Jacobus Energy

Feature Story

Delivering Reliability

Jacobus Energy’s promise of timely accurate, safe deliveries made possible with Blackmer pumps

by Scott Jackson

Art Hoff, who has been with Jacobus Energy for 33 years and is currently the company’s fleet procurement supervisor, is responsible for updating and maintaining the company’s truck fleet.

‘Reliability, accuracy and safety are critical. Our customers want their fuel delivered exactly when they need it, often during very narrow time windows,” said Shelley Brannan, marketing manager for Milwaukee, Wis.-based Jacobus Energy. ‘Equipment failures that lead to downtime can disrupt an entire route, so quality, well-maintained truck equipment is key for our business. Arriving even an hour late is unacceptable.”

Without this type of commitment by all of its employees, Jacobus Energy most likely would not be nearing its 90th anniversary. Since 1919, Jacobus Energy has been consistently delivering on its promise to its customers. The company does this by utilizing the most up-to-date and reliable equipment available today in the fuel oil delivery business. The company has made significant strides with its fleet since its inception.

Jacobus was originally founded as Wauwatosa Fuel & Supply Company, focusing on buying and selling coal, animal feed and other supplies in the Milwaukee market. The company’s first ‘fleet” consisted of two teams of horses. Along with the horses, five employees rounded out the original organization. The company went through many changes over the next 80-plus years ‘ hauling cement and selling coal as Milwaukee Fuel & Dock Supply in the 1930s, and selling retail and wholesale coal, coke, petroleum products, wood and wood fuels in the 1940s.

During the 1960s and ’70s, the company entered the heating oil business, acquired several companies (more than 20 in the 1970s alone) and expanded into new Midwestern markets. The company continued to grow during the 1980s by entering into the convenience-store and automated-fueling markets. In 2000, the company changed its name to Jacobus Energy.

Today, Jacobus Energy has a fleet of more than 200 vehicles serving homes in Wisconsin, as well as businesses throughout the Midwest and the South. The company includes two major divisions: Quick Fuel Fleet Services and Quickflash Heating & Cooling Services.

Quick Fuel Fleet Services provides fueling solutions for commercial businesses such as truck fleets, construction contractors, railroads and boats. Its fueling services include on-site mobile refueling and a network of automated fueling facilities located throughout the Midwest and the South. The company recently introduced FuelEdge, a new automated fuel-delivery system that ensures delivery safety and reliability, and allows customers to access their fueling transactions minutes after a delivery is made.

‘Because fuel is a major expense for many businesses they require accurate deliveries. Quick Fuel uses a state-of-the-art automated delivery system that allows customers to view fueling transactions online minutes after a delivery is made,” said Brannan. ‘They need to know that fuel quantities have been recorded accurately and that they will be invoiced accurately. Again, quality equipment is key.”

On the residential side of the business, Quickflash Heating & Cooling Services is one of the largest home-heating-oil suppliers in Wisconsin, serving tens of thousands of homes in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Des Moines, Iowa. In addition to providing home heating oil, Quickflash sells new furnaces and air conditioners, and has a staff of in-house technicians who specialize in repairing and maintaining oil and gas systems in Wisconsin.

Properly Equipped
Art Hoff, fleet procurement supervisor, has been with Jacobus Energy for the last 33 years and is an integral part of the company’s promise to its customers. He is responsible for updating and maintaining the company’s truck fleet, which is no small task due to the physical demands on a vehicle, and its components during the cold, icy and harsh Midwestern winters. Wisconsin, especially, can be home to some of the coldest and most relentless winters in the country. However, no matter what the condition, the company’s fleet must be able to perform and deliver on its promise: reliably, accurately and safely delivered fuel.

In order for the company to continue to deliver fuel to its customers on time, every time it must keep its fleet of approximately 200 trucks well maintained and outfitted with dependable equipment that will perform under the most severe conditions. Jacobus Energy has been using transport pumps manufactured by Blackmer, Grand Rapids, Mich., for more than 30 years and is very pleased with their performance.

‘Our trucks must be equipped with reliable parts and components that won’t fail in the middle of a delivery,” noted Hoff. ‘We’ve been using Blackmer transfer pumps successfully for many years. Our application warrants the use of a positive displacement pump. We were using Blackmer successfully when I started in 1974 and we’ll continue to use Blackmer pumps.”

Blackmer specializes in sliding-vane-pump technology for many different fuel-transfer applications. Its sliding vane pumps are fast, quiet and highly reliable and ideal for use on tank trucks and transports for the transfer of clean, lubricating liquids and petroleum products, such as fuel oil, diesel, kerosene, gasoline, avgas, jet fuel and light lube oils. Blackmer’s sliding vane pumps are also easy to maintain and provide high suction and self-priming capabilities that help Jacobus consistently deliver fuel to its customers on time, every time.

Scott Jackson is a product manager for Blackmer, Grand Rapids, Mich., and specializes in transport pump applications for the fuel oil industry. He can be reached at (616) 248-9218 or jackson@blackmer.com. For more information on Blackmer’s full line of transport pumps, go to www.blackmer.com or call (616) 241-1611.