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  Energy company owners are typically very good at preparing their operations to serve their customers. Vehicle fleets are always a focus as they deliver the products and services being offered. Customer service training, robust technology systems, purchasing/hedging and a good marketing campaign are other areas successful markets focus on. The one item most marketers tend to put off is ...

Many of you I’m sure have had situations during a service call where you found that a nozzle failed and you replaced it. Why the nozzle failed was most likely that it was plugged with sludge, as that black stuff is commonly called. Let’s be sure we first understand the function and the different brands of nozzles, such as Monarch, ...

First, we take note of late-breaking news: Congress adjourned before the holidays without renewing a number of expiring tax breaks, including a $1 per gallon biodiesel blenders’ tax credit set to expire on Dec. 31. The New England Fuel Institute, noting this development in a “Legislative Update” said it will continue to press for a retroactive extension of the biodiesel ...

By Charles Bursey During my years of being in the trade I have chatted with many contractors about their business plans, which often included, as you might expect, their financial goals. When I asked how they planned on meeting their goals for a given year, generally they would give an answer that included how many signed contracts they needed in ...

Recently I had an opportunity to attend a workshop sponsored by the National Oil Heat Research Alliance. I was no less than impressed with the information that was given by the presenters from England, Germany and the U.S. There were professional men and woman in attendance from several segments of our industry. I learned that in Germany the goal is ...

After the National Oilheat Research Alliance held a Technical Workshop in Newport, R.I., that featured speakers from the U.S. and overseas fuel oil industries, John Huber, NORA’s president, said, “We’re very happy with how it went. People were really enthusiastic, and we had pretty good representation across the spectrum of the industry.” Huber added, “It’s always interesting and entertaining to ...

Who can see into the future? The question comes up in our cover story this month, the “Heating Season Fuels Outlook.” Palm readers and others of that ilk might claim to be able to see what’s ahead. The experts we interviewed made a point of declaring that they make no such claims. But they are seasoned professionals with collective decades ...

A basic full-service energy marketer is defined as a company that not only delivers fuel, but provides the associated 24-hour HVAC services necessary to repair heating units in the event of a breakdown. There are many levels of service being provided by full-service fuel marketers. Most full-service providers also repair air conditioning units, provide or lease propane tanks, and offer ...

Winter is around the corner, and perhaps it will be a colder one than last year, as my associates in the oil business are hoping. Recently I’ve had a chance to speak with oil dealers, manufacturers and suppliers regarding their sales for the 2015-16 season and, across the board, they all said that their sales were off and they attributed ...

It has been a pleasure to be the editor of Fuel Oil News since 2007. It has been an honor to do my small part in maintaining a publication that has been successfully serving the heating oil and, more broadly, the distributed fuel industry since 1935. I say “small part” because the magazine and those that came before me have ...