Larkin, founder and president of Hedge Solutions and Northland Energy Trading, an over-the-counter deriva- tives company. "Rachel has a passion for analytics and the commodity business. She is a very quick study and has already settled into the client support role. Eventually she will be splitting her duties between client support and administration for the trading department." Hedge Solutions is a commodity trading advisor that consults with retail heating oil and propane companies to increase profit margins through risk management and purchasing practices. CARGAS SYSTEMS RECOGNIZED AS EXCEPTIONAL BUSINESS PARTNER BY INTACCT Cargas Systems, an employee-owned business software and con- sulting company with 92 employees, was named to Intacct's 2016 President's Club. The recognition is for Intacct's channel partners who dem- onstrate exceptional growth, customer satisfaction and strategic expertise, Cargas said in a statement. Based in Lancaster, Pa., Cargas specializes in: Intacct cloud accounting, Microsoft Dynamics, custom software solutions, and Cargas Energy mobile and back office software for fuel delivery and HVAC service companies. Cargas was one of ten North American organizations in Intacct's "Partner Program" to receive recognition. Intacct is headquartered in San Jose, Calif. TANK UTILITY RAISES $2.2 MILLION IN FUNDING Tank Utility, a provider of remote monitoring for truck-delivered fuels, announced that it closed on $2.2 million in seed funding. Subscribing were venture capital firms Energy Foundry and Blue Fog Capital, along with Generac Power Systems and Bolt, according to a statement issued by Amos Epstein, co-founder and CEO of Tank Utility, based in Boston, Mass. The funds will be used to further Tank Utility's mission of mak- ing truck-delivered energy "as efficient and customer-friendly as modern web retail services," according to the Aug. 30 statement. Tank Utility launched its product sales in late 2015. It has signed up subscribers across 46 states and Canada for its remote tank monitoring services, according to the statement. "The delivered fuels industry is a large, overlooked space in which the Tank Utility team can bring about major change," said Harris Brody, a partner at Blue Fog. "The company's approach to improving operating efficiency and cutting costs for fuel deliverers while at the same time increasing customer satisfaction is a win- win-win scenario." "More than 30% of households in the Midwest rely on propane for heat, and Tank Utility's solution brings a new level of visibility to energy consumers and their suppliers," said Sara Hochman, managing director of Energy Foundry. Energy Foundry's par- ticipation and presence in Chicago will help the Tank Utility team expand farther into the Midwest market, according to the statement, which identified the Midwest as the largest propane- consuming region in the U.S. The funding also marks the beginning of a strategic partnership with Generac, a provider of residential backup generators. "Tank Utility's fuel level monitoring services are a perfect fit for our custom- ers," said Aaron Jagdfeld, CEO of Generac. "With accurate visibility into exactly how much propane is left and the ability to notify fuel dis- tributors before the generator runs out, we can be even more proactive in helping our customers make sure the lights stay on." Home or business owners can purchase a propane tank level monitor from the Tank Utility website and use the associated Android or iOS apps to connect it to the internet, set alerts for when fuel levels get low, and track daily usage, Tank Utility said. Fuel delivery companies that provide fuel to thousands of tanks can also take advantage of cloud-based portfolio management software to more effectively manage tank levels and engagement across all their customers, Tank Utility said. l F O N Rashaan Baskerville Stephen Smith