Propane Personality: Boehlke Bottled Gas’ Chad Kroening

Chad Kroening

Vice president of safety and commercial operations, Boehlke Bottled Gas Corp.

Education

Concordia University Wisconsin
Bachelor of Science in Business Management
Class of 2002

Work Experience

2001-Present
Boehlke Bottled Gas Corp. (based in Cedarburg, Wisconsin)
• Vice President of Safety and Commercial Operations
• Fleet Manager
• Bulk, Cylinder Delivery Driver; Service Work

1997-2001
Boehlke Hardware
• Propane truck maintenance

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“I oversee the entire fleet maintenance program, the safety program and the complete operations of Boehlke Transport Corp., a division of Boehlke Bottled Gas Corp.”

“With clean and green initiatives being pushed as policy at federal, state and local levels, propane has a clear advantage to make a mark. Propane is clean, abundant, affordable, and it is an American-made product.”

Hauling gas

“Within the last few months, we have begun to incorporate propane transports into our business. We bought two brand new tractors and trailers and were fortunate to find two drivers who will be hauling propane for us. … We also haul our own 20-pound cylinders back and forth to the refurbishing plant, and we will be getting a utility trailer to do some outside hauling next summer to keep the drivers busy. This will be a learning curve for us this winter as we will be hauling about 90 percent of our own gas.”

“We have 29 vehicles in [our] fleet and 10 of them are back to running on propane” after the company began reintroducing propane into its fleet in 2012.

HOBBIES

“Golf – I try to play twice a week, and I try to play whenever
I get out of town. I enjoy meeting people on the golf course, and I enjoy using golf as a reason to get together with friends. I also try to take part in as many outings as I can handle. It is amazing how many business contacts I have who share the interest in playing golf.”

Autogas

Boehlke Bottled Gas Corp. has made a strong push into the autogas market over the past six years. It has seven autogas customers, two of which are taking more than a transport load of fuel every month. Those customers like to promote the “green” benefits
of using autogas.

“If this industry is planning to make autogas usage grow, we need to provide a high quality of customer service and a commitment to representing our industry to the public at events and through organizations that our customers feel are important to them.”

NPGA involvement

⦁ Board of directors
⦁ Governmental Affairs Committee
⦁ PropanePAC (chairman)

On the PropanePAC – “Through my involvement in the Governmental Affairs Committee and my participation in NPGA’s annual Propane Days, I realized the importance and necessity of the PropanePAC. I [also] felt like there was a very large majority of NPGA members who were not being educated regarding the PropanePAC. My two major goals are to increase the [number] of members who are educated on the PropanePAC and [to raise] $250,000 per election cycle.”