Propane Personality: Robin Parsons

Robin Parsons

President, Parafour Innovations

Work Experience

2012-Present

Parafour Innovations

⦁ President

1999-2012

CleanFuel USA

⦁ Senior VP – Fueling Systems Engineering

⦁ Senior VP Engineering, Engine Fuel Systems

⦁ General Manager

1998-99

IMPCO Technologies

⦁ Autogas System Design

1997-99

Aurex

⦁ Autogas System Design

1996-98

IMPCO Technologies

⦁ Autogas System Design

1992-94

Squibb Taylor

⦁ Autogas Program Development

1986-92

Petrolane Gas Service

⦁ Autogas Systems Design & Training

Military Service

1986-92

U.S. Army AGR

⦁ 244th Avn Reg, Det-1

1980-86

U.S. Air Force

⦁ 1st Special Operation Wing

Working all over

Parsons’ entry into the industry was unexpected. “I went into the military at 17,” he says. After seven years in the Air Force, he transferred to the Army, but he had to take a year off in between. He spent that year working.

“I got a job with Petrolane Gas Service in Tucker, Georgia. I started out filling grill bottles,” he says. Years later, Parsons is still in the propane industry.

After a career journey that included jobs at IMPCO, Squibb Taylor and CleanFuel USA, as well as international assignments in South America, Poland and Ukraine, Parsons found himself back in the United States.

“In 2012, I decided I would retire,” he recalls. “It didn’t stick.”

Setting the standard

After Parsons’ attempt at retirement, his industry friends coaxed him back to work. He started his own company, Parafour Innovations, under the condition that they would set a new standard where every piece of dispenser equipment they build would be certified, including National Type Evaluation Program certification and UL listing.

“That’s really been at the forefront with Parafour, to set the standard. Once we had products in a full line that were certified, then all the competition stepped in line,” Parsons explains.

Setting that kind of standard takes a lot of work. “Every dispenser has six to eight hours of quality control put in it,” he says. But to Parsons, that work is worth it. He’s passionate about setting high standards for his own company and for the industry.

“To me, it’s not about doing what’s easiest for my company; it’s about doing what’s best,” he says. “We’ve really set a standard to only build equipment that’s certified.”

Small team, big impact

Parsons is proud of the Parafour team.

“We put a lot of focus on training, a lot of focus on how safety is implemented. We make sure people have the right tools to do the job,” he says.

He credits his team, especially his business partner Mustafa Ozvardarli, for his success.

“I would not be where I am at this point in this industry if it weren’t for my partner, Mustafa,” he says. “He is the brains behind the electronic side of our technology.”

Fundraising for Ukraine

“I go to Ukraine a lot to take aid to them, as well. I’d rather you put that in the magazine than anything about me,” Parsons says. “I lived and worked in Poland, Russia and Ukraine, on and off for the better part of four or five years. I wound up eventually marrying a Ukrainian.”

Parsons works with the Liberty Ukraine Foundation to provide aid to the area as the nation fends off Russian invasion. According to Parsons, the foundation has helped deliver thousands of drones, 100 sets of U.S. extreme cold weather uniforms, over 100,000 individual first-aid kits and more.

“We’ve set up a center to help their veterans with prosthetics,” he says. “Going all the way back to 2014, myself and several Ukrainian friends here have supported taking aid – lots of humanitarian aid and lots of military aid.”

Supporting veterans

A veteran himself, Parsons makes a point to hire and support other veterans. “We’re big on the veteran community. We find that they tend to have a very good work ethic, go the extra mile, good sense of teamwork, cooperation … We have a lot less politics, a lot less problems,” Parsons says.

Hobbies

Parsons’ hobbies keep him busy when he’s not at work. He coaches youth sharpshooting and works with local competition teams. He also enjoys camping and sailing, and has been an avid motorcyclist his whole life.

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