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Here are some of our thoughts about EPA’s announcement
and its impact on PEI members and their customers:
- EPA originally proposed in November 2013 to lower the blending
requirements to 15.21 billion gallons, a reduction in the Congressional
mandate of about 3 billion gallons. EPA made this proposal because it didn’t
think the fuel sector could absorb any more ethanol. EPA’s announcement
gives cautious hope to the ethanol industry that the agency will
fundamentally rethink how it proposes the annual fuel levels.
- On December 3, an OnCue Express station in Oklahoma City
became the first U.S. retail gasoline station since 2010 to sell regular
gasoline for under $2 a gallon. The national average—hovering around $2.74
last week, also the lowest since 2010—is down 51 cents in a year and
continues to fall. If lower-cost gasoline is available for years to come,
will the public drive more, consume more gallons and move the nation away
from the “blend wall” most believe we have already hit?
- The “decision to not decide” perpetuates the uncertainty that
has plagued the continued evolution of biofuels production and marketing for
a year. A predictable marketplace will only be achieved if the RFS is
allowed to be the market-forcing mechanism. Until then, a strong move to E15
or E85 blends will not occur.
- The RFS will be an issue in the 114th Congress. It
is expected that legislation will be introduced next year to either reform
or eliminate the RFS. The next chair of the Senate Environment and Public
Works Committee is James Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican, who is a strong
critic of the RFS. Inhofe will probably hold hearings in 2015 attacking the
RFS. However, ethanol’s support is bipartisan and along geographical lines.
Even though Republicans will control both chambers of Congress next year,
common ground for reform might be as elusive as ever, leading us to believe
that attempts to weaken the RFS will not succeed.
PEI 2015 Service &
Construction Managers Conference
If you are responsible for your firm’s service or construction
department, consider attending PEI's 2015 Service & Construction Managers
Conference, March 19-21, in Orlando, Florida.
The two-day conference will
offer a combination of general sessions and roundtable discussions
specifically geared to the needs of service and construction managers. The
conference will include presentations by Mike Staver on three topics of
interest to both groups:
- Leadership Isn’t for Cowards: How
to Lead Courageously in a Turbulent Age
- How to Create an Exceptional
Customer Experience: How It Was Is Not How It Is
- Talent for Keeps: How to Attract, Retain and Engage Top
Performers
Those attending the
conference also will have an opportunity to discuss issues with other
managers from across the nation in a roundtable format. General management
roundtable topics for both service and construction managers include:
- Human Resources/Employee/Personnel Management
- Office Management
- Customer Relations
- Manufacturer/Distributor Relations
Roundtable topics for service
managers include:
- Customer Service
- Jobsite Safety
- Service Department Management
- Service Technicians
Topics specifically for construction managers include:
- Construction Projects
- Construction Employees
- Construction Safety
- Construction Management
Registration for PEI members
prior to January 21 is $295 ($545 for nonmembers). Beginning January 21, the
fee goes up to $395 for members and $695 for nonmembers. The fee includes
all conference materials, three general sessions, four roundtable sessions,
three meals and two receptions. You can register at
www.pei.org/SC2015 or call Sondra Sutton at 918-236-3967. A list of
people pre-registered for the conference will be posted on the PEI website
in the near future.
The conference will be held
at the DoubleTree by Hilton Orlando at SeaWorld, Orlando, Florida.
Conference registration does not include sleeping room accommodations.
Conference attendees can secure the PEI $139 single/double conference rate
and make reservations by clicking here. Reservations must be made prior to
February 28 to receive the special rate.
PEI members sponsoring the
conference are Davisware, ESCO Services, Husky Corporation, Morrison Bros.
Co., PMP Corporation and RDM Industrial Electronics. If your company is
interested in becoming a sponsor, contact Bob Young at
byoung@pei.org.
PEI members responsible for
planning the conference are Pete Anstadt, PWI Incorporated, New Oxford, PA;
Shawn Brooke, Petroleum Solutions, Inc., San Antonio, TX; Ron Kingsbury, UST
Services Corporation, Owings, MD; Nate Lawson, McCon Building and Petroleum
Services, Inc., Irving, TX; Ryan Mulvaney, Central Illinois Manufacturing
Company, Bement, IL; Marshall D. Ryan, Unified Services of Texas, Inc.,
Southlake, TX; Billy Thorne, Mid-South Steel Products, Cape Girardeau, MO;
and Robert Wileman, Petroleum Solutions, Inc., Houston, TX.
REGISTRATION FOR PEI WOMEN
CONFERENCE OPEN
PEI is proud to present the inaugural PEI Women Conference, to be held
April 29 – May 1, 2015, in Denver, Colorado, at the Embassy Suites Downtown.
The conference is packed with educational sessions, presentations, and
numerous opportunities to interact and network.
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Welcome reception and dinner on Wednesday, April 29.
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Kick-Off Keynote on Thursday, “Fearless Leadership,” by Carey
Lohrenz. Lohrenz was the first female F-14 Tomcat Fighter Pilot in the U.S.
Navy. She shares her fascinating
experiences operating in one of the world's most challenging
environments: an operational
aircraft carrier.
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Two sessions by Gail Alofsin: “Be Your Own
Hollywood—Cultivating Your Inner Rock Star!” and “The Foundation of
Leadership: They Know It When They See It!” Alofsin is president of
Authentic Measurable Performance and adjunct professor at the University of
Rhode Island.
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An update on the new underground storage tank rules, expected
to be out this winter, by Carolyn Hoskinson, director of the Environmental
Protection Agency’s Office of Underground Storage Tanks. Hoskinson will also
share her perspectives as a woman in government.
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Two sessions by Kathryne Newton, Ph.D.: “The Evolving Role of
Women in the Workplace” and “Upgrading Your Communications Skills for the
New Business Era.” Newton is professor of Supply Chain Management Technology
and is the Graduate Chair in the Technology Leadership and Innovation
Department at Purdue University.
See the
full schedule here.
Early-bird registration for
PEI Women members is $395 ($495 for nonmembers) until January 28. After
January 28, the fee increases to $495 for members ($595 for nonmembers).
(Note that the nonmember registration fee includes a PEI Women membership.)
The fee includes all sessions and materials, lunch, two receptions and two dinners.
The room rate at the Embassy Suites is $150 plus tax until April 7.
Breakfast is included with the hotel room rate.
An optional tour of the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is planned prior to the
conference opening on the afternoon of April 29. Space for the tour is limited
to 20 individuals on a first-come, first-served basis.
PEI Women Committee
members include Kristi Peterson, Xerxes Corporation, chair; Nichol
Benavides, Petroleum Solutions, Inc.; Lisa Blassingame, NOV Fiber Glass
Systems; Chris Blumberg, Southeastern Petroleum Systems, Inc.; Paola Bravo,
S. Bravo Systems Inc.; Joyce Couch, Husky Corporation; Lynn Fry, RSSE;
Michelle Kautz, Wayne; and Susan Regier, P.S.I. Equipment Sales, Inc.
CHARLES D. KEMP
SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS NOW AVAILABLE
Each year, the PEI Foundation awards $1,000 Charles D. Kemp Scholarships
to deserving dependents of PEI member company employees.
Applications for the
2015-2016 scholarships are now being accepted. To be eligible, an applicant
must be a dependent of a full-time employee of a member company in PEI’s
manufacturer, distributor, service and construction, or affiliate divisions.
The applicant must also plan to enroll as an entering full-time freshman for
the 2015-2016 academic year at an accredited four-year college or
university. Recipients are selected based on academic achievement,
leadership, character, need, and the applicant’s intent to contribute to the
future of the fuel and fluid handling equipment industry.
For additional information
and to download the scholarship guidelines and application form, visit
www.pei.org/foundation. Deadline for completed applications is March 31,
2015.
REGULATORY BRIEFS
Massachusetts. Hold-open clips will be allowed on dispenser nozzles
throughout the commonwealth beginning January 1, 2015. The ban on hold-open
latches had been in place since the 1970s. The rule change is part of a
larger fire code overhaul going into effect at the start of 2015.
Vermont. The state is in the process of amending its Stage I vapor
recovery rules to clarify the requirements in its existing Stage I
regulation. The only anticipated economic impact is to some gasoline
dispensing facilities (GDFs) that may need to install updated equipment to
comply with the amendments. The equipment needed and estimated costs will
vary from GDF to GDF, depending on the equipment they already have in place.
For those GDFs that need to install new components, the estimated cost
ranges from $435 to $2,343 per facility. The deadline for public comment has
expired. The proposed rule was reviewed by the Legislative Committee on
Administrative Rules on December 4.
BRIEFLY NOTED
The White House said November 18 that 70 electric utility companies
across the nation are promising to spend at least 5 percent of their fleet
acquisitions budget each year—totaling more than $50 million annually—on the
purchase of electric vehicles.—Detroit Free Press, November 18, 2014.
Despite solid growth in the convenience store count, the U.S. is
still less saturated with C-stores than it was in 2008. In 2008, population
per store had dropped to just 2,079; in 2014 it was 2,105. Back in 1986
there were 3,752 people per store. The number of single store operators
continues to grow faster than the number of chain store outlets. Single
store operators accounted for 50 percent of total stores in 2000; now they
are 63 percent of the total.—Lundberg Letter, November 6, 2014.
Overall diesel demand in the U.S. will start to decline in 2016 in
wake of substitutions for diesel in the non-transportation sector and
growing use of compressed natural gas (CNG) for heavy-duty vehicles and
railroad segments.—An Assessment of the Diesel Fuel Market: Demand,
Supply, Trade and Key Drivers, a report commissioned by the Fuels
Institute.
APPOINTMENTS
IRPCO, LLC, Poca, West Virginia, has made three territory assignment
changes effective January 1. J.U.R. will represent the company throughout
California. Merthan Associates will be responsible for Iowa, and Walsh, Long
& Company will cover Illinois, Indiana and Michigan.
Modern Welding Company, Inc., Owensboro, Kentucky, will be
represented in the Northeastern U.S. by TR2 Corporation of Wayne, New
Jersey.
DEATHS
Margaret Ann Slawinski, a former officer for OILCO Liquid Handling
Systems, died November 20 at the age of 83. She served as vice president,
board treasurer and chief accounts supervisor in her 40- year career with
the company. She was instrumental in designing the internal finance system
still used today and continued to operate in various capacities well into
2014. Margaret is survived by her husband, Richard C. Slawinski Sr.; a son,
Richard C. Slawinski, Jr.; a daughter, Patricia A. Skochil; four
grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Edward R. (Ned) Maxwell Sr., founder of Eastern States Associates,
Inc. in 1955, passed away peacefully on November 21. Ned was always a strong
PEI supporter and made certain that Eastern States was one of the first
companies to join PEI when affiliate division membership was opened to
manufacturers’ representative agencies in 1968. He is survived by his son,
Edward, Jr., and three daughters, Pat Neal, Anne Towne and Kati Bepko.
Theodore John Renkes, father of the editor of this newsletter, died
November 29 in Atlanta, Georgia. He was 87. Although he had never been in
the petroleum equipment business (he was employed by various furniture
manufacturers for nearly 47 years), he had taken an intense interest in PEI
since 1979 and took every opportunity to ask how the industry and PEI were
going. He was a great role model for his boys and a wonderful friend to
those who were fortunate to know him. In addition to his wife, Charlotte,
and son, Bob, he is survived by another son, David, three grandchildren and
two great-grandchildren.
Austin Avery Hurd Leonard, office manager and inside salesperson for
Leonard Petroleum Equipment Co. Inc., Twin Falls, Idaho, passed away
November 25, 2014, while visiting friends in Lawrence, Kansas. He was 34.
Austin represented the third generation in the business and for over a
decade worked alongside his father, Steven, extended family and close
friends. He is survived by his parents, Steven and Marion “Mayz” Leonard,
four brothers and a sister.
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS
Mexico service and construction firm. Uriarte Equipamiento Gasolinero
S.A. de C.V., Rio Nazas 1494, Col. Los Pinos, Culiacan, Mexico 80128, has
applied for service and construction division membership. Antonio Uriarte is
COO of the firm, which was established in 1996. The company installs service
station equipment. Sponsored for PEI membership by Artemio Hernandez Medina,
RNB, Monterrey, N.L., Mexico.
ADMITTED TO PEI
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DDC Fuel Services, LLC, Venus, TX (dis)
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Magnetron USA, Torrance, CA (dis)
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Petromax Ltd., Dartmouth, Nova Scotia (dis)
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Spartan Tank & Trailer, LLC, Spartanburg, SC (dis)
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Banlaw Fuel Management Solutions, Elko, NV (mfr)
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Petro Defense, Zephyrhills, FL (mfr)
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Clear Creek Private Investors LLC, Atlanta, GA (aff)
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Alfred Benesch & Company, Glastonbury, CT (aff)
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Fuel Marketer News, Cypress, TX (aff)
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ProTechnology, Ladera Ranch, CA (aff)
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SOS-Retail Services, Bedford, TX (aff)
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The Dimension Group, Dallas, TX (aff)
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Vinamco Import & Export Petroleum Equipments JSC,
Ho Chi Minh
City, Vietnam (aff)
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CalClean, Inc., Orange, CA (S&C)
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Fuel King LLC, Rock Hill, SC (S&C)
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M&M Services, LLC, Medford, OR (S&C)
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Pedro J. Esteves Inc., Caguas, Puerto Rico (S&C)
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Southern Petroleum Maintenance, LLC, Arab, AL (S&C)
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Ricardo Leyva, OXXOGAS – Gas Station, Monterrey, Mexico (O&E)
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Paul Stewart, Kroger Company, Memphis, TN (O&E)
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Damon Wright, QuikTrip Corporation, Tulsa, OK (O&E)
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