Propane retailers interested in expanding their focus should consider selling hearth products - fireplaces, stoves, inserts, gas logs and more - for a profitable companion business, says a hearth products industry expert. read more
A dramatic shortage of overfill protection valves has propane retailers scrambling and backyard cooks fuming over empty, obsolete cylinders that should not be filled. read more
Rising demand and wear and tear on the nation's roadways – not problems with security, per se – is causing the biggest problems for transporting hazardous materials. Improving roadways would increase hazmat transit safety more than specifically addressing hazmat transportation shortcomings, according to a report from the Research and Special Programs Administration. read more
We've established in previous columns the incredible return on capital by adding customers, and the fact that appropriate leverage through bank debt can significantly increase your returns. read more
Why is it that the large, multi-state propane retail companies are organized as master limited partnerships, rather than the more commonly used corporation structure? Do they have some business or legal insight that you and the other propane marketers don't know? read more
Ever since Sept. 11, our nation has had to do some growing up and accept responsibility for our actions and our compromises. It's like someone pulled the blanket off all the stuff that was too good to be true. read more
Propane industry veterans are watching nervously as lawmakers debate President Bush's sweeping plan to merge nearly two dozen agencies into a new Homeland Security department. read more
Drifting high above the treetops, pilot Travis Vencel released a five-second burst of propane-fueled flame, and the hot-air balloon gently lifted a little higher. As the red, green and black Jasper Engines & Transmissions balloon and its three passengers floated across a busy road, traffic crawled and drivers pointed. read more
