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Dear PEI Member:

The 2013 PEI Convention was one of the best the association has sponsored in years, with daily attendance exceeding our numbers from the last time we met in Atlanta. Here are the highlights.

Distributor members are feeling fairly positive about business. According to a recent survey of U.S. distributors, PEI members are experiencing a good year, ranking 2013 a “6.3” with “5” being average and “10” being their best year ever. They expect 2014 to be about the same, giving next year a “6.2” on the same scale. As evidence for their upbeat attitude, members cited commercial equipment sales and installation, retail fuel market construction, equipment upgrades, service, and equipment and related services for emergency power.   

Manufacturers, responding to the same survey, ranked 2013 a “7.4” and also expect 2014 to be more of the same. More than 30 percent of manufacturers responding to the survey cited new products and/or technological advances as the primary reason they are satisfied with business conditions today and optimistic about 2014.  

Phil Farrell, president of Double Check Company, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, was elected to serve as the 64th president of PEI. On January 1, Farrell will succeed Terry Cooper, president of Acterra Group, Inc., headquartered in Marion, Iowa, in PEI’s top position. Farrell is currently serving as PEI vice president.

Kevin McKinney, president of McKinney Petroleum Equipment, Mobile, Alabama, was elected vice president for 2014. McKinney has just completed his term as treasurer of the association, and has previously served on the PEI Board of Directors representing District 5.

Eight people were installed as new PEI directors during the annual meeting in Atlanta. They are Susan Scott, J. W. Scott Service Station Equipment Company, Trenton, New Jersey (District 1); Joey Cheek, JMP Solutions, Tampa, Florida (District 3); Susan Maples, RBM Company, Knoxville, Tennessee (District 5); Jason Munson, Dockendorf Equipment Company, Sioux Falls, South Dakota (District 7); Ryan Rethmeier, Western Pump Incorporated, San Diego, California (District 9); Kendra Barzak, Hamilton Tanks, Columbus, Ohio (District 11); Dick Basham, IRPCO, Subsidiary of Lewis-Goetz and Company, Poca, West Virginia (District 13); and Ron Kingsbury, UST Services Corporation, Owings, Maryland (Service and Construction Division). 

2013 PEI Convention Review

EPA To Cut RFS Mandates?

Regulatory Briefs: IA, MO, RI

Member Acquisitions

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• Appointed Steve Trabilsy of Accurate Tank Technologies, North Aurora, Illinois, as treasurer of the association.
• Directed staff to investigate ways PEI members can be recognized for participating in PEI educational programs.
• Appointed an ad hoc committee to review PEI membership criteria and the process of admitting members.
• Directed staff to develop an advertising campaign that increases PEI brand awareness to retailers, general contractors and others who influence buying decisions of PEI members’ goods and services.
• Discussed the idea of forming 10-Groups for PEI manufacturer division members, and asked staff to investigate the legal and practical aspects of such a program.
• Appointed Terry Cooper to a three-year term on the PEI Foundation’s Board of Directors.

An organizational meeting of PEI members interested in forming a women’s networking group was held during the convention. There was a strong sense from the 64 women who participated in the meeting in favor of taking the next step and exploring a more formal program for women who work for PEI member companies. Further details will be provided in the next TulsaLetter.

The educational sessions and entire convention program planned by the 2013 PEI Education and Convention Committee were extremely well attended and received high marks. Presentations by the speakers, together with a final exhibitor list and floor plan, and a complete list of attendees (downloadable for PEI members only), are available from the PEI convention page.

A sincere thanks to all of you who volunteered to help us put on this convention. The 10-Group chairmen, Education and Convention Committee members, Find Red volunteers, PEI Priority Club members and session presenters all played a huge part in the overall success of our meeting in Atlanta. We appreciate your help.

LEAKED EPA PROPOSAL OUTLINES REDUCTIONS TO BIOFUEL MANDATES
Major news organizations reported that a non-public (i.e., leaked) EPA proposal would sharply reduce the magnitude of biofuel mandates, including the renewable (ethanol) mandates, under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) beginning in calendar year 2014. This reinforces what we had been told in private meetings over the last 30 days. EPA’s proposal would reportedly cut the corn-based RFS mandate to 13.0 billion gallons from the statutory 14.4 billion gallon level and this year’s 13.8 billion gallon level.

After the proposal was leaked, EPA stated that proposed changes for the RFS in 2014 have not been finalized. The proposal is currently awaiting approval by the White House. In addition, the final proposal will be submitted for public comment so changes to the proposal are possible. It is therefore premature to assume that the rules in the leaked proposal will be the final rules for 2014.

In a related development, the American Petroleum Institute sent a letter last Thursday notifying EPA that it should prepare for a lawsuit if the final 2014 RFS is not released on time. By law, EPA is required to issue each year’s fuel standard by November 30 of the previous year.

REGULATORY BRIEFS
Iowa. A new biofuels pilot program, “Fueling Our Future,” was announced by state officials October 21. Under the state’s renewable fuels infrastructure program, gasoline retailers who install blender pumps can receive up to 50 percent of the costs for specific components of a project with a three-year commitment to sell certain renewable fuels. A five-year commitment to store and sell renewable fuels and install certain equipment can result in up to 70 percent reimbursement for specific equipment or installation costs. Certain biodiesel terminal equipment and/or infrastructure can receive funding for up to $100,000 per project. The money will be available to retailers through an application process with the Iowa Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Board. 
Missouri. Missouri’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules blocked a proposed rule change by the Missouri Department of Agriculture that would have allowed gasoline stations to sell fuel containing 15 percent ethanol (E15). The Committee did not rule on the merits of using E15, but rather said the state legislature—not an executive agency—must make the policy decision to allow it. The Missouri legislature convenes in January.
Rhode Island. The Department of Environmental Management will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, October 30, on proposed amendments to Air Pollution Control Regulation No. 11, “Petroleum Liquids Marketing and Storage,” and adoption of the “Rhode Island Stage II Vapor Recovery Control Program Discontinuation State Implementation Plan Revision.” The amendments would allow for decommissioning of Stage II vapor recovery systems at gasoline dispensing facilities. In addition, the proposed changes would strengthen requirements for Stage I vapor control systems. Copies of the proposed amendments are available here.

ACQUISITIONS
OPW, an operating unit within Dover Corporation’s Energy segment, announced October 10 that it has completed two acquisitions in separate transactions: United Kingdom-based Fibrelite and Sweden-based Kungsors Plast AB (KPS Petrol Pipe System). Terms of each transaction were not disclosed.
Zeppini Group, the holding company of Hydro Z and Zeppini Ecoflex, has acquired Unikap, marking an important step in its growth in the construction industry.

CNG NOTES
PEI member “O” Ring CNG Fuel Systems, L.P., was featured in a segment of the Larry King series In View which aired October 14 on the Discovery Channel. The program promoted CNG as a motor fuel in the United States and featured a new CNG station that involved PEI distributor member George I. Reitz & Sons, Inc. The broadcast, without Larry King’s introduction, can be viewed here.
The Minnesota Trucking Association held a summit October 17 in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, to promote the conversion of more truck fleets to natural gas.  

DEATHS
James M. Seymour, an equipment installer in Mableton, Georgia, died October 14 after a hard fought battle with cancer. He was 79. Survivors include his wife, Shirley; a daughter, Jenny Seymour of Mableton; and a son, Mike Seymour of Kennesaw, Georgia.
David W. Fellin, former co-owner of King Manufacturing Corp., passed away peacefully at his home in Lac Du Flambeau, Wisconsin, on July 29. After serving his country in the U.S. Army, he began his career at King Manufacturing in the late 1960s designing service stations and canopies. He was a co-owner of the company from 1992 until his retirement in 2000. 

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS
Honduras installation and construction firm. Inssyde, Col. Las Minitas casa No. 802, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, has applied for service and construction division membership. Hector G. Diaz Lara is CEO of the firm, which was established in 2003. The company builds service stations, erects canopies and installs equipment. Sponsored for PEI membership by Mainor Reyes, ReyesGas, Guatemala, Guatemala.

ADMITTED TO PEI

• Zhejiang Jialong Mechanical Equipment Co., Ltd., Wenzhou City, Zhejiang, China (aff)
• Petroleum Specialties, Inc., Kernersville, NC (aff)

 

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© 2013
Petroleum Equipment Institute
P. O. Box 2380
Tulsa, OK 74101-2380

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.