Case Studies: Champlain Oil Company
Tony Cairns
Champlain Oil Company
South Burlington, Vermont
Champlain Oil has been a wholesale distributor and retailer of petroleum products since 1949, with Tony Cairns acting as President since 1970. The company has 68 employees at its South Burlington office and 350 in its 26 Jiffy Mart stores where Citgo, Shell, and Getty brand retail products are sold.
Tony's interest in biodiesel prompted him to attend the Spring 2005 Biodiesel Workshop at Vermont Law School where he was able to supplement information he'd already gathered on his own. Tony felt confident enough at that point to incorporate biodiesel into his business. Champlain Oil began selling it wholesale to the University of Vermont and Green Mountain Power Corp (among others), and offering it as a retail product at its Shell Jiffy Mart on Shelburne Road. Dealing in biodiesel has brought the company a great deal of attention within a short period of time. Some of it is coming from school districts, where concerns about bus emissions and rising petrodiesel costs are prompting consideration of biodiesel as a viable fuel option.
Champlain Oil prides itself in keeping up with positive changes in the industry, and Tony is pleased to be out in the forefront with this one. The timing is ideal in many respects. Federal biodiesel tax credits have been extended in the new Energy Bill, and a strong possibility exists that biodiesel might soon be mandated.
The company has taken a conservative approach in regards to offering their customers blends higher than B20, opting to wait until there are more conclusive testing results. Due to biodiesel's gelling issues in cold weather, kerosene will be added to the product in early November (2005), one month earlier than it's conventionally added to the petrodiesel.
Champlain Oil receives its supply of diesel from Montreal and Portsmouth, but the biodiesel blend is currently coming through Albany. The establishment of a biodiesel terminal in Montreal during the winter months would be especially significant, as the Canadian portion of the petrodiesel is "Arctic blended" and is a superior product for Vermont's winters. Logistically, it's not at all practical to drive to Montreal, and then to Albany in order to obtain a blended product.
When asked what it will require to be successful at introducing and maintaining the biodiesel portion of his business, Tony's first answer is, "It's just going to take time". Champlain Oil will first need to determine how well biodiesel is accepted and what the market demand will be. Though retail customers will be a factor, commercial businesses will be the primary targets. Champlain Oil is already in the process of building a card-lock system (filling station) on Industrial Avenue for diesel fill-ups of fleet vehicles, and it's likely that B20 will soon be made available there. Tony anticipates he will be better able to serve the growing demand for biodiesel in the future by expanding distribution to existing facilities in towns such as Lebanon and Barre.
Tony projects that his sales volume of biodiesel in 2006 will reach 100,000 gallons, and will continue to rise as demand inevitably increases. Champlain Oil Company's pioneering efforts and their high regard in the industry give added credibility to this emerging fuel sector and have resulted in favorable publicity for the company itself and biodiesel in general. When considering the challenges encountered so far, Tony puts supply issues at the top of the list. The logistical ideal would be a rail site in Burlington with blending capabilities that has supplies of diesel and biodiesel. For winter blending there would have to be steaming capacity at the rail car.
Champlain has received biodiesel from both Global E. and World Energy, and has observed that before an efficient distribution system in the state can be established, there must first be improvements made in the supply infrastructure.