LP Gas, July 2014

Premier Cooperative A 121 year old farmer cooperative puts pedal to floor on autogas BY KEvIN YANIK MAnAGinG ediTor kyanik@ northcoastmedia net O ne of the oldest farmer cooperatives in the United States has roots that trace back to 1893 Still that co op continues to modernize and its actively developing its propane autogas services Premier Cooperative which is based in Mount Horeb Wis and has 14 locations throughout southwest Wisconsin officially joined the growing Alliance AutoGas network last month The co ops ties to autogas however date back a few years and to Charter Fuels a member of the Alliance AutoGas network that Premier Cooperative acquired earlier this year As part of the acquisition Premier Cooperative acquired the services of Josh Budworth a veteran Alliance AutoGas sales rep whos now a Premier Cooperative energy regional sales representative Ive worked for Charter Fuels since 2009 Budworth says I got started with Alliance as an automotive technician in 2004 2005 Alliance AutoGas became a natural fit for what I do According to Budworth Charter Fuels sold about 2000 gallons for autogas purposes in his first year with the company The next year Charter Fuels sold about 9000 autogas specific gallons Last year the company sold more than 80000 gallons You can see how its starting to unfold Budworth says This year Budworth sees Premier Cooperative approaching or surpassing 100000 gallons in autogas sales Premier is currently serving about 40 vehicles across 12 fleets Budworth forecasts future sales far beyond that though The outlook is really good he says Once people get past the fear factor we can offer the complete package everything from onsite fueling to technical support and training It really calms customers nerves knowing that Cold starting issues were a hump propane retailers had to get over with past autogas technologies Budworth says Cold starting is still a concern many potential customers have but its an issue Premier Cooperative can overcome he adds because the system the co op uses has a proven track record The other big anxiety piece is the range of the vehicles he says The system we use is a bi fuel system so you can run on propane or gasoline You have the same range on propane as you do on gasoline Although Budworth is optimistic about autogas for Premier Cooperative that specific propane market currently represents just a sliver of the co ops propane sales Following the Charter Fuels acquisition Energy Division Manager Tim Lease says the co op is now in position to sell about 17 million annual gallons of propane Most of those gallons are sold into the residential market but the ag market which Premier Cooperative has served since its first days as Patrons CoMPAnies To WATCH Josh Budworth left a Premier Cooperative energy regional sales representative and an Alliance AutoGas sales rep with Tim Lease Premiers energy division manager LOCATION Mount Horeb Wis FOUNDED 1893 EMPLOYEES 41 in propane CUSTOMERS More than 20000 PROPANE SALES 17 million annual gallons ONLINE www premiercooperative com Mercantile Cooperative in 1893 is still a key market for the business I think we do maybe 600000 gallons in corn drying Lease says Last year it all hit at once so it was tough to get loads sometimes Lease is exploring summer deliveries and larger tanks for remote customers as a way to improve how Premier Cooperative serves its farmer customers LPG 84 LPGas July 2014 www LPGasmagazine com