Happy New Year, everybody! Where does the time go? I can’t believe a year has gone by since I broke my last New Year’s resolution. This year I resolve to make no more resolutions.
Let’s start the informative part of this article with propane supply. Here are some fun facts:
After the propane is produced or imported, most of the propane in the Midwest is stored in salt caverns in Conway, KS. Brine is pumped out of the caverns to pull propane in during the inventory build and the reverse process pushes the propane out into pipelines, railcars or transport trucks in the fall, winter and spring.
The transport trucks deliver to propane plants in the Kansas area but may range further if supply is tight. Full railcars are sent to rail terminals throughout the Midwest. We use rail terminals in East Dubuque IL, Arena, McFarland, Hixton and Waupaca to augment the propane we receive from the pipeline terminals. We send transports to pipeline terminals in Pine Bend, MN, Inver Grove Heights, MN, Janesville, Dubuque and Junction City. Here’s something I just learned this week. The propane in the pipelines travels at walking speed (3-4 MPH) to the pipeline terminals. Who would’ve thought?
We purchase our propane through 5 different wholesalers to ensure adequate supply. Transport trucks pick up propane at the rail and pipeline terminals, normally 9,200 gallons per truckload. These transport vehicles then deliver the propane to one of our storage facilities. We have 20 facilities ranging from 30,000 to 60,000 gallons of storage for a total capacity of over 800,000 gallons. That may seem like a lot but on a cold day in the winter we can deliver over 150,000 gallons with our 25 delivery personnel and 26 propane delivery trucks. The propane is constantly flowing into and out of our storage.
As you can see, there are a lot of moving parts to get propane from production into your tank. I can honestly say that the staff that we have today is the best that it has ever been and head and shoulders above most other propane companies’ staff. Working with a company with these kinds of resources, a great group of employees and diversified supply helps to ensure adequate supply during peak consumption times.
I don’t want you to get the impression that we only do propane. We also deliver over 2.5 million gallons of diesel fuel, fuel oil and gasoline to our customers. If you are a farmer and would like to lock in your diesel fuel for the coming growing season or purchase your diesel fuel from us for the first time, please contact Shane McCully at 608-504-6281.
If you’re looking to make a career change this year, we’ve got a propane delivery position open in the Mt. Horeb area. Good pay with benefits and opportunities for overtime. We’ve got modern, easy to drive delivery vehicles, great customers and beautiful scenery. Jump on our website and apply today!
Lastly, I’ve got some safety information to pass along to you. Please keep a clear path to the propane tank. Also, we will not deliver to tanks where we can’t safely get up the driveway. A good rule of thumb is if an ambulance or a firetruck can’t get up your driveway, we can’t either. It’s not just about our safety. It’s about you and your family’s safety as well. Thank you for your business.
