Propane Personality: Blossman Services’ Ed Hoffman

Ed Hoffman; President, Blossman Services

EDUCATION

University of Scranton (Pennsylvania)
MBA, Operations Management
Class of 2000

Wilkes University (Pennsylvania)
Management and Industrial Relations
Class of 1996

WORK EXPERIENCE

2014-Present
Blossman Services
President

2008-14
Keystone Automotive Operations
Fleet Logistics

2007-08
XTRA Lease
Branch Manager

2004-07
Ryder System Inc.
Account Executive

1998-2003
Penske Truck Leasing
Lease Sales Representative

1996-97
CarMax Auto Superstores
Service Manager

“Be a constant communicator of safety, and keep your employees’ skills fresh.”

TIPS FOR WORKING WITH AUTOGAS

⦁ Experience it yourself.
⦁ Once it works for you, tell a friend.
⦁ Support the customer as a professional.

FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH AUTOGAS: 1990s

“I had a cousin who was a bobtail driver for a marketer. One night, I dropped by his house for a visit, and by chance he was on call. He had a gas customer run out of fuel and had to pick up the truck and do a drop. I asked to ride along. Before that point, I had never known that a truck could
run on propane.”

MAKING THE SWITCH

“It is easier than ever to buy or convert an autogas vehicle. We work with many dealers that will provide you competitive fleet pricing, convert the vehicle and deliver to your door within two weeks.”

HOBBIES

Anything with wheels, wings or an engine gets my interest.

ALTERNATIVE SUCCESS

“Autogas is currently the third most widely used alternative fuel in the world, and we are seeing public and private sector interest like never before. Whether it be for the cost savings or the environmental benefits, or the simple fact that autogas is domestically produced, fleet owners are taking notice and making the investment. If the propane industry starts taking advantage of its own fuel too, we have a possibility to see significant growth in the next five to 10 years.”

“While at Keystone, one of my projects was to test and eventually launch our autogas program. I was able to meet and interact with many members of the propane community. Most notable of them was the late Henry Bodie of Blossman Gas. Henry, at that time, was helping Blossman to launch Alliance AutoGas. His friendship, knowledge and class attracted me to Blossman Services, the distribution partner of Alliance AutoGas. Through Henry, I was introduced to Jessie Johnson and Stuart Weidie, and from there I guess you can say the rest was history.”

THE WILD WILD PROPANE INDUSTRY

“When I first became involved with autogas at Keystone almost 10 years ago, the industry had resembled the ‘Wild West.’ Products were being imported from Europe without serious technical knowledge in the United States. If you had a decent installer, the vehicle would work for a while; however, it was usually not consistent. Since then, vehicle technology has so quickly advanced and become much more complex and reliable.”