L.P. Transportation

A fleet of transports has traveled the northeastern roads this mild winter, having grown from century-old roots and serving customers in a propane industry celebrating its own centennial throughout 2012.

L.P. Transportation has flourished, moving propane and other fuels from Maine to Virginia in more than 200 trailers. Times have changed since 1958, when its founder strayed from his family’s ways and bought two propane trucks, branching into fuel delivery and away from his family’s milk-delivery business. But Andrew Palmer Sr., who was ever firm in his beliefs and yet unassuming in his personality, had a special gift.

“My father was so intuitive; he always thought futuristically,” says Carolyn Palmer, who works in marketing and sales for the New York-based company. “He felt he could do a lot better in propane than in milk. That’s what his parents and grandfather were doing. They were upset with him buying two propane trucks. He was kind of a maverick.”

Today, the Palmer family owns L.P. Transportation, a common carrier, with fourth-generation siblings Christopher, Richard, Andrew, John and Carolyn involved with the company.

L.P. Transportation operates more than 140 LP gas tankers, with the ability to lease more as needed. It provides year-round service from 35 origins.

Asked if she sees her father’s influence on how the company operates today, Carolyn Palmer says, “A big influence. He knew how to strategically place the terminals not only along the pipelines but at railheads, import facilities, refineries and storage facilities. Many standards he set are still in place today. Our motto is to transport in the safest and most reliable way. Everyone is often heard saying, ‘This is how Dad would have done it.’ We were all trained by his integrity to run a business by ‘your word is your word.’”

Andrew Palmer Sr. was 84 when he died in September 2009. He remained involved with the company until the end, always carrying his briefcase and working with his sharp mind at the dining room table of the home where he and wife Edith raised their eight children in Chester, N.Y.

“He was such a humble guy,” Carolyn Palmer says. “I can hear him right now saying, ‘You don’t have to give me any glory.’”

TEAM: The Palmer family owns L.P. Transportation. Art Ogden is the company’s CEO.
LOCATION: Chester, N.Y., with 15 additional terminals
FOUNDED: The family’s roots in hauling go back to the early 1900s. Andrew Palmer Sr. branched off in 1958 with L.P. Transportation.
FLEET: More than 200 trailers, 140 for propane
EMPLOYEES/INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS: 200
ONLINE: www.lptransportation.com