January 26

January 28, 2009 | Vol. 58, No. 3

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Dear PEI Member:

PEI is now soliciting comments on its Recommended Practices for the Design and Maintenance of Fluid-Distribution Systems at Vehicle Maintenance Facilities, PEI/RP700-09.

Centralized vehicle-fluid distribution systems (lube systems) are commonly found at vehicle-repair and fleet-maintenance facilities. Although they are technically sophisticated, there is little published literature on the design of these systems. There are also few regulations governing the systems. The absence of both industry guidance and regulatory standards has led to the installation of many such systems by people who are unfamiliar with the high air and fluid pressures present in these systems and the flow characteristics of lubrication fluids. This document was written to provide guidance to facility designers, installers and contractors on how to properly design, construct, install and maintain fluid-distribution systems at vehicle maintenance facilities.

A printed copy of the draft was mailed to all PEI members in the United States and Canada the week of January 26. Anyone interested in viewing and commenting on the draft document can download a copy and submit comments online from PEI's web site at www.pei.org/RP700. Comments are due to PEI by Wednesday, March 18, 2009.

The practices are the consensus recommendations of members of the PEI Vehicle-Maintenance Fluids Equipment Committee which include Phil Parker, Samson Corporation (chairman); Harrell "Doc" Blair, McKinney Petroleum Equipment; Bruce Doughty, Sytex West, Inc.; Bill Parker, Lincoln Industrial Corporation; Donald Smith, Balcrank Products, Inc.; Stephen Spiros, Superior Equipment Company; and Charles Stookey, Reliable Hydraulics, Inc.

LUNDBERG: RECORD RETAIL GASOLINE MARGIN & REVENUES IN 2008
Our sense was that retail gasoline margins were good this fall, but we didn't know just how good they were until the January 14 Lundberg Letter put it in perspective for us.

RP700 Draft Available for Comment

Retail Gasoline Margins Hit Record

ATC Vote Scheduled for July

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"The good news: The 2008 retail gasoline margin was an all-time record high. Last year's 14.8¢ gal. margin soars over the prior two years' already excellent margins, and dwarfs the much skinnier levels of 1990 and 2000. The margin achieved in 2008 was 33% above that of 2007. Despite all the talk, and trade press and even trade association articles about stagnated, or single-digit, or even zero retail margins, last year was the fourth in a row that regular grade margin exceeded 11¢ gal.

"More good news: 2008 retail gasoline margin revenue was also record-breaking, at $20.9-billion. In 2007, margin revenue totaled $16.1-billion. The 2008 retail margin total brought an additional $8.6-billion over revenue in 2000. Note: Within the $8.6-billion growth, credit card fees ate up around $2.5-billion more in 2008 than they had back in 2000."

KEEPING UL UPDATES ON ALTERNATIVE FUELS STRAIGHT
Since November, Underwriters Laboratories has issued several press releases on the subject of alternative fuels. Here are the three we found noteworthy. Click to review the entire statement.

Joint statement from UL and the Department of Energy regarding E10 and dispensers currently in service that are listed under UL 87.
UL technical review of biodiesel blends found that ASTM-compliant biodiesel blends up to B5 - used in equipment designed to operate on diesel fuel and heating oil - pose no adverse safety issues. As a result, such equipment will not be subject to special investigation and individual certification by UL.
E85 certification status update - November 2008 - issued by UL.

VOTE ON ATC SCHEDULED FOR JULY 2009
The National Conference on Weights and Measures has moved the issue of Automatic Temperature Compensation (ATC) to a voting item for its July annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas. Two separate items will be voted upon: one would make ATC mandatory with a long (10 year) roll-in period, while the other would allow retailers to sell ATC gasoline on a voluntary basis, provided the state would allow it.

PEI SERVICE & CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS CONFERENCE
Register now for PEI's 2009 Service & Construction Managers Conference, March 19-21, 2009, at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis Riverfront in St. Louis, Missouri to receive the advance registration discount.

The two-day conference will offer a combination of general session and roundtable discussion topics specifically geared to the needs of both the service manager and construction manager. The general sessions, Customer Focus for Increased Profits and Employee Motivation in Tough Times, will be presented by Howard Hyden. Howard is nationally recognized as the leading authority in helping companies become more customer focused and most recently spoke at PEI's 10-Group General Session in Chicago.

Registration for PEI members prior to February 18 is $295 ($545 for nonmembers). The fee beginning February 18 goes up to $395 for members and $695 for nonmembers. The fee includes all conference materials, three general sessions, four roundtable discussions, three meals, and two receptions. You can register at PEI's web site or call PEI at (918) 494-9696 and we will send you the printed material. A list of people pre-registered for the conference will be posted on the web site in the near future.

BONUS FEATURE! United Rentals Trench Safety will conduct a 4-hour Excavation Safety for Competent Person Training (CPT) session prior to the conference on Thursday, March 19 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis Riverfront. There is no additional cost for this event which is available for all conference attendees registering before the February 18 advance registration deadline.

Those attending the conference should make sleeping rooms reservations directly with the hotel or by calling (314) 655-1234. Mention that you are attending the PEI Service & Construction Managers Conference to receive the PEI rate of $159 per night. Reservations must be made prior to February 18 to receive the special rate.

PEI members sponsoring the conference are Catlow, Inc.; Central Illinois Mfg.; Champion Laboratories; ESCO Services, Inc.; Husky Corporation; Morrison Bros.; PMP Corporation; RDM Industrial Electronics; Riverside Steel, Inc.; United Rentals Trench Safety; and Universal Valve Co. Other firms interested in sponsoring should contact Bob Young at byoung@pei.org.

INDUSTRY NOTES
Plasteel International Inc., Carlsbad, California, has licensed Combustano/Bertotto, Boglione do Brasil, São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil, to manufacture UL-listed Plasteel® underground tanks.
Ameron International, manufacturers of Dualoy® fiberglass pipe products, has signed an agreement with Hockman-Lewis Limited as their exclusive export distributor.
Source North America Corp., Grand Prairie, Texas, has been named a Dresser Wayne distributor in the Northeast Texas region.

MANUFACTURERS ANNOUNCE AWARDS
RDM Industrial Electronics, Inc., Nebo, North Carolina, has named Craig Porter of Porter Associates, West Chester, Pennsylvania, as its 2008 Sales Representative of the Year. Porter has represented RDM for five years and serves the Northeast region of the United States.
S. Bravo Systems Inc., Commerce, California, has named Jerry Usrey and his firm J.U.R., Blue Jay, California, as Bravo's top producing representative for 2008.

PROMOTIONS AND APPOINTMENTS
S. Bravo Systems Inc., Commerce, California, has announced that Rice-Christ Inc., headquartered in Grand Prairie, Texas, will represent the company in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, western Tennessee, Oklahoma and Texas.
Franklin Fueling Systems, Madison, Wisconsin, announced that Dave Burgoon has joined its organization as territory manager for Arizona, New Mexico and southern Nevada. The company has also hired Mike Frisk as territory manager for West Texas. Burgoon (burgoon@franklinfueling) resides in Phoenix and Frisk (frisk@franklinfueling) lives in Austin.
HBD/Thermoid, Inc., Bellefontaine, Ohio, has promoted Randy Lady to general manager of the company's hose plant in Bellefontaine. Before being named general manager, Lady was technical director-hose products at HBD/Thermoid.
Petroleum Solutions, Inc., McAllen, Texas, announces two additions to the PSI team. Dave Cousminer has joined PSI as branch manager, overseeing its Houston office, and can be reached at dcousminer@petroleumsolutionsinc.com or (281) 449-4027. John Ferris has been hired as a sales representative and will work out of the company's newest office serving the DFW Metroplex area. Contact him at (972) 314-2400.
Universal Valve Co., Elizabeth, New Jersey, has appointed Rice-Christ Inc. to represent the company in its Southwest sales territory which includes Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, western Tennessee and New Mexico.

DEATHS
Loren "Larry" Schneider, founder of Badger Oil Equipment, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, died December 22, 2008. He was 92. Larry started Badger Oil Equipment in his garage in 1949 and ran the company until his retirement in the early 1970s. The company continues today under the leadership of Steve Ettl. Larry Schneider is survived by his sister Billy; three children; and five grandchildren.
Elbert G. Hubbard, chairman and owner of Oil Equipment Sales and Service, Chesapeake, Virginia, died January 19 at the age of 81. Elbert served on the PEI Board of Directors from 1979 to 1981. Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Madeline; two sons, Charles and Art, who are officers in the business; two daughters, Denise Matchen and Maryjo Shockley; and eight grandchildren.

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS
Safety footware provider. Shoes 4 Work, 723 North Tillamook Street, Portland, Oregon 97227, has applied for affiliate division membership. Jeffery McChesney is operations manager for the firm, which was established in 2004. The company provides safety footware for all applications from field work to convenience store employees. Sponsored for PEI membership by Gregg Miller, NWPump, Portland, OR.

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The TulsaLetter (ISSN 0193-9467) is published two or three times each month by the Petroleum Equipment Institute. Robert N. Renkes, Executive Vice President, Editor. Opinions expressed are the opinions of the Editor. Basic circulation confined to PEI members.