Jerry Sheridan, AmeriGas President & CEO

See what the “New AmeriGas” means to our president and CEO, Jerry Sheridan and more in this interview conducted by LP Gas Magazine Editor in Chief Brian Richesson in their current issue:

AMERIGAS-HERITAGE PROPANE

Jerry Sheridan was named president and CEO of Valley Forge, Pa.-based AmeriGas in March 2012, following the retirement of Gene Bissell and about two months after the nation’s largest propane retail operation closed on the Heritage Propane deal. He came to AmeriGas in 2005, having held vice president, CFO and COO positions. Here are a few things he had to say about the merger:

Was the timing of these large-scale acquisitions just coincidence or does it say something more about the state of the propane industry that the largest retailers are consolidating?

Sheridan: The propane industry in general has been under pressure – the decrease in housing starts and high propane prices in recent years have driven customer conservation. Also, in parts of the Southeast, there’s been an increased move toward electricity among builders and homeowners, and space heaters have become more prevalent. As a result, the volume of the entire industry has been under pressure. It’s such a fragmented industry, with over 3,000 competitors. In any particular town, there could be four, five, eight, even 10 competitors. As a result, it’s an industry that is perfect for a roll-up strategy – that’s how all of the big MLPs have been built – so it’s only natural that consolidation will continue. The fact that a couple of big deals got done recently is just a logical extension of that trend.

AmeriGas closed the deal just more than a year ago. Since the acquisition, we have seen references to the “New AmeriGas.” What are the biggest differences within the company?

Sheridan: The “New AmeriGas” means a number of things to all of us here. We didn’t want to approach the combination with Heritage as a “takeover.” Heritage was a respected company that we thought had great people and great approaches to the marketplace that we wanted to preserve. We really sought to enhance AmeriGas. We went to great lengths to select the best managers and employees from both companies.  We also wanted to integrate the best practices of each business to create a new company that is better and stronger than either was before the merger.  Most notably, AmeriGas was strong in safety and distribution, while Heritage had a great entrepreneurial culture. We want the “New AmeriGas” to have all of these characteristics. Beyond integrating  people, culture and operations, we  renewed our focus on customers.

How will the acquisition impact the way AmeriGas services its 2.3 million customers?

Sheridan: Two great things that come with combining large companies is an expanded footprint and, frequently, larger stores. When you have critical mass in stores, you have more drivers; the manager is going to have distribution talent in the store and more customer service agents. If a small district is missing a driver in the winter, it’s a big disruption. But having critical mass now allows you to have flexibility. You always have good coverage in all functions, and both delivery density and customer service are much improved.

Is there a stigma to being too big – a perception that a large company can’t provide the personal touch for customers like the smaller retailers? Is that a concern?

Sheridan: We don’t view it as a stigma. Competitors try to use our size against us, claiming that we’re not a “local” company, even though our presence and employees are in the same community, but ignoring the fact that our size provides customers with some great advantages: certainty of supply, a total commitment to safety, the ability to mobilize resources in the event of unusual needs, like severe weather or natural disaster, and a 24/7 hotline, to name just a few. We’ve had a lot of discussions with legacy AmeriGas and Heritage managers about what it means to be local and our commitment to being part of every community we serve. Wherever we have combined two brands, we’ve reached out to the customer base, highlighting that we are still the same people, just perhaps with a different logo on our uniform. The footprint we have now allows us to have two great national businesses – our cylinder exchange business and our national accounts business. We have 45,000 locations in cylinder exchange and 200 national accounts serving 33,000 locations. We offer the best of being big, serving large-scale customers, while also being a strong local presence in the towns in which we operate.

More about AmeriGas

AmeriGas strives to offer the most reliable, safest, and responsive service. If AmeriGas can assist you with any of your propane needs, please contact us and let us show you why we are the nation’s leading propane supplier.

EarthWorks Inc., a commercial landscaping company based in Dallas, converted its lawn equipment fleet to propane autogas and expects to save between 30-35% on annual maintenance costs and $41,600 in annual fuel cost savings running on the alternative fuel.

“We have been thrilled with converting our lawn equipment fleet to propane autogas,” said Chris Lee, president of EarthWorks. “The biggest benefit isn’t even the more affordable fuel; it’s that our maintenance and repair costs have decreased dramatically. Propane is so much cleaner and so much easier on our machines that I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it myself.”

EarthWorks’ fleet includes 20 36-inch mowers from Toro and Scag, and 24 52-inch mowers from Toro , Scag and Exmark. The company uses an estimated 40,000 gallons of propane per year and mows 31.5 million square feet of turf during the growing season.

Incentives & Rebates

“In some cases initially the rebates offset the full cost of conversion so we were able to try propane on several of our units with very minimal investment on our part,” Lee explains.

EarthWorks saved $15,000 in incentives through a state and national program administered by the Propane Council of Texas that’s available to landscapers switching to autogas. Lee says that “working with Metro Lawn helped us with the entire process, including the rebates.”

Choosing Metro Lawn

So what made EarthWorks select Metro Lawn for their conversion? Chris Lee explains how “we chose Metro Lawn because they made it very easy. They helped us with every phase of implantation from understanding how it all worked, to converting the equipment, training our mechanics and providing the propane containers and the actual propane.  It was very much a one stop shopping experience.”

I asked Lee to share his advice for other landscaping companies interested in mower conversions. His reply was to “do it ASAP and call Metro Lawn. It’s not nearly as difficult or intimidating as you think to get this done.”

About EarthWorks

EarthWorks provides premier, full-service landscape management services for multi-family and commercial properties. By consistently delivering superior quality and service, EarthWorks has become one of the most respected commercial landscaping firms in North Texas.

About Metro Lawn

Metro Lawn provides a propane fuel program to help your business go green and save green. We partner with industry leaders to educate, train and promote propane as the alternative fuel for landscape equipment. Check out who we are partnering with and how Metro Lawn programs can be tailored to deliver fuel your way.

(Photo courtesy of www.buildwithpropane.com)

The Cicadas are coming this Spring and there is nothing we can do about it. But bedbugs, that’s a different story. Unlike Cicadas that only surface once every seventeen years,  bedbugs are a constant threat, infesting homes and businesses by hiding and reproducing in small crevices, such as mattress seams and the spaces around baseboards. Such situations concern owners and operators of hotels, apartment buildings, college dormitories/residential halls, and hospitals. We have a propane solution! PERC (Propane Education and Research Council) is offering a propane heat and power incentive to assist you in the bedbugs fight.  Referred to as the Bedbug Heat Treatment System, it is unlike other bedbug control methods that use pesticides or steam, heat-based solutions seek to treat the entire space or building, not just sleeping areas.

Here are some fast facts about propane-powered bedbug control: Thermal remediation uses heat instead of chemicals to control bedbug infestations. Chemical treatments can be harmful to human health, among other things, whereas thermal remediation provides safe, environmentally friendly way to control the infestation.

PERC’s website advises exactly how to participate in their new incentive:

To take part in the Propane Heat and Power Incentive program, participants must apply, be accepted, and agree to provide performance data on the equipment. The participants must purchase the propane system and be a U.S. construction professional, homeowner, business, or other qualifying entity. The product itself must meet program requirements, such as:

• In the case of generators and CHPs, the unit must be used on-site at a primary residence or full-time business.
• Generation units must run a minimum amount per year: 400 hours for a generator set, 6,000 hours for a CHP system.
• In the case of generators, the unit must be used in an off-grid application or in combination with a renewable energy system.

The incentive amount provided depends on the product purchased. The program will pay the participant the entire incentive amount upon proof of purchase.

For full details and eligibility requirements, download and view the program guide. To apply to participate in the program, please complete the online application form.

There’s never been a better time to take control of bedbugs infesting your property, with an incentive to assist. Wish you guests or tenants a good night, and be confident that they will sleep tight!

On Saturday, April 13, Area Director Mike Sonntag and Account Manager Zach Crawford, along with four of their friends, took to the mud in a Warrior Dash held in Fairburn, GA, to raise awareness and support for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

AmeriGas employees Mike Sonntag and Zach Crawford

The AmeriGas and Friends “Ultimate Warriors” team ran through mud pits, leapt over fire and scaled walls in the event, with the team raising more than $1,800 for St. Jude.

After the event, Mike and Zach challenged other employees in the area to start training to participate in next year’s dash. So far, two more employees have committed to participating in 2014. Go, team AmeriGas!

Grain drying is now an integral part of the farming operation, and propane is most often used to fuel heated-air drying systems because it is portable, can be easily stored, and is readily accessible in rural areas where natural gas is unavailable. And unlike fuel oil or kerosene, propane will not leak and contaminate the grain.

Propane-fueled grain dryers are capable of drying virtually any type of grain. They are available as either batch dryers (where grain is dried in batches ranging from 80 to 1,000 bushel) or continuous flow dryers (wet grain is fed into the dryer in a steady stream). The average fuel consumption of heated-air corn dryers is about 0.02 gallons of propane per bushel per percentage point of moisture removed.

Propane grain dryers now come with many sophisticated features:

• Full range of temperature settings for different grain types
• Fully-automated filling, unloading, and shut-off capabilities
• Quick and easy full length clean-out doors to facilitate grain changing without contamination
• Control panel to indicate operating status of equipment as well as sources of problems in event of shut-down
• Long life and very low maintenance

To learn more about the agricultural applications of propane, contact your local Account Manager today.

Related Series Articles:
Agricultural Applications of Propane: Tobacco Curing
Agricultural Applications of Propane: Fruit Drying (coming soon!)
Agricultural Applications of Propane: Crop Drying (coming soon!)

The $0.50 per gallon tax credit for propane and other alternative fuels are still set to expire at the end of this year on December 31, 2013.  This notice from the IRS just extends the time to claim retroactive credits until July 1.

To read more about propane users can claim the $0.50 per gallon tax credit for forklifts, vehicle fleets, and lawnmowers, please check out:

• New propane benefits from the “Fiscal Cliff” deal
• How a Missouri landscaping company saved $10,000 by switching to propane

– Look magazine, July 12, 1955

The first outdoor gas grill. Photo Courtesy of MHP Outdoor Grills

The Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. has a great exhibit that opened last November called Food: Transforming the American Table, 1950-2000. On the menu of topics are changes in food production and processing, who cooks and why, where and when meals are consumed and what people know (or think they know) about what is good for them. Of course, the most interesting exhibit to an AmeriGas employee would have to be the Backyard Cookout, exploring the origins of grilling with the suburban movement and traveled palates!

After World War II, Americans found themselves with the means and desire to travel. People developed a taste for casual living and the distinctive local foods and drink, so they re-created these experiences in their new suburban backyards with patios, tropical drinks, and the grill. The outdoor patio grill created a new kind of space for American families. It associated food with recreation and relaxation.

By the late 1950s, American manufacturers and retailers were promoting new tools, clothes, furniture and serving ware to go along with grilled meats on the patio. In particular, the basic tools of barbecuers began as a carving knife, spatula, fork and grill scraper. As the market expanded, grill masters could enhance their tool kit with tongs, skewers, basting brushes, grill lighters, carrying cases and other gadgets. In the 1960s, Gas grills were developed with side tables and using gas as fuel – a less messy, and quick, wheeled means to cook and entertain.

In the United States, family dynamics and parenting attitudes were changing, encouraging fathers to spend more time at home with their family – in their new suburban backyards. The new outdoor grilling space defined a special role for men in meal preparation: while they “manned” the grill to cook the meat for the main course, the women worked primarily in the kitchen to make the side dishes.

American Gas Association advertisement from March, 1970. Photo Courtesy of LIFE Magazine.

Don’t be a caveman. Isn’t it about time to get out your tongs and fire up the grill? Pick up some AmeriGas® Propane at any of our convenient 45,000 + AmeriGas® Propane Exchange locations nationwide. After all, you can’t call it “GRILLING” without AmeriGas®.

(Photo courtesy of Google images)

Earth Day is observed on April 22nd every year. It is a day to show support to protect our environment. To date, it is recognized in over 192 countries and the goal is to promote awareness, get involved in community projects, or more personally, do something to help the environment. For example, planting new trees, recycling more materials, or installing solar panels for your home.

Propane was a “green” fuel before going green was a movement. Propane is an approved, clean fuel listed in the 1990 Clean Air Act as well as the National Energy Policy Act of 1992. It contributes  to the idea behind Earth Day, every day.

Propane assists many aspects of residential, commercial, fleets and  agricultural areas:

• More than 14 million families use propane to fuel their furnaces, water heaters, air conditioners, outdoor grills, fire places, dryers and range tops.
• Many choose this clean-burning fuel, autogas, for bus, taxi, delivery and other fleets to minimize air pollution in metropolitan areas.
• Propane is used on more than 660,000 farms for irrigation pumps, grain dryers, standby generators and other farm equipment. It is an essential fuel for crop drying, flame cultivation, fruit ripening, space and water heating and food refrigeration.
• Landscaping lawn equipment accounts for 10% of the pollution today. By switching from gasoline to propane can cut emissions by 70% to 80%.

Any day is a great day to start becoming more aware of our environment and how we can all contribute to making it cleaner and greener. Using propane lets you be a part of Earth Day, every day!

AmeriGas Account Manager, Kevin Pickett

What is a typical day for you like? 
I rise early, hit the gym and then hit the road. I like to get to the districts early so as to have the opportunity to speak with our employees to collect information on potential customers and give them feedback on past customer leads that I have received from them. I kind of see myself as the district cheerleader. I follow my leads and look for others as I go from place to place. I sell everything I can, from ACE to Transports.

Busiest time of year?
The two weeks following Easter and the week after Mother’s Day.  The demand for propane is so high for these two holidays! In Louisiana, we break our fast at Easter and we love our mothers and cook for them on Mother’s Day. (Helpful hint: Mother’s Day is May 12th this year!)

Best question you ever received from a customer?
Propane, Ca peu, pour quoi? ( Why does propane stink?)
Answer: Ethyl Mercaptan is a colorless organic liquid that has a very strong odor. It is added to odorless fuel, such as propane, as a warning agent in the event of leakage or spills.

Your area is in Louisiana and southeast Texas, have you ever opened an account for anyone famous?
I have served Bobby Charles, nee’ Robert Charles Guidry. He was a songwriter, probably best known for his song “ Walking to New Orleans”, made famous by Fats Domino. I have also done work for world renowned Ivy Dugas, the great Cajun French musician. Just listen to how pure his voice is sometime!

Favorite part about your job?
The competition amongst our sales team. We compete fiercely, help each other at every opportunity and cheer each other on. Five of us are neck and neck and it is anyone’s guess, who will be on top at the end of the year. I have the privilege of working with the finest group of employees that AmeriGas employs. I cannot express my appreciation enough for what they do for our company.  They are the definition of “work ethic”.

Helpful hint you could offer for most propane users?
Use as much as you can!

Craziest story you can tell from your experience as an account manager? 
A lady asked me why propane could make those big hot air balloons fly, but when she filled balloons with propane for her son’s birthday party, they just sank and popped on the grass. (DO NOT EVER ATTEMPT THIS!)

What’s your “Props to Propane”?
Almost all of our propane is produced in the USA, Texas and Louisiana being number one and two, respectfully. Propane burns clean and propane burners boil crawfish so well. Delicious!

Hidden skill you are a master at (doesn’t have to be related to your day job)?
Animal Husbandry. I raise some the finest Brangus type cattle on the planet.

Outlook you live by? 
Gratefulness is the path to Happiness. Do not take your problems to work with you. Leave them at home, they will be there when you get back. Be positive. My favorite Louisiana saying is “ laissez les bons temps rouler”(let the good times roll), and my favorite Texas saying is “Remember the Alamo”.

Whether you’re located in Louisiana, Texas or elsewhere in the U.S., we hope you can count on our account managers and every other AmeriGas employee, to assist you and your family or business in ‘letting the good times roll’!

AmeriGas AutoGas Bobtail Truck

See the newest products in the propane industry from CleanFUEL USA’s recent press release:

GEORGETOWN, Texas – CleanFUEL USA commemorated 20 years of company history by featuring three new propane autogas products at the 2013 National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) Southeastern Convention and International Propane Expo, held this past weekend in Atlanta.

The company displayed two new autogas dispenser offerings in their booth. Equipped to seamlessly fuel vehicles and cylinders, the redesigned CFT PRO 2200 features an expanded cabinet for easier installation and service. And the cost-effective Gasboy Autogas Dispenser conveniently integrates into existing fleet fueling systems.

“Since 1993, we’ve experienced company expansion driven by the growing need to find sustainable transportation fuel solutions that are both clean and economical,” said Curtis Donaldson, founder and CEO of CleanFUEL USA. “As the nation’s first developer of Liquid Propane Injection (LPI) fuel systems, we will continue to support increasing customer demand by supplying the best technology available in both autogas dispenser and vehicle fuel system development.”

Over the past 20 years, CleanFUEL USA’s milestones include: placing more than 3,000 propane autogas vehicles on the road in North America; shipping almost 3,000 dispensers to 14 countries worldwide; expanding its staff tenfold, adding a manufacturing and production facility in Wixom, Mich., and receiving the 2005 Alternative Fuel Exporter of the Year award by the U.S. Department of Energy.

The Freightliner S2G bobtail, equipped with CleanFUEL USA’s LPI technology, was displayed in the Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation booth. Freightliner conducted walk-around sessions to showcase the vehicle’s clean, cost-saving benefits and performance features.

The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) displayed the PERC-funded S2G vehicle. CleanFUEL USA’s COO, Wayne Moore, participated in the PERC-sponsored “Business Case for Propane Autogas: Present and Future” panel session.

“CleanFUEL USA has developed quality propane autogas systems that help fleets cut costs and reduce carbon emissions, all while making propane autogas more readily available by helping to expand the nation’s refueling infrastructure,” said Roy Willis, president and CEO of PERC.

Propane autogas is the leading alternative fuel in the United States and the third most commonly used vehicle fuel, following gasoline and diesel. When compared with gasoline, vehicles fueled by propane autogas reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 25 percent and cost 30 to 40 percent less to fuel.

Learn more at cleanfuelusa.com.