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Dear PEI Member:

No trade association wants to talk about the companies that don’t renew their membership. It’s like explaining to your board of directors why you didn’t get certain jobs or why you lost money on the jobs you won. But that’s what we are going to look at so we might get a sense on how the industry fared in 2015 and what 2016 might look like.

First, a little background. PEI has 374 domestic distributor members. During the past year, only 11—less than 3 percent of PEI’s domestic distributor membership—either proactively cancelled their membership for some reason or were dropped for nonpayment of dues.

Of the 11, three of those companies became branches of companies that acquired them, so it was expected that they would cancel. As for the other eight, two left the industry and six were dropped because we couldn’t get them to respond—nobody answered the phones or responded to voicemail and email. Scattered throughout the country, the eight were fairly small: three had sales in the $1 million-$3 million range while the other five had revenue under $1 million. For all we know, they might still be in business, but they are certainly not as aggressive as they once were.

I’ve been accused of being Pollyanna-ish in my views, which tend toward the optimistic when it comes to the flexible, almost naturally buoyant domestic petroleum equipment economy. But PEI’s distributor membership numbers have buttressed our views now for years, and losing only 11 distributor members in one year, while regrettable, is no big whoop. Once again, no bankruptcies. No panic-filled phone calls. No gnashing of teeth. Just a few companies slipping away, quietly, into the night. The industry did well in 2015, and 2016 looks to be as good if not better. 
 

Industry Outlook: 2016

Weights & Measures Recap

PEI Membership Survey

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NCWM INTERIM MEETING
The National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM) held its 2016 interim meeting last week in San Diego, California. Items discussed of importance to PEI members and their customers included diesel filters, water in tanks, diesel gallon equivalent for CNG and LNG, and labels for vehicle refueling.

Diesel filters. The current language in Handbook 130 requires a 30-micron filter on all retail diesel dispensers. A proposal to require 10-micron filters on diesel dispensers with a flow rate of 15 gallons per minute (gpm) or less will be voted on this July at the annual meeting in Denver. The new voting item differs from proposals in previous years because it exempts most northern states in the winter months. This is the language that will be considered in Denver:

Section 4.3.1. Engine Fuel Dispensers
All gasoline, biodiesel blends, gasoline-ether blends, ethanol flex fuel, and M85 methanol dispensers shall have a 10-micron or smaller nominal pore-sized filter.

All biodiesel, biodiesel blends, diesel, and kerosene dispensers shall have a 10-micron or smaller nominal pore-sized filter with the following exceptions:

1. Dispensers with flow rates greater than 15 gallons per minute shall use a 30-micron or smaller nominal pore-size filter.
2. Dispensers with flow rates less than or equal to 15 gallons per minute in the following states may use a 30-micron or smaller nominal pore size filter during the months of December through March. These states include: Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine. This exception has a sunset date of April 2020.
3. Dispensers with flow rates less than or equal to 15 gallons per minute in North Dakota may use a 30-micron or smaller nominal size filter during the months of November through March. This exception has a sunset date of April 2020.

Water in retail storage tanks. Handbook 130 currently allows up to 1 inch of water in tanks storing diesel, gasoline, gasoline-ether blends, and kerosene sold at retail. A proposal from regulators in Colorado would reduce the allowable amount of water in tanks storing fuels to 1/4 inch. This proposal was assigned to a focus group of industry stakeholders for further discussion. It will not be voted on in July.

CNG-Diesel Equivalent. Since the 1990s, natural gas as a motor fuel has been sold at retail using a gasoline gallon equivalent (GGE) calculation. A proposal to add a new diesel gallon equivalent (DGE), or method of sale, to the existing GGE standard used for CNG and liquefied natural gas (LNG) was not passed last year by delegates to the NCWM. An almost identical proposal will be considered again this July in Denver.

Labeling requirements for vehicle refueling. The NCWM changed portions of Handbook 130’s labeling requirements to be in accord with the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) final amendments to its Fuel Rating Rule. The FTC rule appeared in the January 14, 2016, Federal Register and has an effective date of July 14, 2016.         

HOW ARE WE DOING? TAKE THE PEI MEMBER SURVEY
PEI is committed to providing its members the services they want, when they want them. One important tool we use to make certain we are on the right track is our Annual Membership Survey. To help us gauge the usefulness of the association’s processes and practices, please take a few minutes to complete the survey located here.
  
If you have any questions regarding the survey, please contact Chris Bouldin at cbouldin@pei.org or 918-494-9696.

COMPANY ACQUISITIONS
Rittiner Equipment Company Inc. has acquired the business assets of Lassco LLC in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Rittiner now has offices with service and construction personnel in Mobile, Alabama; and New Orleans, Baton Rouge (Denham Springs), Lafayette (Scott) and Lake Charles, Louisiana.
GPM Investments LLC has signed an agreement to acquire 42 Apple Market convenience stores and approximately 25 dealer-operated stores in Virginia and Kentucky from Fuel USA LLC, Durham, North Carolina.

DEATHS
Ocie Turley, former president and owner of Service Equipment Company, Birmingham, Alabama, died January 17, 2016, in Trussville, Alabama. He was 88. Ocie was president of the Petroleum Equipment Institute in 1981 and previous to that had served a term on its board of directors. He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Allene; his son, Glenn, who also worked at Service Equipment; his daughter, Karen T. Buckelew; and four grandchildren.
Ken Fehlig, former vice president of Lincoln Automotive Lubrication Systems, died December 10, 2015, while spending time at one of his favorite spots, Table Rock Lake (Missouri). Ken spent more than 45 years with Lincoln in a number of critical roles, including leading the company in its Automotive/PEI Division. He was the inventor of the cordless electric grease gun, one of the industry’s most popular lubrication tools, along with other products Lincoln sells today. He retired from Lincoln in April 2015, at the age of 68.

ADMITTED TO PEI

• Dixon, Chestertown, MD (mfr)
• GURU Digital Media, Torrance, CA (mfr)
• M.N.T. Co., Ltd., Yangon, Myanmar (aff)
• Tecnologia e Ingenieria Luqross S.A. de C.V., Azcapotzalco, Mexico D.F., Mexico (aff)
• U-Glove, Inc., Miramar, FL (aff)
• Vonoz Mak. Ekipmanlari Insaat San. Ltd., Istanbul, Turkey (aff)
• Weston & Sampson Engineers, Inc., Peabody, MA (aff)
• JSR Enterprises East Coast LLC dba JSR Fueling Technologies, Palm Bay, FL (S&C)
• NW Tank Lining & Inspection, Inc., Tigard, OR (S&C)
• Ohio Tank & Pipe Services LLC, Seven Hills, OH (S&C)
• RCFS, Inc., Jarrettsville, MD (S&C)
• Refaccionaria Y Servicios Sol Rey, S.A. de C.V., El Salto, Jalisco, Mexico (S&C)
• Wolftank Adisa GmbH, Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria (S&C)
• Abdulhamid Alqallaf, KNPC, Safat, Kuwait (O&E)
• Don Chaplin, Global Pertners LLC, Waltham, MA (O&E)
• Rafael Davila, To Go Stores, Inc., Condado, Puerto Rico (O&E)
• Curtis Dukes, Pilot Travel Centers, Knoxville, TN (O&E)
• Wesley M. Henderson, Racetrac Petroleum, Inc., Atlanta, GA (O&E)
• Bob Riley, Riley Oil Company, Richmond, KY (O&E)
• Scott Robinson, Noco Energy, Tonawanda, NY (O&E)

 

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© 2016
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.