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Dear PEI Member:
Does it make sense to combine forces with distributors of other commodity
lines and open a branch location with them? That's exactly what three
independent distributors in central Pennsylvania did late last year and so
far the results are positive.
As reported in Modern Distribution Management, the three
distributors--APR Supply (HVAC/plumbing), Industrial Piping Systems (pipe,
valves and fittings), and Schaedler Yesco Distribution (electrical)--teamed
up to open a branch office in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. The three
distributors had been doing business in the area, although none had ever
operated a branch in Chambersburg.
Since the distributors serviced the same areas, shared many of the same
customers, ran trucks over the same routes, and had branches that served the
same towns, they thought there might be a way to save money while providing
better service to their customers. The monetary savings are significant: It
costs each company about a third of what it would to establish and operate a
branch of its own.
From the outside, the branch is seen as one business, not three. The
Chambersburg facility is wired to provide full visibility into the inventory
of all three distributors by all counter people and the warehouse is fully
bar-coded. On the inside, each distributor provides counter people and sends
out unique invoices from the home office.
So far, customers have responded positively to the idea. PEI member PWI
Incorporated in New Oxford, Pennsylvania, has bought equipment from the
Chambersburg branch. "Chambersburg is about 40 miles from our office, "
explained Steve Hieber from PWI. "We used to buy equipment from each of the
three companies that were in three different locations. Now we can make one
call, receive one shipment, or make one visit. I'm a completely satisfied
customer," he concluded.
Is this an idea that would work for PEI distributors? Are there
distributors of different commodity lines that might be good partners in a
branch operation? Is it at least an idea worth thinking about and exploring
with your management team?
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Combining Distributors
RP400
Being Reviewed
Equipment Company Acquisitions
One-Click Poll
Would partnering with distributors of other commodity lines work in our
industry?
Previous Poll
Was your company cited by OSHA for safety violations in 2006?
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REVIEW OF RP400-02 PLANNED
The PEI Electrical Continuity Testing Committee is accepting comments
and recommendations for revision of PEI's Recommended Procedure for
Testing Electrical Continuity of Fuel-Dispensing Hanging Hardware
(PEI/RP400-02).
Anyone in the petroleum marketing industry--PEI members, regulators, oil
marketers, trade associations, and private citizens--is permitted to comment
on the document. If you have suggestions or recommendations for revisions to
RP400-02, you are invited to submit them on the special form on page 13 of
the recommended practice or online at
www.pei.org/RP400. Written comments must be received in Tulsa by March
20 to be considered by the committee.
The PEI Electrical Continuity Testing Committee will meet this spring to
review and act on the proposed changes. A revised document will be issued
later this year.
EQUIPMENT COMPANY ACQUISITIONS
Petroleum Solutions, Inc., (PSI) headquartered in McAllen, Texas, has
purchased certain assets of Aus-Tex Service Station Equipment. On
February 1, PSI will move these and other assets to a new facility located
at 1804 Smith Road in Austin, Texas. The new branch manager is Michael
Jorgenson, who held a similar position for PSI in Houston. Brent Peffer is
operations manager of the branch and will assist in the transition period.
PSI has retained the services of all current Aus-Tex employees.
Mark VII Equipment Inc., Arvada, Colorado, has acquired its long-time
distributor Mid-Tenn Mark VII, Inc. of Lebanon, Tennessee. The new
subsidiary is now called Mark VII of Tennessee. Former owners Robert Taylor
and Moose Tyree will continue to work with the subsidiary as consultants;
Larry McCarty has been promoted to general manager.
APPOINTMENTS AND PROMOTIONS
Square D® Integrated Power and Control
Solutions (IPaCS), Salisbury, North Carolina, has chosen Carolina
Marketing Solutions, also based in Salisbury, as its sales representative
for the convenience store/petroleum market in the southeastern United
States.
Petroleum Solutions, Inc., headquartered in McAllen, Texas, has
promoted Luke Clements to sales manager of the Houston regional office. He
will also fill the role of Gilbarco/VeederRoot product sales manager for the
corporation.
WorldTelemetry, Tulsa, Oklahoma, has named Alan L. Sylvester, Pete
Luitwieler and Bill McCollough to its advisory board. The three men are
former executives of the oil and refined fuels industry.
BRIEFLY NOTED
Petroleum Solutions, Inc. of San
Antonio has moved to a new location at 11111 Iota Drive in San Antonio. The
12,750 square foot facility has a 6,500 square foot warehouse and a training
facility.
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich signed HB 4137 into law January 12.
It requires state agencies to buy flexible fuel vehicles that use E85 or
diesel-powered trucks that use B5. The law also encourages state agencies to
purchase fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles.
PETROLEUM MARKETING STATIONS CHANGING
HANDS
Sam's Real Estate Holdings of
Georgia LLC has purchased 47 Shell sites in the greater Atlanta and
northern Georgia areas from Motiva Enterprises LLC. Sam's Holdings
currently operates nearly 50 other Shell-branded wholesale sites in North
Carolina and South Carolina.
NewGen Technologies Inc., Charlotte, North Carolina, has agreed to
acquire Appalachian Oil Co. (APPCO), headquartered in Blountville,
Tennessee. APPCO operates 58 company-owned stations and supplies petroleum
products to more than 160 other independent dealers.
The Pantry Inc., Sanford, North Carolina, has signed an agreement to
acquire 55 Petro Express convenience stores in North Carolina and 11
in South Carolina.
Southern Convenience Stores Inc., Mooresboro, North Carolina, has
sold substantially all of its 68 retail sites to a variety of buyers.
Uni-Mart LLC, State College, Pennsylvania, has acquired 28 retail and
wholesale gasoline sites in the Youngstown, Ohio, area from BP.
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS
Oregon leasing/financing firm. Capital Equipment Leasing, Inc., 1855 NE
Albion Court, Beaverton, Oregon 97006, has applied for affiliate division
membership in PEI. James Phelps is president of the firm, which was
established in 1996. Capital Equipment Leasing provides leasing and
financing options for new and used equipment. Nominated for PEI membership
by Susan J. Scott, JWScott, Trenton, NJ.
Static grounding systems and clamps provider. Anysafe Safety Equipment
Co., Ltd., 750 JingGang Shan Avenue, Economic and Technical Development
Zone, QingDao City, China 266555, has applied for affiliate division
membership. Annie Ye is export manager for the firm, which was established
in 1996. The company provides static grounding clamps and systems, liquid
level sensors, autodisplay systems, and magnetic digital displays. Nominated
for PEI membership by Nathan Chen, PetroqpEng, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
Piping installation and service company. EUST Co., Ltd., Seokchon
Sungchang Bldg. 303 297-2, Seokchon-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, Korea, has
applied for affiliate division membership. Myungyoung Haw is foreign sales
manager for the firm, which was established in 2004. The company installs
and services double-walled piping systems. Nominated for PEI membership by
Glyn Owens, PtrTechnik, Ipswich, Suffolk, United Kingdom.
Admitted
to PEI
- Fast Tech S.A., Quito, Ecuador (dis)
- MTS Systems Corp., Sensors Division, Cary, NC (mfr)
- Petro-Meter Corporation, West Babylon, NY (mfr)
- Elliott Parts & Services, Inc., Boulder, CO (aff)
- Amlin Pump Service, Bonham, TX (aff)
- Gates Construction, Inc., San Antonio, TX (aff)
- S.C. Fueling Solutions, Sherman Oaks, CA (aff)
- APS International Inc., La Porte, CO (aff)
- BC&C, LLC, Winchester, VA (aff)
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