LP Gas, March 2010

Lets Talk Lets grow our industry Propane fueled vehicles commercial lawn mowers are great areas to start B ack in 1977 the comedian and actor Steve Martin released a comedy album called Lets Get Small On it he does a bit about a joke he wrote for plumbers This lawn supervisor was going out on a sprinkler maintenance job and he started to work on a Findlay sprinkler head with a Langstrom 7 inch gangly wrench Just then a little apprentice leans over and says You cant work on a Findlay sprinkler head with a Langstrom 7 inch wrench Well this infuriates the supervisor so he went and got Volume 14 of the Kinsley manual and reads to him It says the Langstrom 7 inch wrench can be used with the Findlay sprocket Just then the little apprentice leaned over and says It says sprocket not socket Of course the audience did not get the joke When you are in an industry you are very close to the work You may think all people know or are as aware as you about a product or service A lot of potential customers do not understand how to buy propane We need to educate consumers on how propane is delivered and that it is a safe environmentally friendly domestic fuel The propane industry needs to grow the uses of propane We have some new technologies and products that can help us do that A product that should sell easily is propane fueled commercial lawn mowers As an industry we need to focus on the commercial lawn mower business now It is estimated that a propane fueled commercial lawn mower will use between 900 and 1200 gallons per year As an industry we need to start contacting lawn mower dealers and potential lawn mower customers We need to educate these dealers on the ease in which propane is delivered The dealers need to be educated on how propane fueled commercial lawn mowers can increase sales The dealer can even add propane as a product to sell with cylinder exchange or a pump station The dealers need to be aware of the service training that is available from manufacturers Let dealers know that you are going to be contacting potential customers and work together Next contact customers Examples of commercial lawn mower users are golf courses resorts colleges and universities parks and recreation boards and commercial lawn service companies We have a compelling story The product burns cleaner than gasoline Propane is a domestic fuel Propane is economical There are no spills in refueling and propane will not end up in employees gas tanks We have a proven history with more than 600000 forklifts in use today In a recent BusinessWeek article on natural gas the author stated that AT T would be replacing 8000 service vans with natural gas powered vehicles It also mentioned that natural gas vehicles are limited by the dearth of fi ll up stations in the United States We have a national network already established Quality products from good manufacturers are fi nally available One of the good manufacturers is Blue Bird school buses Not only has Blue Bird established a quality product it is pushing for sales Last year 8 percent of the school buses Blue Bird sold were propane powered In addition to school buses in 2010 Roush will release E 150 E 250 and E 350 Ford vans equipped with proven propane powered engines to go with the propane powered E 450 Ford van currently available These vans can be sold as shuttles to parking authorities hotels resorts and limousine service companies Roush also offers Ford F 150 pick up trucks that many municipalities and states could use Every time I hear the discussion on going green or reducing greenhouse gases or breaking free of dependency on foreign fuel I am excited that we in the propane industry can be a part of the solution The downside is that we are rarely mentioned as a solution We have to collectively work to grow the propane industry through fi nding innovative uses for our product and to educate customers manufacturers government and the press Please let me know of your successes in marketing propane fueled commercial lawn mowers and vehicles LPG Len Caric is director of corporate development at AmeriGas and is on the faculty of Seton Hill University where he teaches courses in management and marketing He can be reached at len caric@ amerigas com GUEST COLUMNIST LEN CARIC I am excited that we in the propane industry can be a part of the green solution The downside is that we are rarely mentioned as a solution www LPGasmagazine com March 2010 LPGas 29