Case Studies: Fleming Oil Co.
Rick Fleming
Fleming Oil Co.
Brattleboro, Vermont
Rick Fleming's grandfather, Richard A. Fleming, founded Fleming Oil Company in 1930. In 1998, Rick assumed control of the family business, which now has a total of one hundred seventy employees. The company owns one convenience store in New Hampshire, and six in Vermont: Brattleboro, Bennington, Bellows Falls, Windsor, Jamaica and Barre. Fleming Oil also runs a full service plumbing and heating operation with a home heating division located in Brattleboro.
Rick first heard about biodiesel during a seminar at the Northeast Fuel Institute in 2002. He expressed his interest in distributing biodiesel to Dave Bonta (President of Global E. at the time) about a year after the seminar, and soon made it available at the New Hampshire filling station (replacing a slow moving supply of kerosene). Fleming's customer base for biodiesel quickly grew, partially due to immediate attention from the media.
The potential for environmental and economic benefits (both locally and nationwide) motivated Rick to make this new change in his company. Though unsure at first how sales would be, he quickly determined that the demand was there, and that people were just waiting for a reliable supply. He truly enjoys informing people about biodiesel and is clearly committed to using it, evidenced by the company's conversion of their entire fleet in Brattleboro to B20 fuel. After changing fuel filters as a precaution in the first six months, they haven't had to do it again, and though drivers were initially apprehensive, they noticed no change at all in performance. They did however notice that there was significantly less odor.
Ideally Rick would like to see B100 available at the terminal where he can purchase it along with diesel and No2 oil. As it is now, they must travel first to a rail yard in Albany to pick up biodiesel, and then on to the terminal to blend in petrodiesel. Rick has recently received encouraging news about pending plans to establish heated storage and blending capabilities at the Albany terminal. This would be an enormous step toward securing a reliable and convenient supply to Vermont.
Fleming Oil sells about 3,500 gallons of biodiesel per month in Chesterfield, and is selling close to 4,000 gallons of B100 (per month) on Canal Street in Brattleboro. On September 9, 2005, the price at the pump (for B100) was $2.84 for B20 and $3.07 for B100, whereas regular diesel was selling for $2.76. When winter sets in, the Canal Street station will stop carrying B100 and offer only B20 until spring.
Rick is a member of Vermont Biofuels Association and thinks that's an important factor in his company being at the cutting edge of a thriving biodiesel sector in state.He finds great satisfaction in bringing a product to market that people are actually asking for. The support for it is overwhelming: "Once people try it, they like it and keep coming back," Rick says. He also believes that an increase in new customers at the filling station is to be attributed to offering biodiesel. Rick has attended a number of workshops and seminars on biodiesel and he speaks often with a broad range of people about the product and its many attributes. Rick also continues to field calls from other fuel businesses that want more information.
When considering cold weather issues, an initial drawback they experienced was receiving product that was supposed to have been pre-blended (but wasn't) so Fleming didn't add kerosene. But last winter they went with a winter blend consisting of 60% diesel, 20% B100, and 20% kerosene and at those ratios there were no problems.
As to what the future looks like for biodiesel in Vermont, Rick cites the lack of adequate fuel storage in the state, and considers how this situation may hinder the establishment of a healthy biodiesel supply. There will have to be partnerships created in major ports such as Montreal, Albany, Springfield (Mass.) and Portsmouth (New Hampshire). Any production facility built here will need to be integrated into the conventional stream and will require strategic alliances to address the logistical issues. "Prices are going up on the B100 because supply is being outpaced by demand." Rick says. "But I think (biodiesel) is going to become a significant player in the energy future and once it's mainstreamed, it will just take off."