LPG Spotlight: Shasta Gas Propane

In 1997, Chuck Kinnie had a vision: to create his own propane business.

While using the $15,000 he had saved, along with $20,000 he borrowed from his parents, he founded Shasta Gas Propane.

At the time, he only had one bobtail, a 1979 Ford F-600. He also only had three employees – himself, his wife Judy and his daughter Karen.

But times have changed. Fast forward to today. Kinnie no longer has his 1979 Ford F-600. Instead, he has five high-end bobtails. He also has 12 full-time employees and roughly 7,000 customers in California’s Shasta and Tehama counties.

“My father has taught us hard work and determination,” Karen Wehunt says. “Our motto is ‘R Customers R Warm Friends.’ This defines our culture.”

Simply put, Shasta Gas Propane treats its customers and employees like they’re friends and family, time after time. This motto has certainly paid dividends over the years.

Shasta Gas Propane is now a third-generation business, showcasing Kinnie’s involvement with his family, along with his relatives’ like-minded passions for propane. Not to mention, as evidenced by the company’s beginning (it had roughly 600 customers during its first year), it has grown by “leaps and bounds during the last 28 years,” according to Wehunt.

In fact, due to Shasta Gas Propane’s steady success, Kinnie founded another business, which currently has 17 employees, in 2014. Known as Shasta Tanks, the propane tank refurbishing company services many Western states.

Specializing in commercial and residential propane tank refurbishing, Shasta Tanks helps ensure other propane retailers have “like new” propane tanks for their customers.

“We’ll take an old propane tank, blast it down to its original steel, paint it and replace all the valves with brand-new brass,” Kinnie says.

In addition, Kinnie, alongside two other generations of family members, has recently created yet another Anderson, California-based venture: Propane Tank Service. To overcome California’s stringent laws regarding relief valves (and replacements) on commercial tanks, Kinnie implemented a solution.

“Propane Tank Service is a mobile truck and trailer that can go to a commercial location, pump the liquid out of the tank and recover the residual vapor,” explains Kinnie’s son-in-law, Jason Wehunt. “From there, we will replace the valve on-site and pump the liquid and vapor back into the commercial tank.”

In turn, whichever propane retailer is handling the commercial account will save time and money.

As evidenced by Kinnie’s three ventures, his family’s future is certainly bright. After all, Jason and Karen, along with their children, Jason Wehunt Jr. and Sunshine Stevens (and her husband Adam), are involved with each of the businesses.

“Family always comes first,” Kinnie emphasizes. “Always.”

To continue Kinnie’s momentum, the family plans to follow in his footsteps by remaining fully committed to its local communities.

“Like Chuck and Judy did, we’ll continue to support our local sports teams and churches,” Jason Wehunt says. “Again, we’ve always treated our customers like family, and we’ll continue to do so.”

Company profile: Shasta Gas Propane

Year founded // 1997
Headquarters // Anderson, California
Founders // Chuck and Judy Kinnie
Co-owners // Chuck and Judy Kinnie and Jason and Karen Wehunt
Number of bobtails // 5
Annual gallon sales // 1.5 million
Total number of employees // 12
Online // shastagaspropane.com

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