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Ted Johnson Propane has found that servicing customers’ forklift refueling needs comes down to ease of use. Certainly, the Baldwin Park, California, company is adept at delivering forklift cylinders to customers, like other propane providers.
But there is another way the company makes that process more convenient for customers. It can install bulk fueling at a customer location, so that drivers can refill cylinders on their propane forklifts as necessary. This creates unprecedented efficiencies.
“Many customers are on a unique schedule,” said Ted Johnson Propane owner Julie Johnson. “We want to give them storage at their location, whether it’s a warehouse, airport or hospital, so they can keep their forklifts running with schedule changes.”
The key number is how long the company has been doing this. It’s been in business since 1965, and Johnson said she has “seen a few cycles” of this approach.
Seamless Refilling
The good news for Ted Johnson Propane and its customers is that propane is adaptable. It’s a fuel that is easy to adopt and is scalable when the need arises. Bulk fueling is simply a unique facet of that concept.
Johnson said that bulk fueling is simple. Her company erects a skid located strategically outside a customer’s location, consisting of a tank, hose and dispenser, along with crash protection bollards. Tanks typically come in two sizes — a 499-gallon version and one that is 1,150 gallons.
When the time comes to refill a forklift cylinder, the operator simply drives up to the skid and refills the cylinder without removing it from the forklift. Of course, Ted Johnson Propane provides comprehensive training for operators that will be responsible for refilling their cylinders.
Depending on a propane provider’s location in the country, installation will likely include working with the local municipality to determine what it requires, including permits. It also could include developing engineered drawings for the fire department. In California, there is a state OSHA pressure vessel department, with personnel that comes out and inspects the finished installation.
Following the municipality’s direction to the letter makes the process well worthwhile for the customer and the propane company. “You don’t lose an account after you go through all that,” Johnson said.
Multiple Bulk Fueling Benefits
Some customers are more familiar with the typical delivery of propane cylinders and placement in a secure cage at a customer site. These customers should consider the benefits of bulk fueling:
- It creates cost savings. Since the company is refilling a large tank, the propane price per gallon is a bulk price, not a per-cylinder price.
- It creates operational efficiencies, since no room is needed for backup cylinders or a cage, unless the customer wants or needs that.
- It also prevents cylinder lifting injuries, which is important considering a full cylinder weighs up to 70 pounds.
The best part is that the very nature of propane makes it scalable to evolving business situations. For example, if the square footage of a warehouse doubles over time, a larger tank can be added to meet the needs of an increased number of forklifts.
Or, say a customer’s fulfillment schedule radically changes. Bulk propane refueling will help make those schedule changes seamless for both operators and management.
Getting Started
For a propane provider looking to enter this realm of business, Johnson said that the first thing to do is identify a customer that would benefit from bulk fueling, but just as important, how the provider would benefit as well. In other words, there has to be an incentive for both parties not to have multiple storage racks and dozens of cylinders.
Bear in mind that not all customers will be a fit for bulk fueling. For example, if the customer’s location is physically tight — “10 pounds in a five-pound sack,” Johnson said — there likely won’t be enough room for a bulk tank. But again, the upshot is that bulk fueling can build on itself.
“We can add as they grow,” Johnson said. “One customer grew out of its 1,150 tank and we just put in a 1,990 (gallon) tank.”
Some customers are such a fit for bulk fueling that more than one tank is necessary. Because some customers have a massive physical plant, like a warehouse or distribution center, Ted Johnson Propane can install multiple bulk fueling stations, one on each side of the property.
“It depends on their usage and their shifts, if they are running 24/7,” Johnson said. “You want to size the tank so you can come every two or three days. You don’t want to be coming every day.”
Learn more about propane-powered forklifts.
