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Dispenser Media Platforms
Are they for you, and how can you maximize the opportunity?
In The Lead: Scott Hartman
A closer look at his tech leadership for both Rutter’s and the industry at large.
The New Champions of Alternative Energy
Biodiesel and renewable diesel technologies continue to advance.
Don’t be in the middle of the road when it comes to
A new report from TEI provides EV charger operators with some guidance.
COMMERCIAL FUELS
The ATA’s Take on Recent Tailpipe Regulations
EV mandates for the trucking industry are disconnected from reality.
FUEL MARKETERS
Diesel Generators and Data Centers
Things that go together: AI, cloud computing, data centers ... and backup diesel generators.
Fuel Marketing Trends You Can’t Ignore
Leading fuel marketers share their insights on the latest tech trends in the fuel distribution space.
Did you hear about the time Portland banned fossil fuels?
KEEPING BUSINESS PUMPING RIGHT NOW
Night or day, we’re on call to help with 24/7/365 fuel availability. Because, we know, keeping pumps fueled means keeping business pumping and the community moving. Right Now.
When Media Came to the Dispenser
My first NACS Show was in 1999. At the time I had just been hired on as an editor for National Petroleum News, which was once considered to be, and rightfully so, the Bible of the industry. One of the events at the show was a press conference by Tokheim, which at the time was still a major dispenser manufacturer for the U.S. market along with Gilbarco (now under the Vontier umbrella) and Wayne (which has become a brand under Dover Fueling Solutions).
The focus of the press conference was a new media-enabled dispenser that would allow retailers to push digital content out to the fueling island. I remember the display was military grade and like the displays used in the Apache attack helicopter. In discussions on the show floor, it became apparent that Gilbarco would be fielding a similar platform shortly, while Wayne was lagging a bit behind— which ultimately was inconsequential.
Even though I was new to the industry, I did have a marketing and communications background in addition to journalism. I understood quite easily the appeal of being able to push a promotional message out to the fueling island, and the hardware seemed to be a good first step and providing a reliable platform for that message.
However, I could not really recommend that technology to our readers at the time for a very simple reason. Not a single person from any of the companies questioned had remotely figured out the models that would put content on those screens.
No one could tell me who would be establishing the relationships with the national brands. Would that be the dispenser companies? Third parties? The retailers themselves? A bit of an
important component, one would think. Similarly, there was not a lot of information provided on how easy it would be for the retailer to generate content in-house to go on those screens.
Just about everything at the time was the Wild West where digital technology was concerned. An awful lot of digital solutions were being cobbled together and thrown at the wall to see what might stick.
At about the same time, similar efforts arose to add pump-topper screens with blaring volume, providing an experience reminiscent of a Cold War spy movie where a communist POW camp blared propaganda from the loudspeakers 24 hours per day. Getting away from the blaring noise was certainly one way to get the customer off the forecourt and into the quiet of the store.
It took over a decade for the content side of dispenser media to really mature and settle out. Then it took the painful EMV update requirements to ease a pathway to adoption of new media-enabled dispensers or retrofit kits. And today, while not universal, it has certainly hit the prime time.
More details on how this technology is entering the marketplace and how to maximize its effectiveness can be found in our cover story, “Dispenser Media Platforms.”
Keith Reid is the editor-in-chief of Fuels Market News. He can be reached at kreid@fmnweb.com.
EDITORIAL
Keith Reid Editor-in-Chief (847) 630-4760; kreid@fmnweb.com
Ben Nussbaum
Editorial Director (703) 518-4248; bnussbaum@convenience.org
John Eichberger, Mark Fitz, Pavan Maheshwari, Dr. Vikram Mittal, Joe O’Brien, Allen Schaeffer, Dr. Raj Shah, Chris Spear, Roy Strasburger, Gavin Thomas, Victor Zhang
Nancy Pappas Marketing Director (703) 518-4290; npappas@convenience.org
Logan Dion Digital Ad and Media Trafficker (703) 864-3600; production@convenience.org
EDITORIAL COUNCIL
RETAILER/MARKETER MEMBERS
Mark Fitz, president, Star Oilco; Derek Gaskins, chief marketing officer, Yesway; Brian Renaud, director of retail fuel pricing and analytics, Sheetz; Scott Minton, director of business development, OnCue Marketing
VENDOR/SUPPLIER MEMBERS
Regina Balistreri, director of marketing, ADD Systems; Joe O’Brien, vice president of marketing, Source North America Corporation; Kaylie Scoles, marketing director, RDM Industrial Electronics Inc.; Ed Kammerer, director of marketing and global product strategy, OPW Retail Fueling
Fuels Market News Magazine is published quarterly by the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), Alexandria, Virginia, USA.
Subscription Requests: circulation@fmnweb.com
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Fuels Market News Magazine, 1600 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA, 22314-2792 USA.
Register for Convenience Summit Asia 2025 in Tokyo
The convenience industry is truly global, and NACS Convenience Summit Asia provides an opportunity for retailers in Asia to learn from each other and for retailers from around the world to join in the conversation. Registration is now open for next year’s event , which will be held in Tokyo, February 25-27.
Over the course of three days—filled with networking events, education sessions and case studies, and interactive store tours of some of Asia’s most iconic brands— attendees will uncover unique ideas and takeaways from one of the epicenters of convenience retailing.
Convenience Industry Celebrates Another Successful 24/7 Day
The convenience industry’s biggest global event is headed back to Las Vegas.
On July 24, convenience retailers across the nation celebrated first responders, medical personnel, 9-1-1 dispatch professionals and American Red Cross volunteers during the annual 24/7 Day. The event not only thanked and recognized this core community and customer base with free items like a cup of coffee or fountain soda, but also showcased the convenience store industry’s deep community ties. Over 80 retailers and suppliers participated, representing 30,000 locations nationwide.
Kelley Smith, HOP Shops district manager, shared her enthusiasm: “Our recent event was a phenomenal success, and I couldn’t be prouder of our entire team. It was a joy to see everyone come together, showcasing the dedication and passion that defines HOP Shops. The turnout was incredible, and you could really feel the positive energy. This event truly highlighted the strong bond we have with our community and the unwavering commitment of our employees.”
Social media played a pivotal role in amplifying the day, from retailers showcasing their efforts on company channels to influencer collaborations that enhanced visibility and engagement—including Instagram posts by gymnast Zoe Miller and a supportive segment by Tank Sinatra on his “Tank’s Good News” network on GSTV.
“The continuous growth of 24/7 Day each year underscores the convenience and fuel retailing industry’s dedication to strengthening community connections and supporting vital public services, promising even greater engagement and impact in future iterations,” said Kevin O’Connell, executive director of the NACS Foundation.
To get involved next year or learn more about the NACS Foundation, email O’Connell at koconnell@convenience.org or visit conveniencecares.org
European Retailers Win With Convenience Excellence
The annual NACS Convenience Summit Europe took place in June in Barcelona, Spain.
The event culminated with an awards ceremony where NACS recognized retailers for outstanding achievement in the European convenience industry across four categories: retailer of the year, industry leader of the year, sustainability, and technology.
Brian Donaldson, CEO of the Maxol Group, was this year’s recipient of the NACS European Convenience Industry Leader Award.
Established by William McMullan in 1920, Maxol is the largest family-owned convenience forecourt retailer in Ireland. With a network of 242 branded service stations, Maxol is one of the most recognized fuel brands in Ireland.
“Brian has done an amazing job of transforming the company from one that is fuel based to one that is food based. As the industry continues along this path, this is a model to both study and celebrate,” said NACS President and CEO Henry Armour.
Donaldson joined Maxol Oil Limited in September 1986 as a graduate trainee and played a key role in the development of Maxol’s retail network in Northern Ireland. He advanced through various positions over the decades and was appointed CEO in 2016.
Under his leadership, he has overseen a transformative strategy, repositioning Maxol as an innovative convenience-led brand. This includes the introduction of Maxol’s own convenience concept in the Republic of Ireland with proprietary brands Rosa Coffee and Maxol Deli and a private label range.
• SuperValu Portstewart, part of the Musgrave Group, won the NACS European Convenience Retailer of the Year Award.
• BWG Foods, part of the BWG Group in Dublin, Ireland, won the NACS European Convenience Retail Sustainability Award.
• Germany-based Q1 Shop & Go won the NACS European Convenience Retail Technology Award.
Visit convenience.org/CSE for more information and to register for next year’s event in Copenhagen, Denmark.
NOVEMBER
NACS Innovation Leadership Program at MIT
November 03-08 | MIT Sloan School of Management Cambridge, Massachusetts
NACS Women’s Leadership Program at Yale
November 17-22 | Yale School of Management New Haven, Connecticut
2025
JANUARY
Conexxus Annual Conference
January 26-30 | Loews Ventana Canyon Tucson, Arizona
FEBRUARY
NACS Leadership Forum
February 11-13 | The RitzCarlton Amelia Island, Florida
NACS Convenience Summit Asia
February 25-27 | Conrad Tokyo Tokyo, Japan
MARCH
NACS Day on the Hill
March 10-12
Washington, D.C.
NACS Human Resources Forum
March 24-26 | Hutton Hotel Nashville, Tennessee
Brian Donaldson, CEO of the Maxol Group, and NACS President and CEO Henry Armour
What’s the best kept secret in Statistical Inventory Reconciliation (SIR)?
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Artificial Intelligence’s Energy Impact
The increasing demand for AI will impact the transportation industry—but how?
BY JOHN EICHBERGER
The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence has fueled a historic rise in the stock market and prompted a surge in data center construction in the United States. AI is taking over responsibilities previously assigned to humans. While not “self-aware,” AI is learning to “think.” This is very interesting in general, and the implications for transportation and energy are real and significant. The question for us is this: How might the rise of AI reduce emissions of on-the-road transportation while preserving and improving affordable and reliable energy for all communities?
ENERGY DEMAND
I decided to ask AI to tell us about itself and asked ChatGPT to “write an article evaluating the energy demand associated with the rise of artificial intelligence.” Here is how ChatGPT responded regarding energy demand for AI:
The energy demand of AI stems from various components of its infrastructure and operations:
1. Training of AI models: Developing AI models requires enormous computational power, often provided by data centers equipped with high-performance computing hardware. These data centers consume vast amounts of electricity to train complex algorithms on massive datasets.
2. Inference and deployment: Once trained, AI models are deployed for inference tasks, where they make predictions or decisions based on new data inputs. While inference typically requires less energy compared to training, the deployment of AI at scale across devices and systems still contributes to overall energy consumption.
3. Hardware requirements: Highperformance hardware, including GPUs (graphics processing units) and TPUs (tensor processing units), are integral to AI operations. These components are power-hungry and require substantial cooling infrastructure, adding to energy demands.
4. Data storage and transmission: AI applications rely on vast amounts of data stored in servers and transmitted between devices and data centers. Data storage facilities and network infrastructure consume significant energy, especially as data volumes continue to grow exponentially.
ENERGY SUPPLY AND DEMAND
I have heard anecdotal reports and forecasts that energy demand for AI will require a near-tripling of U.S. electricity generation within the next ten years.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the production of electricity in the United States is projected to nearly double by 2050. This represents a significant shift from historic changes in domestic electricity generation capacity and comes at a time when available resources for generation are being limited to those that represent a lower impact on the environment.
Globally, EIA projects a 50% increase in generation led by a 150% increase in the contribution of renewable energy resources. (Coal remains relatively unchanged while nuclear and natural gas are projected to increase around 23% each.)
Can the electricity generating sector accommodate such a rapid rise in energy demand from this one source, not even considering other factors influencing demand levels? Despite such forecasts, achieving such expansion will be challenging. This is exacerbated when one considers that actual future demand could exceed expected production capacity, especially when we consider the uncertainty of demand from AI combined with the global effort to electrify most energy consumption sectors, including transportation.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND TRANSPORTATION
The overall energy demand of this technology is a fascinating topic, but how the rise of AI affects transportation is the specific interest of TEI. So again, I turned to ChatGPT and asked for insights. It returned the following.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has had a profound impact on transportation, revolutionizing various aspects of the industry, from vehicle autonomy to traffic management and logistics.
ChatGPT cited the following specifics:
• Autonomous vehicles. AI is essential to the development and deployment of these vehicles, including any safety improvements that may assist with wider acceptance.
• Traffic management. AI shines when it comes to predictive analytics, dynamic routing and smart traffic lights.
• Logistics and supply chain. AI manages on-route optimization, predictive maintenance and warehouse automation.
• Public transportation. AI has a role in demand forecasting, fare collection systems and safety and security.
CHATGPT’S CONCLUSION:
Artificial Intelligence is transforming transportation by making it safer, more efficient, and more accessible. From autonomous vehicles and smart traffic management to logistics optimization and public transit enhancements, AI-driven innovations are reshaping the way people and goods move around the world.
WHAT’S NEXT?
I do not disagree with the ChatGPT summary of AI’s impact on transportation—there is tremendous potential for beneficial development. But the energy demand profile of AI does concern me, especially when framed against a backdrop of increased demand for electricity in general and the historically slow pace of adding generating capacity.
Can the electricity generating sector accommodate such a rapid rise in energy demand from this one source?
John Eichberger is the director of the Transportation Energy Institute.
Beyond Convenience: Fueling an Americana Experience
C-stores are taking a direct approach in their Americana marketing.
BY JOE O’BRIEN
For a long time, the go-to décor for many casual dining establishments has been vintage Americana. You know the classic diner feel: You are welcomed by walls adorned with weathered signs for iconic U.S. roadways, quintessential snack and beverage advertising and retro service station branding. Old-timey lamplights, stoplights and vintage gas pumps often round out the experience.
Nostalgia notwithstanding, many fuel retailers are taking a more direct approach with their marketing by aiming to inject a sense of Americana into their own brand experience. Here’s how convenience stores are pulling it off.
THE JOURNEY AND THE DESTINATION
For decades, c-stores have helped customers get on with their day— providing the fuel they require to complete their travels and offering a repository of essential products they need or want.
Now, a new trend is emerging. Convenience stores are raising the bar to create value beyond convenience. Retailers such as Buc-ee’s, Casey’s, Rutter’s, Sheetz, Wally’s and Wawa offer the vital necessities, but they are becoming tourist attractions in their own right.
Several c-store brands are expanding in territory and store count—and that is certainly fueling growth in the industry. But according to a white paper from Placer.ai , visit-per-location trends indicate that demand is growing at the store level, too. From April 2023 to March 2024, average visits per location on an industry-wide basis grew by 1.8% compared to the year prior. In particular, “destination” c-stores are seeing an increase in patronage. Placer.ai reports that Casey’s, Maverik,
Buc-ee’s and Rutter’s saw visits per location increase by 2.3%, 3.2%, 3.4% and 3.9%, respectively.
BUILDING A BETTER VENUE
Convenience retailers are achieving growth by investing in their product offering while simultaneously elevating the traditional c-store venue. For instance, Buc-ee’s is known for its expansive fueling operation and a substantial shopping experience.
Pennsylvania-based Rutter’s expanded its footprint upwards, adding a second floor to one location: “The remodel, which was met with enthusiasm by customers, provided additional seating for up to 30 diners, a beer cave and an expanded wine selection,” Placer.ai stated.
With two locations in the Midwest, Wally’s is fairly new to the destination arena. Like many of the large-format retailers, Wally’s boasts abundant acreage at its fueling facilities. The company is positioning itself as the “Home of the Great American Road Trip,” providing guests a retro ’70s and ’80s experience.
AS AMERICAN AS APPLE PIE
Freshly prepared food is a selling point at c-stores far and wide, and quintessential American fare is a cornerstone at many destination c-stores where customers dine on brisket, pulled pork, beef jerky, fudge, pizza, burgers, chocolate milk and craft beers.
Casey’s and Maverik are making a name for themselves with their breakfast offerings. Rutter’s, which originated as a dairy farm in 1921, continues to leverage its heritage, selling Rutter’s branded milk, lemonade, tea, eggnog and more.
WINNING WITH SPORTS
From youth soccer programs to the World Series, sports are engrained in American culture. Their power to
unite people is undeniable. “The best thing about sports is the sense of community and shared emotion it can create,” sportscaster Bob Costas said.
C-stores are capitalizing on this by associating their brands with teams, leagues and individual athletes. It’s hard to watch a Major League Baseball game without seeing the name of a c-store or hypermarket on a jersey, scoreboard or outfield wall.
The roster of recent affiliations includes, but is not limited to:
• Arizona Diamondbacks—Circle K
• Atlanta Braves—RaceTrac
• Cleveland Guardians—Marathon
• Houston Astros—ConocoPhillips and Chevron
• Kansas City Royals—QuikTrip
• Oakland Athletics—Chevron
• San Francisco Giants—Chevron
• St. Louis Cardinals—Phillips 66
Numerous retailers have NASCAR or IndyCar tie-ins that leverage the connection between fuel and auto racing. Recent affiliations have included Andretti Autosport (Circle K and Interstate Truck Center), Arrow McLaren (Lucas Oil) and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (HyVee).
THE POWER OF AUTHENTICITY
Most of the big c-store brands are engineering their connection to Americana through strategic business choices and marketing tactics. It’s worth noting that a large part of the American story is shaped by experiences in rural areas, where c-stores provide pivotal products and services and are part of the fabric of their communities.
There is one surefire way to hit a home run with customers: Serve them in their time of need and do it in a courteous and friendly manner. In small-town America that’s a legacy that cannot be artificially manufactured, and thankfully, doesn’t cost c-stores anything extra to provide.
Chains are raising the bar to create value beyond convenience.
Retailers such as Bucee’s, Casey’s, Rutter’s, Sheetz, Wally’s and Wawa offer the vital necessities, but they are becoming tourist attractions in their own right.
Joe O’Brien is vice president of marketing at Source North America Corporation. He has more than 25 years of experience in the petroleum equipment fuel industry. Contact him at jobrien@sourcena.com or visit sourcena. com to learn more.
RETAIL OPERATIONS
All In—Or Not at All
Don’t be in the middle of the road when it comes to EV charging.
BY ROY STRASBURGER
Electric vehicles are here. The number of EVs on the road increases every year, and if you are in the gasoline business, you need to have a plan for your future business.
I want to be clear—not all current gasoline sites will be good EV charging sites. You need to take a hard look at your real estate and your demographics to see if EV charging is a viable
option. You are an EV charging candidate if you are: 1) located on roads that are used for long trips and where drivers will need to take a break and top up their battery, 2) if you are in a neighborhood that has a lot of family housing but not enough chargers, or 3) if your business is in a more rural area. These are the factors that will matter in the EV world, and if you answered “yes” to one of these three descriptors,
you should strongly consider an investment in EV charging.
However, if you don’t fall into one of the three categories, you need to think very carefully about whether you should spend the money required to get into the EV charging business. I’ve been to many sites where the EV charger looks like a lost and forgotten air and water machine sitting on the edge of the parking lot. A level 3 charger (the fastest type) will cost you between $30,000 and $75,000 per charging position, plus any other site work. Perhaps those funds can be better spent on refreshing your store’s image or upgrading and improving your foodservice offer. You are going to need something that will attract the dwindling numbers of ICE vehicle drivers.
What you want to avoid is making a half-hearted effort to attract EV customers. You need to either fully commit to EV charging or find an alternative. As Jim Hightower, the former Texas agriculture commissioner, said: “There’s nothing in the middle of the road but a yellow strip and dead armadillos.”
If you’re going to put in a charging station, go full in. There is more to being an EV destination than just installing a charger on the back corner of your parking lot. You need to have a specific EV customer strategy designed around your customers’ needs so that you can maximize your revenue opportunities.
In a recent Convenience Leaders Vision Group meeting (you can find the Vision Report for it, “Near and Far: Looking at Global Convenience Retailing,” at www.tvgsolutions.com), Brian Donaldson, the CEO of Maxol in Ireland, shared his thoughts on what it takes to have a compelling EV offer.
Maxol recently opened a convenience store and fuel site in Northern Ireland and installed an EV charging area in addition to their gasoline offer. The facility has a canopy over the EV charging area, solar panels to provide electricity and promote their sustainability program and an EV payment system that is easy for the customer to use. They installed three different types of rapid charger (50 kw, 150 kw and 200 kw) to find out which is most popular with drivers. The convenience store has a quality foodservice program with
seating inside and outside the store. Most importantly, they installed an operating system that allows Maxol to track how the EV charging equipment is functioning. It sends an alert when the charger goes down (the biggest obstacle to a successful charging business) so that it can be quickly repaired—reducing customer frustration and lost revenue.
Donaldson said that the key is to create a site that has the right services and customer experience. A successful site creates a safe and welcoming environment for people to stop. These programs have led to Maxol having a conversion rate (moving the customer from the charging unit to the inside of the store) of almost 50%—far better than the conversion rate target of 30% I often hear from fuel retailers.
You need a well thought out strategy and the time and capital to put it into place. You may not be able to implement everything that Donaldson is doing, but you must adopt his perspective on meeting the needs of the customer. The EV driver is not an aberration to your customer base. They are an intrinsic, and growing, segment of the population and you need to treat them seriously—not as an afterthought.
Gone are the days of a lonely charging station in a remote corner of your property. You need to welcome EV drivers, provide them with a reason to stop at your location and then convert them into high-quality profitable customers. This will only happen if you do it right.
If you’re going to put in a charging station, go full in. There is more to being an EV destination than just installing a charger on the back corner of your parking lot.
Roy Strasburger is the CEO of StrasGlobal. For 35 years StrasGlobal has been the choice of global oil brands, distressed assets managers, real-estate lenders and private investors seeking a complete, turnkey retail management solution.
Get Some EV Insights
A new report from TEI provides EV charger operators with some guidance to best serve their customers.
BY KEITH REID
The Transportation Energy Institute recently released the report Electric Vehicle Insights, developed through its Electric Vehicle Council. The motivation for the report was to help address the “chicken and egg” aspects with EV charging adoption among charging service providers such as convenience store operators: Concerns such as range anxiety among potential EV purchasers can be alleviated by a more robust charging network, however, charging service providers want to know how to best serve these customers and obtain a reasonable return on
investment for the capital outlays to add charging.
As the report notes, the demographic profile of today’s EV driver in the United States is not representative of the overall driving population, but insights can be gleaned from their behavior, as well as from the behavior of drivers in other regions of the world with more mature EV markets. The systems and programs needed to capture and develop insights need to be in place before the coming inflection point. A better understanding of EV drivers today can inform how the EVSE market can best serve the needs
of EV consumers as the market grows and matures. Similarly, the experience of international charging providers of different scales is studied.
“There are a lot of surveys of consumers, but none have ever combined insights from EV drivers with the experience of charger operators. This provides unique insights into how to best serve the EV driver,” said John Eichberger, TEI executive director.
Here is the executive summary of the report, providing some highlights and key takeaways.
Data shows that about half of EV drivers’ households (49%) own at least one other type of vehicle in addition to their EV. A quarter of them (25%) have a liquid fuel vehicle and 21% have a hybrid. This means that a significant number of EV drivers need to find both petroleum-based stations and charging stations for their vehicles. Moreover, 62% of EV drivers report that their driving mileage has not changed since
having an EV and 31% say they are driving more.
DESIRED CUSTOMER AMENITIES
Results also showed that EV drivers have amenities and services preferences, and they discriminate between EV charging stations based on the amenities offered. The top five of their preferred amenities and services are (1) multiple charging spots allocated, (2) open 24/7, (3) chargers located in highly visible areas, (4) bright lighting around the charger units, and (5) visible security cameras. Notably, four of the five in this list concern customer safety.
“One of the key criteria for drivers to select a charger location is safety,” Eichberger said. “Among the top considerations, drivers want stations open 24 hours a day with chargers located in highly visible and brightly lit locations, preferably with security cameras. Unfortunately, these features were not always offered by the charger site operators surveyed for the study, indicating there is a disconnect between what drivers want and what operators are offering.”
Interestingly, only about half to two-thirds of site hosts offer exactly these amenities and services to their customers: chargers in high visibility areas (68%), security cameras (65%), bright lighting (56%), multiple charging spots (46%) and open 24/7 (52%).
Another analysis in the study provides guidance on the set of features and amenities site hosts can offer to maximize their reach to EV drivers. The most effective set of amenities and features—to reach 93.1% of EV drivers–consists of the following:
• Chargers located in highly visible areas
• Multiple EV charging spots
• Prepared food like sandwiches and pizza
• Open 24/7
• Children’s playground on site
To slightly increase the reach—to 94.2%—just one more feature needs to be added to the list in the 93.1% reach set: visible security cameras.
THE OPTIMAL CHARGING EXPERIENCE
In terms of the charging experience, half of site hosts (51%) say they have experienced less than 10% downtime and another 44% say their EV chargers have less than 20% downtime. These results are validated by the EV driver study results. A third of EV drivers (34%) say they have experienced at least one problem at a charger—not an insignificant number, but at the same time, most (65%) say it is rare. Just 9% of EV drivers say they frequently experience EV charging issues.
EV drivers do not think they have long waits to plug into an EV charger at a host site. Most EV drivers (84%) say they don’t have to wait at all or have a very short wait, while just 15% say they typically wait longer than five minutes at an EV charging location.
Site hosts say they do not have any data on what EV drivers are spending in stores. However, 78% of EV drivers say they get out of their car at public charging stations and 30% say they typically buy a drink or a snack while their vehicle is charging.
MAJOR INDUSTRY PLAYERS’ PERCEPTIONS VERSUS SMALLER SITE HOSTS’ PERCEPTIONS
Major industry players (companies that have a minimum of six EV charger sites) do not think site hosts are in a hurry to own and operate their own EV chargers. However, site hosts in the study are more likely to own their EV chargers than lease currently. Specifically, 69% of site hosts claim that they own their EV chargers, 31% revenue share and 16% lease their space to EV charger operators.
Site hosts are thinking about expanding the number of EV chargers they offer in the future. Of existing site hosts, 85% put in the necessary infrastructure and wiring to increase their
Site hosts say they do not have any data on what EV drivers are spending in stores. However, 78% of EV drivers say they get out of their car at public charging stations and 30% say they typically buy a drink or a snack while their vehicle is charging.
EV charger maintenance is not seen as a major issue by either major industry players or smaller site hosts. Both groups believe EV charger original equipment manufacturers are quick to respond to issues.
EV charging capacity during their initial EV charger installations. Different groups have different perceptions of how long it takes for EV chargers to be delivered and installed. Overall, major industry players believe that lead times to get EV chargers installed are longer than site hosts’ experience. Industry players’ perception is that it takes normally about a year from ordering the EV charger units to installation. Two-thirds of site hosts (66%) say it is normally less than 6 months, and 31% say it takes 6 to 12 months.
Major industry players in Europe believe that permitting and licensing are a significant burden for sites. They say installation can be complex because government, contractor and utility bureaucracies are difficult to align and coordinate. Most U.S. site hosts (58%) say permitting and licensing were easier than expected, with only 12% saying it was more difficult than expected and 30% saying it was about what they expected.
Overall, all U.S. stakeholders think local governments are generally cooperative in assisting EV charging sites in adoption and permitting. Most site hosts (94%) say their local government was at least somewhat cooperative, and 91% say their local government was knowledgeable on permitting. It is a different scenario in Europe, where permitting is believed to be complex and time-consuming.
There are discrepancies among the groups about how they believe EV drivers are paying their charging fees. Major industry players believe most customers are paying via app, not credit card. Site hosts say the majority are paying with credit cards (85%) or digital wallets (79%). Just a third (31%) say EV drivers are using an app. EV driver themselves say they pay by digital wallet, credit card and app about equally (32%, 29% and 25%, respectively).
Major industry players are more likely than smaller site hosts to think utilities are more of a hindrance. Major
industry players feel utilities cannot keep up with the pace of demand by site hosts, while 98% of smaller site hosts said their local utility was at least somewhat responsive to their needs and requests.
EV charger maintenance is not seen as a major issue by either major industry players or smaller site hosts. Both groups believe EV charger original equipment manufacturers are quick to respond to issues. All the site hosts included in this study said their EV charger manufacturer was at least somewhat responsive to their maintenance requests. Finally, the study shows that site hosts are at least satisfied with their EV charger revenues. This does not mean their EV charger operations are profitable, but that the site host is generating revenues from their EV charger investments that meet or exceed their expectations. Specifically, 54% said their EV charger revenues exceeded expectations and 44% said revenues met expectations.
WHAT SHOULD BE THE MAIN TAKEAWAY FOR A CONVENIENCE RETAILER?
“Installing chargers is not enough to attract EV customers–retailers have to provide amenities that drivers are seeking,” Eichberger said. “EV drivers are likely to spend 20 minutes or more at a charger location—retailers have an opportunity to provide those drivers with a comfortable, safe facility and a compelling store offer that can help generate business at those installed chargers.”
TEI, founded by NACS in 2013, is a nonprofit research-oriented think tank dedicated to evaluating the market issues related to vehicles and the fuels that power them. The report was prepared by Heart+Mind Strategies, a one-stop insights consultancy that provides research-based answers for companies and organizations to achieve their strategic goals. The full report goes into far greater detail and can be downloaded for free at: www. transportationenergy.org/
The ATA’s Take on Recent Tailpipe Regulations
EV mandates for the trucking industry are disconnected from reality.
BY CHRIS SPEAR, ATA PRESIDENT AND CEO
The best approach to decarbonization is one that provides the greatest environmental benefit at the lowest possible cost. The American Trucking Association (ATA) feels that current regulations do neither while unleashing inflationary consequences that will be felt for decades to come.
EV mandates for the trucking industry are a mistake for many reasons, which are validated by a new study
from the American Transportation Research Institute. The report, “Renewable Diesel—A Catalyst for Decarbonization,” provides data using the U.S. Department of Energy’s GREET model that proves renewable diesel (RD) has a much smaller carbon footprint over its lifecycle than battery-electric trucks, and that widescale adoption of RD in trucking can be achieved at a fraction of the cost of electrification.
To be clear, the trucking industry is not opposed to battery-electric vehicles (BEV). Some fleets are testing them, and the initial results are mixed at best. What’s abundantly clear from early adopters of this technology is that the hurdles to widescale adoption are undeniably massive and ATA believes that the target and timelines mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) can be described as nothing more than utterly disconnected from reality.
What ATA does oppose are one-sizefits-all mandates that impose singular technologies onto an extremely varied industry like trucking while ruling out alternative fuel sources that offer greater environmental, operational and financial benefits. Just as any good toolbox contains a diverse set of tools, each designed for specific tasks, the trucking industry needs a range
of technologies tailored to different operational needs. Hammers are great at driving nails, but it’s not advisable to build a house with just a hammer. BEV trucks might work well in specific trucking operations, such as urban delivery and school buses—but you cannot move the entire U.S. economy on battery-electric alone.
EPA’s new Greenhouse Gas Phase 3 regulation classifies BEV trucks as “zero-emission,” but that’s only because regulators looked solely at tailpipe emissions and excluded the full life-cycle carbon footprint of battery-electric and other alternatives. Battery-electric trucks are not truly zero-emission vehicles, as the sourcing of rare minerals, the production of lithium-ion batteries and the electricity generation and transmission required to power them generate significant carbon emissions. Replacing a petroleum diesel truck with battery-electric does reduce the life-cycle carbon footprint by about 30%. However, substituting renewable diesel in place of petroleum provides a far greater carbon reduction of nearly 70%.
One would think mandating the total overhaul of an essential industry that underpins the entire U.S. economy would deserve, at minimum, a simple cost/benefit analysis before making decisions of such seismic proportions. It stands to reason that the best approach to decarbonization would provide the greatest environmental benefit at the lowest possible cost. EV mandates do neither.
Full electrification of the U.S. trucking fleet, which California is trying to spearhead by 2036 with its own electric-truck mandate, would cost more than $1 trillion in infrastructure investment alone. That figure also doesn’t account for the upcharge cost
of the vehicles themselves. Batteryelectric trucks range from two to three times as expensive as a comparable eco-diesel truck. Considering that 96% of U.S. trucking companies operate 10 or fewer trucks, these mandates are simply cost-prohibitive for most truckers. The mandates will put many companies out of business, cause consolidation in the industry and drive prices up for consumers. If inflation is a concern, then hammering a massive, impossible and unfunded mandate squarely onto the supply chain’s central link is about the most foolish policy one could ask for.
Moreover, the limitations of battery-electric technology make the widespread adoption unworkable for many trucking operations. Seventyseven percent of U.S. trucks travel 250 miles or more daily, yet current BEV truck technology has a usable trip range of only 150-250 miles. In comparison, RD has no range limitations and can run 1,200 miles on a single fill-up. Since RD is a drop-in fuel that works in today’s eco-diesel engines, there’s no lengthy and costly infrastructure buildout required before.
Make no mistake: Trucking has gone all-in on reducing our environmental impact, and we’ve come a long way already. Over the past 40 years, the industry has cut NOx and particulate matter pollution by 99%. Today’s cleanburn diesel trucks have reduced carbon emissions by 50% compared to pre2010 models.
ATA believes that pragmatic and technology-neutral policies that allow for a range of low-carbon fuel sources are the necessary bridge to carry us to a zero-emission future, but focusing on BEVs as the only technology solution is simply bad environmental and economic policy.
What ATA does oppose are one-size-fits-all mandates that impose singular technologies onto an extremely varied industry like trucking while ruling out alternative fuel sources that offer greater environmental, operational and financial benefits.
Full electrification of the U.S. trucking fleet, which California is trying to spearhead by 2036 with its own electric-truck mandate, would cost more than $1 trillion in infrastructure investment alone.
Class 8 ZEVs—A Fleet Manager’s Perspective
Taki Darakos, a fleet manager for PITT OHIO who oversees the acquisition and maintenance of 1,550 company-owned tractors and box trucks, testified before Congress in April on the technological, operational and financial challenges fleets face as federal and state regulations mandate the adoption of battery-electric trucks.
Darakos started with a reminder that the industry had already made great strides in carbon reduction. A new truck today emits 99% fewer particulate matter emissions than one in 1985, and 99% fewer nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions than one in 1975. In fact, 60 trucks today emit what one truck emitted in 1988.
“These cleaner trucks are meeting Americans’ demands to move more freight than ever before. Since 2004, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) SmartWay partners have saved billions of dollars in fuel costs, reduced oil consumption and eliminated millions of tons of air pollutants. EPA estimates that the program has helped its partners save 379 million barrels of oil since 2004,” he said.
On the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) front, Darakos described how the company already had a significant compressed natural gas footprint in its fleet and added some battery-electric vehicles to become familiar with the technology.
In 2022, the company added its first Class 7 battery-electric trucks, which were operated on 100-mile regional routes. It recently added second-generation technology with improved ranges and payloads, but these figures still fall short compared to its ICE vehicles. Currently, the technology does not support its tractor operations.
“During the day our tractors operate in city operations running between 150-200 miles. At night they run line haul operations, averaging over 500 miles an evening with some running over 600 miles. BEV technology will not allow for electrification of those vehicles today,” Darakos said.
The challenges he cited included:
• Costs: Upfront acquisition costs are much higher than for a diesel equivalent, making it difficult for fleets to embrace electrification until they see meaningful year-over-year upfront purchase price declines. Before incentives, a Class 7/8 battery electric truck can cost two to three-and-a-half times more than its comparable diesel model and a hydrogen fuel cell Class 8 truck can be as much as seven times more.
Chris Spear is ATA president and CEO. ATA represents America’s trucking industry, and membership is open to for-hire motor carriers, private carriers, industry suppliers and allied companies, shippers and individual professionals through its councils.
• Range and payload: Battery-electric trucks require significantly heavier batteries (ranging from 6,000 to 17,000 pounds), which results in lower payload capacity than an internal combustion engine vehicle. This reduced efficiency, combined with limited mileage range and charging downtime, necessitates deploying more trucks and drivers to move the same amount of freight. With the industry facing significant logistical hurdles, battery-electric truck deployment could require a ratio of three battery-electric trucks in some operations for every two diesel trucks.
• Charging infrastructure: Trucking electrification is going to require enormous investments and attention to areas that are not within the control of trucking. This transition will require utility upgrades, power transmission improvements, construction of additional space for truck parking and modernization of our nation’s workforce development programs to bring in a new generation of trucking workforce to drive and maintain these vehicles.
What does Darakos see as at least part of the solution to the ZEV challenges?
“Incentivizing alternative fuels can potentially offer significant, and potentially greater, benefits than electrification in more difficult to decarbonize segments of the industry,” Darakos said. “A recent ATRI report shows technologies like renewable diesel may yield larger emissions-reduction benefits than battery electric technology.”
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Merchandising and marketing – uncover and adapt to customers’ daypart preferences, use customer-centric recommendations to enhance promo planning and compliance, and find new income opportunities.
Store and space – monitor and optimize fresh food conditions, dynamically prioritize team tasking, and ensure products are in the right place, at the right time, with the right price (with real-time shelf visibility).
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Drop by our booth, C6560, to see how we can help you reduce costs and enhance revenues by growing pump-to-store conversions, optimizing labor, and, enhancing retail operations.
Diesel Generators and Data Centers
Things that go together: AI, cloud computing, data centers … and backup diesel generators.
BY ALLEN SCHAEFFER
They often appear as just another concrete building, mostly unnoticed, blending into any light industrial park in the United States. But the activity inside a data center is anything but nondescript. It is vital to keeping our digital, and Internet-connected, world functioning. Data centers house the vast networks
of computers and high-speed fiber connections that keep our communications, banking networks and cloud computing functioning.
A key part of data center design and operation is ensuring continuous electrical power if grid power goes out. The nation’s electricity customers experienced an average of five and a
half hours of power interruptions in 2022.
Backup generators are insurance against the loss of grid electrical power; you hope you never need them but if you do, they are there to support critical operations and protect public health and safety. Rarely seen or heard, backup diesel generators have long been in service at hospitals, assisted living facilities, manufacturing businesses and government facilities throughout the country, as well as at data centers.
The U.S. leads the world in data centers, with more than 5,000 in 2023. That’s more than 10 times the number in the nearest country (Germany). And with the boom in artificial intelligence (AI), the number and importance of data centers is expected to grow.
DATA CENTER GROWTH
Growth in data centers is playing out in local government and planning commission hearing rooms across the mid-Atlantic area. In the last few years, Northern Virginia has become a growth region for data centers.
Maryland is set to welcome more data centers to the state in the coming years. However, a recent ruling by Maryland’s Public Service Commission (MDPSC) demanded that a data center secure a certificate of public convenience and necessity; a level of permitting designed more for public power plants than private data centers. The decision was based on rejecting the initial proposal that would have placed more than 160 backup diesel generators at the data center facility. The MDPSC balked at the inclusion of the generators, and generally expressed a lack of full understanding of the performance characteristics of these standard backup systems.
This designation and extra permitting requirements caused an early data center applicant to back out of the project. Studies show that the planned data center campus will generate $41 million in county tax revenue per year and another $197 million for the state of Maryland annually, in addition to supporting approximately 1,700 jobs upon project completion. Economic development policies in Maryland that seek to open the door to the possibility for more data centers in the state were put in place two years ago. The 2024 legislative session in Annapolis is set to fix the problem with data center designations and permitting requirements in legislation sponsored by Governor Wes Moore.
ROLE OF BACKUP GENERATORS
Data centers rely on a steady and uninterrupted supply of electricity, and backup generators are part of the system that helps achieve 99.9% uptime. By their very nature, data centers can’t afford grid power outages. Grid outages, even for a few minutes, are costly and dangerous. They disrupt many aspects of our highly connected, cloud and Internet-dependent world.
Federal, state and local regulations govern the type of generators as well as the environmental-related performance and permits for their use. The most advanced diesel generators are equipped with selective catalytic reduction and particulate emissions controls that result in emissions near zero levels.
Diesel generators are the gold standard for providing reliable backup electric power generation for a wide variety of applications. This is due to their superior load carrying capacity, ability to deliver high quality electrical power, rapid response time, affordability, wide access to fuel, self-contained fuel storage and an expansive network of servicing and support.
There are hundreds of thousands of applications with installed backup generators across the country at hospitals, communications centers, college campuses, fire stations, manufacturing facilities, public utilities, as well as water and wastewater treatment plants, to name a few. These units are designed to meet building and life safety codes, as well as other requirements unique to the facility and applications.
As part of general operating procedures, the units are typically regularly activated and “exercised” for one hour each week to ensure system readiness
The U.S. leads the world in data centers, with more than 5,000 in 2023. That’s more than 10 times the nearest country (Germany).
Allen Schaeffer is the executive director for the Engine Technology Forum. The Engine Technology Forum was established in October 2023. It evolved from the widely known Diesel Technology Forum. Members include leaders in internal combustion engines, fuels and technologies.
in the event of an outage. EPA rules at 40 CFR 60.4211 allows for the use of emergency generators for maintenance checks and readiness testing for up to 100 hours per year.
Various configurations, power output and emissions profiles of generators are available for different applications depending on a range of factors. The exact specifications are determined by engineering and design standards, code requirements and local environmental and other permitting requirements.
While petroleum diesel fuel is the standard fuel for backup diesel generators, the units are also approved by most manufacturers to utilize 100% renewable diesel fuel, also known as HVO (hydrogenated vegetable oil). This fuel is a highly refined drop-in hydrocarbon that is a diesel fuel replacement. It is produced from the same feedstocks
FRED M. WHITAKER, P.C.
as biodiesel, such as waste animal fats, soybean oil, used cooking oil and other sources. It has 50-85% lower greenhouse gas and other emissions compared to conventional petroleum. It’s widely available in California and some parts of the Pacific Northwest, and suppliers are starting to bring supplies of renewable diesel to the East Coast in limited quantities.
Our highly connected digital world relies increasingly on data centers to store and process a vast amount of information. The rapid growth of artificial intelligence will only increase the demand for computing and data centers.
Momentary losses of grid power can have lasting economic and other consequences to all those affected. This is why reliable backup power systems and diesel generators are such a critical part of data center operations.
flexfuelforward.com
Fuel Marketing Tech Trends You Can’t Ignore
Leading fuel marketers share their insights on the latest tech trends in the fuel distribution space.
BY PAVAN MAHESHWARI
It’s no secret that tech investments have generally gone up. For fuel marketers, tech advancements mean better operations workflows, much more flexibility in building a tech stack that best suits their business needs and a treasure trove of data that will help them make business-critical decisions.
But what exactly are these tech advancements, what’s fueling them and how are fuel marketers leveraging them to set their business up for success?
AI-WAY OR THE HIGHWAY
With everything happening in the industry—volatility in fuel prices,
supply chain challenges, fiercer competition, increasing customer demand and expectations—AI is going to be more important than ever for business growth.
Almost every aspect of operations will be digitized. Here are some places where AI will have the most impact:
• Predictive maintenance will help prevent costly equipment failure.
• Demand prediction and forecasting using AI will help companies accurately predict demands for downstream petroleum products. That in turn helps manage inventory, quickly respond to changing market dynamics, optimize resource utilization and maximize profits.
• Route optimization makes deliveries more cost-efficient with better route planning that maximizes delivery
volumes and minimizes time on the road.
• Predicting price trends and selecting the right suppliers further optimize procurement.
And this is just scratching the surface. Companies that understand this opportunity and put it to use are the ones that are going to benefit from the efficiency gains of streamlined fuel distribution.
MAKING BETTER DECISIONS WITH ‘BIG DATA ANALYTICS’
“Data is at the forefront of everything we do. The more information you have at your fingertips, the better decisions you’ll be able to make. Leveraging this data correctly can help companies grow tenfold,” Alex Salazar, ex-VP of operations at 3L Energy Solutions, said.
More businesses realize this today. This points towards an increasing use of big data analytics tools and business intelligence dashboards to monitor operations in real time, fine-tune daily processes, prepare for the unknown and easily identify ways to optimize and reduce costs using historical and current data.
LEVERAGING MODERN DISPATCH SOFTWARE
“There are too many moving parts in this industry and we’re trying to cut all manual processes. It’s a long-term play and we want to set up a good foundation with the right partner because having a good software system is the key to being successful,” a Tulsa on-site fuel delivery company said.
Manual workflows and dependency on pen and paper-based processes have been the norm in the industry. But that’s changing. While these traditional methods might have worked in the past, they’re no longer efficient. And fuel marketers realize this.
Industry trends like market consolidation are fueling the change. The upstream sector has seen some major
acquisitions such as ExxonMobil acquiring Pioneer Natural Resources and Chevron buying Hess. This also points towards the growing M&A trends in the downstream sector too. RelaDyne, one of the largest lubricants distributors, partnered with Sun Coast resources. Spec Oil merged three fuel distribution companies to create 3L Energy Solutions—a 60+ fleet business.
The point is that trends like these have made it necessary for fuel marketers to invest in tech. Without it, these mergers can go awfully wrong. Operations can become a mess without a streamlined workflow, which can only be achieved with tech.
“With the technological advancements happening, it’s very important to adapt. The industry itself is seeing the larger companies acquiring the smaller ones. And those large companies are already equipped with new-age tech. So, in times like these—to stay competitive and scale your business— you have to adapt to tech,” said Patrick McNeece, partner at McNeece Bros.
MOBILE-BASED TECHNOLOGY FOR DRIVERS
The ATA predicts that driver shortages will shoot up from about 60,000 in 2023 to 82,000 in 2024.
One of the major reasons is the retiring/aging driver workforce. Plus, the younger generation is resistant to taking driver jobs. Hiring and retaining new drivers becomes a challenge for fuel marketers.
This has increased the adoption of mobile-based technologies for drivers to enable them to complete their deliveries efficiently, with minimal manual efforts.
“Everything is drilled down for drivers, so they don’t have to think about anything. It takes all the guesswork out and prevents drivers from making mistakes. It’s like giving them the easiest day we can,” said a fuel and lubricants
Manual workflows and dependency on pen and paper-based processes have been the norm in the industry. But that’s changing.
In the face of competition, fuel marketers need to focus on customer experience to stand out and gain loyal customers. Software makes that a lot easier.
distributor serving the industry for more than 20 years.
With mobile-based technologies, delivery information and tickets don’t have to change hands. Drivers don’t have to go back and forth with a bunch of paper tickets. There’s a lot more flexibility in responding to changing schedules with up-to-the-minute updates provided to drivers.
Even getting new drivers trained on tech becomes a lot easier. They have their smartphones, they hit download on an app—and they get step-by-step instructions for completing their orders—making it easy for drivers to manage their daily loads.
THE RISE OF CLOUD-BASED SOLUTIONS
Tight budgets and the need for higher efficiency together have increased the demand for cloud-based solutions. And the days of server-based legacy systems are counted.
Cloud-based solutions save fuel marketers a significant amount of implementation and maintenance costs that can hit millions of dollars for server-based systems.
Imagine managing your entire operations over a browser/mobile app from anywhere in the world. The way fuel marketers manage their operations will never be the same—that’s what we call revolutionary tech.
IMPLEMENTING INTEGRATED AND UNIFIED SYSTEMS
Pavan Maheshwari is the founder and CEO of FleetPanda, a San Mateo, California-based company dedicated to driving innovative fuel dispatch software solutions for fuel distributors. Reach him at pavan@fleetpanda.com
“There is a lot of stuff happening out in the field. Information is scattered in different places, and you want to consolidate … in one place so that reconciliation becomes easy. With legacy systems data can be so fragmented—it’s difficult to bill a customer without retrieving data from 10 different places and piecing it together,” McNeece said.
Because companies have a lot of growth opportunities (like expanding their geographic reach or adding new
business lines), the need for a unified system that can manage all their business lines in one place rather than having 10 systems that don’t play well together is pretty evident.
By connecting different systems in the back office, such as accounting, pricing, CRM and tank monitors, operators create a single source of truth for their data across all these platforms that ultimately makes operations more accurate and efficient.
OWNING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
“We offer the same service and sell pretty much the same products as our competitors do. You know, we sell fuel, they sell. The question becomes, how can we provide a better service to our customers that makes us stand out from the pack? Offering technologically based solutions is a good way for us to stand out in the marketplace,” Salazar said.
In the face of competition, fuel marketers need to focus on customer experience to stand out and gain loyal customers. Software makes that a lot easier.
Tools like customer portals give customers the ease of placing and tracking their orders directly from one place.
The entire delivery experience—customers get instant notifications on order delivery and get their invoices (accurate ones) as soon as the order is delivered—significantly improves customer satisfaction.
ADAPT OR DIE
Until now, everyone got a sort of growth pass even with broken and disconnected operations. There was so much of “don’t fix what’s not broken” that almost everyone managed to grow. But now that pass is over, and it’s important to embrace these latest trends.
And the key to success is not just navigating change but leading it. And the right tech partner will help you be that leader.
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A Carbon-Cutting Tale
Did you hear about the time Portland banned fossil fuel diesel?
BY MARK FITZ
The first fossil fuel ban by a U.S. city is off and running. Portland, Oregon, kicked off the first stage of its new Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) on May 15. The RFS was first implemented in 2006 as a B5 (5%) biodiesel blend mandate with aspirations of mandating a 20% blend. Portland never implemented the B20 higher limit. Before the RFS, only tax incentives for fuel sellers had been used to encourage biodiesel blends. Incentives or mandates for biofuel content are not new, especially with California mandating renewable
diesel for specific off-road uses. What makes Portland’s mandate unique is the requirement that the biofuels have a CO2 value so low it bars most American-made biodiesels.
Portland’s leadership decided it wanted to lead the United States again from an environmentalist standpoint and has sought to modernize the ordinance aggressively. The mandate starts out at a 15% renewable diesel or biodiesel blend percentage; it will move forward to 50% in July of 2026 and then all the way to a 99% requirement in 2030.
Portland’s regulation is initially only concerned with on-road diesel sales. The interim rules limit the effect of the ordinance, though the formal law passed by the Portland City Council says all diesel is covered. The rules kicking off the updated RFS exempt off-road diesel uses such as heating oil, generator fuel, aircraft fuels, watercraft fuels and other dyed fuel users. The rule also exempts a single truckstop (Jubitz Truck Stop) inside the city limits and Daimler’s (Freightliner and Western Star truck brands) research, testing and truck proving operations located inside the city.
Fuel haulers were required to comply starting May 15. This program started regulating the fuel moving out of diesel island dispenser nozzles July 1. The enforcement focus in July included retail gas stations, mobile on-site fueled fleets and bulk tank purchasers of clear diesel. The city of Portland has stated it will sample fuel in the field and demand operators prove fuel used
inside the city is a 15% biobased diesel blend as well as track back the fuel’s CO2 footprint, with fines on the table. Those not exempted must report to the city of Portland, and they have several ways they can achieve this.
If someone is a noncommercial end user at retail, they do not have any obligation under the ordinance. Regulators are expected to be in the field checking though, and a Portland fuel cop of some sort will show up to local businesses with bulk fuel tanks sampling those.
If a trucking company buys fuel by mobile on-site fueling service topping off their vehicles, it must also prove it complies. This is done by showing it has a contract with a fuel supplier that will accept the obligation or provide proof of the fuel it purchased. Commercial buyers of fuel that shop every order of fuel will need to prove they meet the standard, as will the vendor above them.
A fuel buyer with a dedicated vendor will have to be able to prove all the fuel received to their site meets the law. This is being done with Bills of Laiding (BOLs) that can track a fuel source all the way back to import into Oregon (be it petroleum, biodiesel or renewable diesel). Historically, in the industry fuel distributors will leave a terminal-printed BOL at a retail gas station or commercial cardlock as a requirement of Weights and Measures (the ability to track the source of fuel if there is a quality assurance concern). It will be a new functional need for every drop of fuel to track a BOL on the delivery ticket.
This is easy for a branded gas station with a supply agreement and one
vendor. The neighborhood Chevron or Shell station would point out that their branded partner will provide their evidence for them. This local seller will still have to prove that it exclusively received fuel above a 15% blend of biodiesel or renewable diesel. There are not a lot of changes for branded gas stations other than the blend of the fuel and accounting upstream at their branded supplier.
This may not be as easy for a wholesale buyer. Wholesale fuel distributors buy from possibly dozens of vendors, sometimes reloading midroute and having multiple BOLs of fuel on one truck. The industry can easily provide the BOL associated with the fuel delivered, but this practice is new and not done anywhere else.
Many bulk fuel buyers are likely unaware of the new Portland requirements, especially during the first year of the program. If a local bulk tank operator is buying from multiple vendors, it can be surprised by the new reporting requirements. Fleets (and fuel distributors with weak management systems) will discover they have something that looks like a new tax form to file, but the accounting covers CO2. The penalties remain paid in cash, though. First offense fines by the city can be $10,000 per day. For repeat offenders the top daily fine is $15,000 from the city.
For more on the Portland RFS structure and rules, please see a presentation from Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability: https:// www.portland.gov/bps/climate-action/ renewable-fuel-standard/documents/ rfs-rulemaking-public-meeting-powerpoint-pdf/download
The neighborhood Chevron or Shell station would point out that their branded partner will provide their evidence for them.
Mark Fitz is the president of Star Oilco, a Portland, Oregon-based petroleum company that is one of the largest distributors of biodiesel and renewable diesel to both retail and commercial customers in the Portland area.
DISPENSER MEDIA PLATFORMS
By Keith Reid
Are they for you, and how can you maximize the opportunity?
Getting the customer off the forecourt and into the store has been a priority ever since the arrival of pay at the pump. Traditional efforts such as pump toppers and window signage worked to get that job done and still do today. However, with the arrival of the modern digital era, the major dispenser manufacturers began to explore the concept of video advertising at the pump.
The first efforts were announced by Tokheim at the 1999 NACS Show. Gilbarco followed shortly afterward and Wayne (DFS) shortly after that. While the hardware and operational software were ready for prime time, the same could not be said for the content model. It took another five years for that to begin settling and 10 years or so for the concept to begin maturing. While digital dispenser marketing is not universal today, it has become mainstream and commonplace.
The major dispenser manufacturers—DFS, Gilbarco Veeder-Root and Bennett—provide video-enabled dispensers with useful screens, typically starting at the base level. Enhanced options, such as the DFS Anthem DX with a 27” screen, are available for a premium. They also provide a range of solutions to help retailers manage content on the hardware.
Third parties such as GSTV offer turnkey solutions, where they offer a free content solution with advertising deals from national CPG companies, infotainment segments and opportunities for the retailer to support in-house advertising as well.
Deciding to make the transition to media-enabled dispensers became easier with the EMV mandate that took place in 2015. The shift to chip cards required the replacement of terminals, PIN pads and card readers. The forced upgrade provided an opportunity to make some lemonade out of the lemons by upgrading to new media-enabled dispensers or retrofits.
“From an owner standpoint, I had to buy the dispenser anyways and the cost difference between adding digital media or not is really miniscule, so of course you’re going to get the upgrade,” said Ashlyn Bilbray-Sainz, vice president of the family
business RB Properties.
RB Properties operates two convenience stores (Northpoint and Southpoint Markets) in Laughlin, Nevada, a gaming and resort community with a population of 10,000 on the border between Nevada and Arizona. The company uses Gilbarco/ Invenco solutions with GSTV for content.
“When I purchased our second gas station, it had very old dispensers and I had no choice but to upgrade,” said Bilbray-Sainz. “The dispensers at the other site were also aging. I fell in love with the new dispensers, the big screens and all of that.”
POTENTIAL RETURN ON INVESTMENT
Digital advertising at the dispenser can produce notable results, although it’s difficult to set an apples-to-apples data point for this success as markets, effort, offers and creativity vary significantly from operation to operation.
DFS claims its DX Promote platform can increase sales for promoted items by 51% and cites a 22% increase in breakfast sales as an example. Invenco states that its Applause TV pays for itself in less than one year, based on a 2% lift in fuel and in-store sales, using NACS revenue and margin averages.
GSTV states that 89% of people who visit a GSTV station watch or listen while fueling. In one campaign for a female-targeted energy drink there was a 36% increase in brand opinion, a 39% increase in purchase intent and a 65% increase in purchase at the c-store, according to GSTV.
“A retailer will get as much out of it as they put into it,” said Jen Threlkeld, DFS senior product manager, fuel dispensers. “We have retailers that will make two custom ads and see two good ROIs that month. If they make eight custom ads, they’ll likely see eight sets of ROI that month. So, there is a level of independence to this.”
Threlkeld noted there are customers seeing at least a double-digit impact from 10% to 18%, and the effort put in tends to determine the outcome along with the specifics of the promotion. A monetary incentive will generate a behavior shift.
“If you’re encouraging somebody to come in and sign up for a membership, you’re going to see a
much better ROI if you’re providing an incentive like a free soda or a free coffee while you’re signing up for that membership,” Threlkeld said.
THIRD-PARTY CONTENT
Retailers have access to a range of content solutions to display on their dispensers. Of course, the primary draw with the technology would typically be advertising and promotions.
For national advertising opportunities with the largest CPG companies serving core industry categories, there are third-party, outside companies such as GSTV. These opportunities are not outside the capabilities of retailers using in-house solutions, but scale and market density would have to
be highly advantageous. Of course, these platforms can amplify existing store promotions from these companies.
GSTV is the most established content provider, partnering with more than 29,000 retail convenience sites from retailers such as 7-Eleven, Arco, BP, Chevron, Gulf, Circle K, Speedway, ExxonMobil, Sunoco, Phillips 66 and Marathon.
“We provide engaging entertainment content, third-party advertising and retailer promotional advertising,” said Kristina Lutz, EVP, marketing
at GSTV. “Each retailer gets to take advantage of the moment when a fueler is at the dispenser, to both enhance the experience but most importantly drive them into the store to take advantage of products and services that are available. We work with the entire spectrum of the industry from the Circle K’s and 7-Eleven’s of the world to single site operators, and everything in between.”
GSTV provides its services free of charge. It offers a retailer access to a “success team” that works as an account manager to handle promotions. The company reaches out every month and engages with retailers to make recommendations in terms of what is timely and what might make sense to have on screen. It also makes available a creative services team that produces video spots.
“It’s really a turnkey solution,” Lutz said. “It’s an easy process to work with our team—just let us know what you want on the screen, and it gets there. We make sure that they’re updated on a regular basis, and they can be dayparted. It’s kind of an outsourced marketing department for a lot of the independent retailers that may not have those resources on staff.”
“I didn’t know anything about GSTV,” BilbraySainz said. “So, I got these amazing new dispensers and my distributor helped set me up with GSTV and before I knew it, I had a rep contacting me on my account and telling me all about the free media.”
Bilbray-Sainz manages her promotions with the GSTV teams and said it’s been a seamless, easy process. She recalled an occasion where a national ad for a quick lube company was potentially driving customers over the border into Arizona and her rep quickly removed the ad.
DISPENSER CONTENT SOLUTIONS
The dispensers that manufacturers offer also give retailers the ability to manage their own advertising and promotions.
DFS offers DX Promote and DX Promote Auto. DX Promote allows retailers to advertise their goods and services through an integrated digital platform at each fueling point, helping to draw customers inside the convenience store. Driven by Microsoft Azure, DX Promote leverages next-generation technology to centrally manage and deploy both day- and time-appropriate advertisements.
The DX Promote Auto Service is a low-touch media solution available on the DFS Anthem UX and AX12 dispensers. The new service provides fueling and convenience retailers access to a team that creates and manages custom advertising, including short-form infotainment, national promotions and major oil content.
GSTV has partnered with over 29,000 retail convenience sites.
Invenco by GVR offers Media Reach as its independent retailer content management system. Media Reach gives the retailer full control of dispenser marketing through a rules-based platform that customizes dispenser marketing content based on a wide range of factors, including time of day, customer demographics and even real-time weather conditions.
Gilbarco Veeder-Root’s Invenco by GVR offers Applause TV in conjunction with GSTV. Applause TV is a fully managed no-cost national content service delivered by GSTV. Applause TV schedules content by time of day, weekday or groups of stores, including at least one site-specific promotion. Applause TV works with any point of sale system and doesn’t require POS changes.
CONTENT STRATEGIES
Customers must be engaged for these media platforms to work. The biggest challenge to engagement today would seem to be the smartphone, which has intruded on engagement with many real-world activities. Surprisingly, phones are not much of an issue during the fueling process.
“One of the things that we learned is that only 5% of people took their phone out of the car with them,” Lutz said. “It makes sense. You need two hands to fuel. You must hit the buttons on the pump, use your credit card or whatever. This same research showed that 95% of the impressions served on our screen had the customer’s full attention. Frankly, they have nothing else to do. What a great time to remind the consumer to walk 10 or 20 feet into the c-store and pick something up.”
Smartphones aside, there are distractions on the forecourt such as noise, activity and weather. Furthermore, with the abundance of messaging present today it can be easy for people to zone out. That is where the content mix comes in.
“Keeping people engaged is always important, to keep customers from saying, oh, it’s just Twix. I already know about Twix. Oh, it’s Coke. I don’t really drink Coke, and tuning out,” said Greyson Gsell, product marketing manager, Invenco by GVR. “So, interspersing a call to action and advertising objective with something pleasant and a nice brand message or infotainment, traffic or weather helps keep their attention.”
He added that the non-advertising content that helps keep customers engaged is not wasted, as it continually builds engagement and brand value. For the ads themselves, the first ad in rotation can be considered a premium spot.
“We’re really programming the entire show around that consumer experience,” said Lutz. “The
average fueling time is three to five minutes at the pump, so that’s the length of our show. And it’s a mix of general interest content, interspersed with the CPG advertising and RPAs (retailer-specific promotions). So, it really is a full show that loops.”
For the general interest content, she noted that music is popular and attracts interest. Musicbased content could be about a new song, why the artist wrote it or new tours coming up.
“From an owner standpoint, I had to buy the dispenser anyways and the cost difference between adding digital media or not is really miniscule, so of course you’re going to get the upgrade.”
—Ashlyn Bilbray-Sainz, RB Properties
A multifaceted approach to content that reinforces the messaging through a range of platforms can amplify potential success.
“We focus on vertical integration at Kwik Trip,” said Amanda Monroe, advertising manager, for the company, which uses Gilbarco hardware and the Invenco by GVR media platform. “That permeates the whole company. So, we handle all our content management for the dispensers, our in-store digital for TVs, radio and our reader boards outside.”
She noted that the primary driver behind this was the large number of private branded and specialty items the chain offers. Roughly 70% of the content is Kwik Trip specific. The retailer also runs some programs that are co-branded or independent with major CPG players like Red Bull, working with the category management departments that have those direct relationships.
“We team up with our social media group to get a little bit of entertainment content to put in there, weekly or sometimes more than that,” said Monroe. “We want to keep it fresh. We also do a variety of ads—some have voiceovers and some just have music. We want advertisements, we want to teach people about our products and have entertainment mixed in to keep people’s engagement high while watching the loop.”
This includes the social team filming something with their phones and putting a piece together or the audio-visual team working with
the company’s chefs to highlight recipes to make with the retailer’s products. Entertainment segments focus on humorous things the customers can relate to.
“We have some pepper jack sandwiches coming out,” she said. “There’s a goofy guy who seems like he’s going to be lifting weights, but he is just, you know, playing off ‘getting jacked’ with lifting weights. Just that humor. They’ve done a great job of creating great content.”
that maybe hadn’t considered the convenience channel as a place to get a more substantial food product.”
The major CPG advertisers often use their own advertising time for a call to action for a store sale. These companies tend to be the bread and butter of the traditional c-store customer, so the retailer’s RPA advertising slots or independent in-house efforts can be used to drive specific brand promotions.
“The fun part of technology is you can try all these different things and then pivot if it doesn’t work. So, don’t be afraid. Take a deep breath and then listen to your customers.”
—Jen Threlkeld, DFS
Social media more broadly offers content opportunities. GSTV and TikTok reached an agreement in 2023 to engage on-the-go consumers at unique moments of 1:1 attention with culturally relevant, curated content.
“There’s no secret that creators are the buzzword of 2024, whether it’s TikTok or other platforms,” Lutz said. “Pulling that type of talent into the show or the advertising time is really effective, so we’ve solidified some partnerships in that space.”
Customer control in the programming can also keep engagement higher.
“You need to give the person who is standing in front of the dispenser a choice,” Threlkeld said. “If they have no choice to turn the volume off, they’re going to disengage. If they have no choice to turn the volume up, they’ll disengage. … Let them swipe and see what the next ad’s going to look like, and if that one is going to save them $2 if they walk inside.”
Of course, relevancy is critical for interest and engagement. “Relevancy by daypart, month or year is one of the keys to success,” Lutz said. “If you have National Candy Day or National Day of Donuts—a lot of those things are available in the convenience store. So really take advantage of the relevancy of those types of promotions.”
Lutz also noted the value of promoting the important foodservice category. “That’s a big growth area of the industry. Just reminding people of fresh food offerings or things that they might not have expected to be available in the store can pay dividends,” she said. “It’s a good way to bring new customers into the store
Controversial programming, such as political content, is avoided by the third-party players, and it makes sense for independent efforts as well. The advertisers are selected to be uncontroversial. Exceptions can include alcohol, tobacco and gaming—as long as the regulatory hurdles are overcome.
In addition to the CPG advertising provided by GSTV, Bilbray-Sainz actively uses the RPA opportunities and takes advantage of both the premade template options and more personalized promotions.
“I’ve used their general, premade coffee brewing ads or their ice cream ads and then I’ve also had it completely personalized with my logos on it,” she said. “Buy two for $5 pizza slices at my little deli in South Point. I’ve had slot machine ads for my gaming. And I’ve been able to schedule for the time of day. So, I’m running my coffee and morning doughnut ads, my lunchtime deli ads and my nighttime ads for things like alcohol.”
Bilbray-Sainz has used the technology to offer raffle promotions. “I’ve done offers like for every Bud Light product you purchase, you’re entered in a giveaway for one of those remote-control cars or Bud Light golf bags or other swag from our vendors,” she said.
VERY SPECIAL OFFERS
As noted, the platforms can be effectively used to support special offers. These can be unconventional.
“We have some sites that made big bucks off firewood in the winter and rugs in the summer,” Threlkeld said. “Those aren’t your standard offers. I would love to say that a typical content
mix is predictable, but it’s just what you are within your community. This gives you flexibility and adaptability.”
The idea of being a broadcaster can be pushed to the limits. “One of our customers is not yet in a place to run their own media, but they wanted to have really cool screens and a little more interactivity, whether it’s the weather or something like that,” Threlkeld said. “But they sold that ad space to the Ford dealership down the street, which cut them a check and paid for all of the upgrades and basic costs for the first two operating years.”
Kwik Trip takes advantage of a similar opportunity. “We’ve had a few outside advertisers, like in the automotive business. who have gotten some really good results,” Monroe said. “We have heard great feedback on seeing the ads on our dispensers and then people coming into the location.”
The platforms can be used for what would be considered a traditional classified. “We had a customer broadcast local job vacancies, and they’ll be targeting a city for local plumbers, electrical companies, things like that,” Gsell said. “They have their own program for reaching out and cold calling local businesses to see if they can partner.”
BRAND AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT
Having the ability to broadcast your own media creates some interesting opportunities to educate customers and support the brand and the community.
An issue among retailers offering multiple ethanol blends is how do you explain the offerings at the dispenser to customers that may not even know ethanol is present at 10% in virtually all gasoline.
“We have ads with responsive messaging because if someone is trying to promote an E25 blend at a site and nobody knows what E25 is, nobody’s selecting it because they’re afraid to put it in their cars,” said Threlkeld. “If somebody doesn’t pick E25, then we’ll play a responsive message that says did you know E25 is safe for use in this car?”
Local businesses have long worked, often through involvement with the Chamber of Commerce, to become a pillar of the community. This has traditionally been expressed in such ways as a picture of the business owner with a sponsored local Little League baseball team. Digital platforms can move well beyond that.
“The favorite application that I’ve heard about so far involved a store owner that is very close to the local high school, and they partner with the school with ads here and there,” Threlkeld said. “The media was used by a student to ask his girlfriend to prom. They have a picture of themselves standing next to it where she said yes. It’s community engagement in a way that I think is so fun.”
She noted retailers have supported charitable efforts like winter coat drives or efforts that allow customers to donate to crowdfunding efforts to help locals in need of financial assistance for medical treatment or other significant hardships.
“The fun part of technology is you can try all these different things and then pivot if it doesn’t work,” Threlkeld said. “So, don’t be afraid. Take a deep breath and then listen to your customers. You know who’s coming in and out at that store. Nobody else can tell you what ads are going to work. Lean into the knowledge and the fact that you’re the master of that domain.”
She noted there is nothing wrong with getting customer feedback as you go. “Why don’t you like this? Or why do you like that? How do you feel about that? And people love having their opinions valued,” Threlkeld said.
With all the proactive options available to use technology, what not to do? “The worst thing you can do is leave it blank,” said Gsell.
Digital media can help retailers connect with the community—from partneringtwith a local school to highlighting charitable efforts like winter coat drives.
IN THE LEAD: Scott Hartman
A closer look at his career in tech leadership at Rutter’s and for the industry at large.
By Keith Reid
Scott Hartman, President & CEO at Rutter’s
Holdings, Inc
The level of technology driving virtually every aspect of convenience retailing and fuel marketing is practically taken for granted today, even though as little as 25 years ago the industry was largely a paper world filled with manual processes. Business got done, but the pace was slow, the processes inefficient and the controls and ability to be proactive with data highly limited.
Scott Hartman was at the forefront of the technology revolution that began moving through the industry in the early 1990s onward. He represents the 10th generation in the Rutter’s Farm Stores business, which dates back to 1747. After spending seven years at Price Waterhouse (now PricewaterhouseCoopers) he returned to the family business in 1990, first as CFO and vice president of operations and then CEO. In 2003, he became president and CEO of Rutter’s Holdings, operating Rutter’s Farm Stores, Rutter’s Dairy and M&G Realty.
Hartman was a core leader in promoting NACS efforts supporting the rise of technology in the industry. He helped launch the NACStech Conference and the NACS Technology Standards Committee was formed with Hartman as chairman. He went on to chair the NACS Technology Council, served as a NACS Executive Committee Member for more than 10 years and was chairman of NACS in 2005-06.
Here we look back at the rise of digital technology in the industry.
DESCRIBE YOUR ENTRY INTO THE WORLD OF TECH.
After college, I worked at Price Waterhouse from 1983 to 1990 doing consulting. While at college I was programming on mainframes, and in the Price Waterhouse years it was minis—then they came out with a thing called a Mac. I think I was the first guy in all of Price
Waterhouse to have one and did a lot of work showing them what the Mac did and suddenly everybody was getting one. The laptops then probably weighed about 45 pounds and you needed a big lap.
WHAT HAPPENED WHEN YOU RETURNED TO THE FAMILY BUSINESS?
I decided to leave Price Waterhouse when I was a senior manager and came back to the family business to see how I liked it. I used to work summer jobs in the family business before I went to Price Waterhouse and when I came back nothing had changed.
We had a dairy and the stores—and from a tech standpoint everything was still being programmed and run on punch cards in a massive, air-conditioned room. So one of my big things was to use my skills and see if I could advance the business into the new, coming world.
Not only was a store manager stuck in their office for hours every day doing this mundane work, but then they’d drive it to the office. Once they got it to the office, you’d have these rooms full of people double checking it.
IN 1999, SCANNING WAS STILL A SELL FOR THE INDUSTRY.
When I did paperwork in my younger days in the stores, everything was manual. It was pencil, paper, add this up, subtract this on a calculator and do your bookwork. You would literally take a tape off the register that would show your departmental sales and you’d write those on a piece of paper. And then you’d go add all that up and bingo. It would tell you that you’re $2,000 short inventory. And then you’d have to go back through and figure it out. Did someone have a fat finger? Was somebody stealing? So, all of that, then I realized scanning will help solve some of this.
That was a big step forward. Not only was a store manager stuck in their office for hours every day doing this mundane work, but then they’d drive it to the office. Once they got it to the office, you’d have these rooms full of people double checking it. So, all that stuff was very laborious, very slow because it could be weeks before you’d understand a discrepancy.
And then the back-office software was able to do the adding and subtracting and the bookwork. And you now had these wonderful things called modems. When I started, I think it was a 300 baud modem, and then—my god—2,400 baud and I thought I’d hit heaven. Then it went to 9,600 baud and higher to the broadband we have today.
THINGS STARTED TO MOVE ALONG MORE RAPIDLY ABOUT THIS TIME, ESPECIALLY WITH THE STORES.
On the convenience side, I would go to tech shows, such as they were. One of the very earliest attempts at tech for NACS was called the Tabletop Technology Show, and it was in Atlanta around 1992. They were trying to show people they can scan something or run some sort of software and so they were the early tech vendors. But at the same time those cash registers were at that show, cash registers were in stores with four-department or six-department buttons.
In 1995, we had the first meeting of the technology folks in Chicago to determine the future technology the convenience industry should be investing in. How might we move the industry? And a lot of it was to move into more standards for the exchange of information.
Amazingly, they had over a hundred people show up, and I was like, “Wow, there must be something going on here that so many people came in for a day meeting.” And that meeting launched PCATS, which is now Conexxus, a technology organization that focuses on standards. And the tabletop shows became NACStech which ran for a number of years until the tech component was rolled into the NACS Show.
THE BIG POINT-OF-SALE PLATFORMS WERE MOVING INTO THE INDUSTRY AS WELL.
I remember Brad McGinnis at Verifone came in. He and two others from Verifone visited and he had Per Data, his own point of sale and it was based out of Europe. Verifone was going to buy it. And they were going to write the ultimate software for the convenience store industry for point of sale. So, guys like him were the early ones in scanning. But they were coming from the angle of fuel pump integration.
And then you had pay at the pump. It was just like the discussion of scanning—should you, or shouldn’t you? Oh God, you do that, and nobody will go inside your store anymore. And it was expensive at the time too, but it was such a competitive advantage to have it. The oil companies were first.
IT WASN’T THAT MUCH LONGER BEFORE TECH MOVED FROM THE STRICTLY FUNCTIONAL TO MARKETING AND MERCHANDISING.
Nobody had a website before 1998. I remember getting interviewed on “what is this internet thing?” So, from ‘98 onward there was a lot of good stuff that was happening because people were getting desktops, laptops, the communication speeds were ramping up and the internet was really coming into play. I think the Apple iPhone came out two years later and then touch screens in
retail solutions and such developed with Radiant.
In 2005, I went on a trip to Asia as the incoming NACS chairman. I focused on Asia as that was where a lot of technology and trends were going to come from. I went over there with a bunch of people who were involved in the food industry, mostly grocery. They took us to places like Samsung at the time—and Samsung was not a name that rolled off the tongue like it does now. I learned so much when they took us behind closed doors and showed us their vision of the cell phone.
And I came back and spoke at the NACS Show in 2006. In my closing presentation, I said let me tell you what’s coming with this phone thing: This mobile device is going to do all these different things for you. It’s going to connect in your car; it’s going to be your in-store car billboard; It’s going to tell you what fuel prices are; it’s going to tell you where to go get food, drinks—all that stuff. This is how you’re going to talk to your customers.
PAYMENT HAS BEEN REVOLUTIONIZED BY TECHNOLOGY.
From cash to credit card, things have changed dramatically. What you once had was a card imprinter and inked paper. You’d lay the card in there, you’d run it through, the customer would sign it and you’d send a copy in with your daily paperwork and hope you got paid.
Then came card swiping and the integration into point of sale. Cash started to become less of a preferred payment, with a switch from cash to credit and debit and non-cash payment methods. Transaction processing speed was a huge improvement. Cash is still slow. It’s quicker than it used to be, but electronic payments are tap and go.
I think the payment processing world is more of a failure. It’s owned and run by the banks, and when you have monopolies that control access to the payment process, they’re not incentivized
FROM A PRACTICAL STANDPOINT YOU’VE MADE SURE RUTTER’S FOLLOWED YOUR TECH LEADERSHIP. WHAT’S THE CORPORATE PHILOSOPHY?
If you’re afraid of change, you’re going to be afraid of technology. But if you’re not afraid of change and you embrace it—you thrive on it. That’s what my team knows. We all love change, getting out in front and having fun doing it. It’s fine to make a mistake, but don’t make it twice. So, I think it’s a matter of your mentality and it doesn’t hurt to have some younger people helping you who are more current as you move through your life’s spectrum.
Social media can bring out great things for your business and representation, but if you watch it’s killed a few companies in a heartbeat.
We were early in all that fun stuff. We were scanning and then we had loyalty programs, and we were doing discounts on fuel and all that stuff. And we got our mobile app—I don’t know which version we’re on now with the different providers. Food ordering, integration into the store—all that stuff is where we are here. We were the first ones to sign on with GasBuddy to publish gas prices because I already had the vision from what I saw was coming.
It’s been a blast watching loyalty. You know, we were among the first ones pushing digital coupons in our apps. We had gamification in our apps before anybody. And then Apple made us take it out.
to invest in how to make it better for the community. They’re not invested in making it better for retail. They may want to cut down on chargebacks, but even then, that’s the retailer’s job. So, there’s a true lack of innovation. We could all be paying for stuff with a wedding ring, with our socks, with whatever you want.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA?
What social media was 20 years ago isn’t the same thing today. It’s much more interactive and moving information. You must be conscious that it’s going to get more regulation, not less regulation. I think you’re going to find that again, people move platforms from A to B to C, so you don’t want to put all your eggs in one because by the time you do people have moved on to others.
I think it’s likely to fade some because people are realizing it can be a bit of a pandora’s box leaving you vulnerable to some downsides in addition to the upsides. Social media can bring out great things for your business and representation, but if you watch it’s killed a few companies in a heartbeat.
WHAT PROMPTED THAT?
Because we were using a casino feel and you could win stuff, but it was still basically a game against other players. But whoever won we’d give them some prizes and Apple said, oh, that’s gambling. They were going to have gambling and they just didn’t want other people in their space.
WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE SEEING THIS DIGITAL REVOLUTION ARRIVE?
As I look back on my life, my career, I was so fortunate to be in the right place at the right time on that threshold. From learning to program on a mainframe and seven years later carrying around a laptop to seeing technology revolutionize our business and our lives.
Keith Reid is editor-in-chief of Fuels Market News. He can be reached at kreid@fmnweb. com
Biodiesel and renewable diesel technologies continue to advance.
THE NEW CHAMPIONS OF T
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
By Dr. Raj Shah, Victor Zhang, Gavin Thomas and Dr. Vikram Mittal
he global power requirements for electricity generation, transportation and heating have increased over time, driving up the demand for fossil fuels. Simultaneously, more sustainable methods of energy production are being researched, such as biodiesel and renewable diesel. These fuels are blended with traditional diesel to create a sustainable option by offsetting fossil fuel usage.
Although the terms “biodiesel” and “renewable diesel” are often used interchangeably, they are two separate products. The main difference between the two is that biodiesel is made using a process known as transesterification, or the conversion of fats into alkyl esters through a reaction between fats, alcohols and catalysts. Renewable diesel is made using hydroprocessing, a process that combines a feedstock with hydrogen and catalysts under high temperature and pressure to remove impurities and saturate double bonds, resulting in a cleaner, higher-quality diesel fuel product. These feedstock sources, unlike fossil fuels, can be readily replenished.
Many scientists have researched new ways of making or improving renewable diesels and biodiesel. Advancements include the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, improved properties such as a higher cetane number, and innovative methods of deriving new renewable diesel and biodiesel, whether that be new feedstocks or catalysts.
In this article we review a variety of studies.
CONVENTIONAL FEEDSTOCKS FOR BIODIESELS AND RENEWABLE DIESEL
The first study we will review, by Li et al., “Effects of Soybean Varieties on Life‐Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Biodiesel and Renewable Diesel,” investigated the effects that certain soybean variants have on the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of soybean-based biodiesel and renewable diesel. Researchers wanted to test if they could reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted in the production, or life cycle, of these fuels. To do this, researchers produced renewable diesel and biodiesel from both traditionally used commodity beans alongside newer emerging soybean varieties, then compared the greenhouse gas emissions to see if there were any differences.
The study also accounted for any factors that might create greenhouse gas emissions. For example, some important factors considered are CO2 emissions from crop harvesting, fuel production and transportation of biodiesel and renewable diesel. Other factors considered were energy consumption of the farm, fertilizer production and the use of fertilizer, herbicide and insecticide.
The findings from the study indicate that the type of soybean did not show any major changes in the amount of greenhouse gas produced throughout its life cycle. Regarding biodiesel, the researchers’ findings suggest that high-oleic soybeans (HO) and high-lipid high-oleic soybeans (HLHO) both reduce greenhouse gas emissions during the conversion phase of the renewable diesel’s life cycle. The conversion phase relates to when the crude fuel parts are formed into usable fuel.
Researchers also applied a market value-based allocation method, meaning that the cost of the soybeans would impact the data. By viewing their data through a new lens, the effect that the alternative soybeans variants had on the greenhouse gas emissions of soybean-based biodiesel and renewable diesel is more pronounced. For example, soybean oil is more expensive when bought in bulk (per kg), so by applying the market value allocation method the emissions calculated would increase.
Farnesane, a renewable diesel produced from sugarcane, is another conventional feedstock being researched. Sugarcane is common and therefore farnesane could be extremely useful in nations where sugarcane is in abundance. One study, “Experimental Assessment of Power
Generation Using a Compression Ignition Engine Fueled by Farnesane,” led by Costa et al. researched the possibility of using farnesane.
The main goal of the study was to test the viability of using farnesane in a small engine. The results found that while farnesane did underperform when blended with diesel at intermediate pressures and negatively affected engine performance at higher pressures, comparisons to traditional diesel showed farnesane reducing hydrocarbon, carbon monoxide and particulate matter emissions. While producing impressive results, one avenue of future research needed is the long-term effects of farnesane on engines, such as clogging.
NOVEL FEEDSTOCKS FOR BIODIESELS AND RENEWABLE DIESEL
Octenol is another potential material capable of producing renewable diesel. Octenol is a chemical compound naturally produced in plants and fungi to attract a variety of insects, including mosquitoes.
“Synthesis and Characterization of HighPerformance Renewable Diesel Fuel from Bioderived 1 Octen-3-ol,” Siirila et al., investigated the viability of using octenol to create a more effective renewable diesel. Researchers compared octenol-based diesel to conventional diesel. The results of this study explained that the resultant fuel (octenol-based renewable diesel) has superior properties compared to traditional options.
One problem preventing the mass production of octenol renewable diesel is that the reaction involving a component, linoleic acid, has not been commercialized. While this is a major roadblock, advances in synthetic biology should soon provide answers.
“Production of Hydroprocessed Renewable Diesel From Jatropha Oil and Evaluation of Its Properties,” a study by Hussain and Biradar, investigated the use of jatropha oil in the production of hydrogenated renewable diesel. According to the study, properties such as cetane number, flash point and pour point are higher than that of petroleum oil. On the other hand, properties such as kinematic viscosity and thermal stability were almost on par with hydrogenated renewable diesel and traditional diesel. These properties are significant because higher cetane number and flash point are both properties related to ignition. While the kinematic viscosity and thermal
stability did not surpass traditional diesel, the fact that jatropha oil diesel is on par with them makes it a viable option considering it has certain properties that are superior such as cetane number and flash point.
Neem seed oil has also been considered as a potential feedstock. According to “Experimental Investigation on Synthesis of Biodiesel From Non-Edible Neem Seed Oil,” Dash et al., neem biodiesel is prepared from neem seed oil and the basic catalyst, sodium hydroxide. The study researched neem seed biodiesel’s ideal properties
Many scientists have researched new ways of making or improving renewable diesels and biodiesel in such a way that they reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
and conditions. Dash et al. found that the maximum yield of the neem seed oil biodiesel (when optimized) was 96% and with a cetane number of 52, larger than traditional diesel. Additionally, the acid value was found to be extremely low. To get these properties, the ideal conditions must be met. The authors believe utilizing neem seed oil as feedstock in conjunction with other appropriate feedstock could “result in continuous and smooth production of biofuel.”
A study by Akinwumi et al., “An Overview of the Production and Prospect of Polyhydroxyalkanote (PHA)-Based Biofuels: Opportunities and Limitations,” looked at the use of PHAs to make biofuels. In their study, they produced two biofuels and designated them as 3-hydroxybutyrate methyl ester (3HBME) and 3-hydroxyalkanoate (3HAME). The processes used to make 3HBME and 3HAME give them properties extremely like that of gasoline and biodiesel. However, Akuwumi et al. also admit that the octane and cetane numbers of
PHA-based biofuel are significantly lower than that of other biofuels. Akinwumi et al. cite an article by Al-Mashhadani et al. which finds that longer and more saturated carbon chains typically yield higher cetane numbers in biofuel blends. This is yet another avenue which researchers may continue to follow as it does not just apply to Akinwumi et al.’s study.
The search for potential feedstocks often has researchers searching in unexpected places. One such feedstock that Maleki and Talesh researched in “Sustainable Biodiesel Production From Wild Oak (Quercus Brantii Lindl) Oil as a Novel and Potential Feedstock Via Highly Efficient Co@Cuo Nanocatalyst: RSM Optimization and CI Engine Assessment,” is the use of Zagros oak as feedstock for biodiesel. The cost and abundance of a feedstock is vital to its viability as a feedstock, so the abundance of Zagros oak in forests in Iran make it a viable option. Researchers used Co@CuO nanoparticles as a catalyst to make a new biodiesel from Zagros oak oil in gel form—QBLO—and
The cost and abundance of a feedstock is vital to its viability as a feedstock, so the abundance of Zagros oak in forests in Iran make it a viable option.
documented the characteristics of QBLO-based biodiesel.
Researchers believe that QBLO is a suitable feedstock to produce biodiesel, and it’s cheap and abundant. Its molecular makeup of fatty acids make it extremely suitable for biodiesel production and it provides positive traits sought after in biodiesel making QBLO a promising new feedstock.
ADVANCEMENTS IN BIODIESEL CATALYSTS
Many different catalysts have been experimented with for the transesterification process when producing biodiesel. As previously discussed, Meleki and Talesh used nanocatalyst Co@CuO to improve the yield of QBLO-based biodiesel.
Zeolite (commonly associated with water softening) catalysts have also been considered. In a study “Advancements in Basic Zeolites for Biodiesel Production via Transesterification,” done by Yang and Yu, research was conducted on the use of zeolites, which are inorganic crystalline materials. Yang and Yu found that using solid-base catalysts in these reactions could be a preferable way of producing biofuels, since solid-base catalysts have a lower environmental impact and a simpler production and scheme for biofuel production compared to traditional catalysts.
While Yang and Yu were optimistic about the future use of zeolites, they acknowledged some challenges that prevent the mainstream adoption of solid-base catalysts. One such challenge was that the stability and activity of solid-base catalysts must be further improved. This refers to the narrow and small pore size, which poses a distribution problem as the necessary molecules struggle to get into the active sites in the pores. These molecules can be viscous and bulky, so the small pores and the narrow paths end up decreasing the catalytic rates.
NEW METHODS OF MEASURING PROPERTIES OF BIODIESELS AND RENEWABLE DIESELS
Biodiesel researchers also study methods of grading both renewable fuels and traditional fossil fuels. The appeal of these new models is that they are easier to use and do not require a more involved analysis of the individual components of the fuel.
Instead, they only require an analysis of combustion heat.
“Standard Thermodynamic Properties for the Energy Grade Evaluation of Fossil Fuels and Renewable Fuels,” a study by Huang et al., proposes a system of measuring the standard enthalpy and exergy of fuels. To prove that this new system worked, Huang et al. compared their results using their new system to five established models. This “unified thermodynamic reference system” ensures thermodynamic properties are maintained throughout each model. The high accuracy prompted the researchers to estimate the energy characteristics of 39 prospective fuels such as “future fuels, including biodiesel, alcohol fuel, cellulosic fuel, marsh gas and municipal refuse. The models use the thermodynamic reference system, which ensures the thermodynamic consistency and the reliability of prediction results.”
Polikarpov et al., in “Critical Fuel Property Evaluation for Potential Gasoline and Diesel Biofuel Blendstocks With Low Sample Volume Availability,” devised a new method of analyzing fuel properties with low volumes. Typically, one liter of any given fuel would be required to evaluate any properties of said fuel. This new approach only requires 15 mL of any given fuel to evaluate its properties. This allows for the evaluation of fuels that may be more expensive to produce. The way this new method of analysis works is by using “dilution and autoignition resistance via measurement of ignition delay to estimate the octane number or cetane number of a new blend stock.” By estimating the octane and cetane numbers of a potential renewable biodiesel, researchers can get a general idea of whether this fuel is worth looking into or not. This new method of evaluation could be especially helpful in evaluating the properties of expensive renewable diesels and biofuels. Furthermore, this new low amount of volume required speeds up the research process for inexpensive fuels as well. This is because fuels that do not meet desired properties can be dropped early in favor of others that are potentially viable.
CONCLUSION
The research on renewable diesel and biofuel is continuing to advance every year as new ideas are tested and shared with the scientific community. In addition to being made from innovative sources, the properties of these new renewable diesels and biodiesels are also extremely
Dr. Raj Shah is a director at Koehler Instrument Company. Dr. Shah recently coedited ASTM’s bestselling reference title “The Fuels and Lubricants Handbook.”.
Dr. Vikram Mittal is an assistant professor at the United States Military Academy in the department of systems engineering and an expert on engine technologies.
promising, incentivizing the replacement of conventional fossil fuels. New catalysts such as basic zeolites and Co@CuO are being researched and are also extremely promising. Additionally, researchers are not only seeking new types of sustainable renewable diesel and biodiesel, but also new ways of evaluating these diesels.
Victor Zhang is a student ofchemical engineering at the State University of New York at StonyBrook and an intern at Koehler Instrument.
Gavin Thomas is a recent graduate in chemical engineering at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and an intern at Koehler Instrument.
InStore.ai launched a first of its kind, AI-powered, voice analytics technology platform to the convenience retail industry that reveals in-store insights from customer and employee interactions. Retailers can now capture vital information previously hidden in conversations occurring in stores between employees and guests. These conversations are then generatively evaluated for positive and negative implications and actions. Retailers can search analytics by any term or phrase desired, revealing powerful and actionable insights.
EVGO ANNOUNCES MAJOR NETWORK ENHANCEMENTS
EVgo Inc., one of the nation’s largest public fast charging networks for electric vehicles, announced several significant network enhancements through EVgo ReNew, the company’s comprehensive program created to elevate the customer experience. In addition to network advances, EVgo has debuted the Canary Model, a performance monitoring tool designed to automatically identify and analyze patterns and support diagnostics, augmenting EVgo’s maintenance responses with data from actual charging sessions.
TITAN CLOUD CLIMBS THE INC. 5000 SOFTWARE RANKINGS
Titan Cloud, a fuel asset optimization software platform provider, climbed to No. 291 nationally in software on the Inc. 5000 list. The company’s fuel asset optimization platform is redefining the fuel supply chain for retailers, commercial and industrial giants, wholesalers, haulers and government agencies. The end-to-end platform creates a more connected, efficient, and transparent fuel supply chain, from rack to dispenser, delivering significant cost savings and operational improvements.
BTC POWER RE-LAUNCHES TRAINING CENTER AND NEW ONLINE TRAINING PLATFORM
BTC Power, a manufacturer of electric vehicle charging solutions, announced the re-launch of its renowned training center under a new name: The Academy of Charging Education (ACE). This rebranding reflects BTC Power’s commitment to advancing knowledge and skills in the EV charging industry and creating more qualified service technicians to support uptimes. The Academy of Charging Education, previously known as the Center of Excellence, provides top-tier training and certification for professionals in the EV charging field. The revamped ‘ACE’ program offers an enhanced and comprehensive threeday, hands-on training program, meticulously designed to
equip participants with practical skills and in-depth knowledge of BTC Power’s innovative technologies and solutions.
D&H UNITED ACQUIRES SHOW ME PETROLEUM EQUIPMENT
D&H United, a portfolio company of Wind Point Partners, announced the acquisition of Show Me Petroleum Equipment, a full-service fueling solutions provider based in Springfield, Missouri. This strategic acquisition enhances D&H United’s market presence and regional service capabilities.
PASS NOW APPROVED FOR UST CLASS A/B OPERATOR TRAINING IN NEW MEXICO
As the landscape of environmental regulations and compliance continues to evolve, businesses and individuals find it increasingly necessary to stay up-to-date on the latest training and certification requirements. This is especially true for those involved in the operation and management of underground storage tanks (USTs). Recognizing this crucial need for comprehensive and accessible training, PASS Training & Compliance has achieved a significant milestone by receiving approval to sell UST Class A/B operator training in New Mexico.
OPW VWS INTRODUCES NEW ONESHOT PRESOAK TECHNOLOGY
Transchem Group, part of OPW Vehicle Wash Solutions, has announced the launch and availability of its new and innovative presoak technology found in Turtle Wax Pro OneShot. OneShot is a presoak chemical developed using a new type of cleaning technology that has been formulated to be three times more efficient than comparable products in the market today. The product is cost effective due to the low amount of chemistry required per wash while the chemistry doesn’t require the use of strong acids that can be harmful to vehicle wash employees, wash equipment and the environment.
DOVER FUELING SOLUTIONS LAUNCHES SYNERGY FUEL SITE CONTROLLER
Dover Fueling Solutions (DFS), a part of Dover and a leading global provider of advanced customer-focused technologies, services and solutions in the fuel and convenience retail industries, announced the launch of PetroVend Synergy Fuel Site Controller (PetroVend Synergy FSC), a singular platform to support fleet operations. PetroVend Synergy FSC consolidates multiple functionalities, including advanced Proprietary Card File (PCF) capabilities, into a streamlined package offering fleet operators unprecedented control, flexibility and efficiency.
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REMEMBER THIS?
Convenience Retailing and Fuel—1973
BY KEITH REID
The shift from tires, batteries and accessories to convenience as the primary “ancillary” profit center to gasoline sales built through the late 1960s and really started to take off in the early 1970s. An 11-page article by Joe Link in the August 1973 issue of National Petroleum News, “Convenience Groceries Build Profits for Gasoline Marketers,” took a deep dive into some of the costs and opportunities available to gas station operators looking to make the move.
It’s a fascinating read with a considerable amount of detail. Due to space constraints, I’ve broken it down into a list of bulleted highlights. Note: when grocery is used it represents a broader product mix than might be assumed today.
• The average profit margin on food sales at all convenience stores was about 26% on average monthly grocery sales of between $15,000 dollars and $30,000 ($106,000-$212,00, adjusted for inflation).
• Gasoline sales at convenience stores averaged 30,000 to 40,000 gallons per month. Many of the early conversions were to increase fuel sales at more marginal locations on the
back of the convenience offer. One oil company executive noted that “groceries and gasoline make a perfect marriage.”
• Nationally, convenience stores showed an average profit of approximately $6,500 ($45,000 adjusted for inflation) in 1972.
• Out of approximately 21,500 convenience stores at the time, some 3,000 had gasoline. However, there had only been a growth of about 500 stores in the previous two years.
• The article explained that the slowdown was due to the major oil companies who were involved in convenience retail clamping down a new activity while they acquired expertise on how to operate stores. It was noted that the oil companies were attempting to use convenience to sell more gasoline (which did seem to produce results). Conversely, independent jobbers seemed to want to make a good income from store products in addition to gasoline.
• Setting up a convenience operation was seen as being difficult. It was noted that convenience store tie ins with gasoline could be very profitable, but setting up a profitable operation itself was difficult because
it magnified personnel problems, pilferage problems and pricing headaches.
• Most oil marketers seemed to find grocery merchandising to be alien territory. Choosing the right mix of merchandise, the right inventory size and the right supplier can have a “life or death effect” on success. And competition can deal a devastating blow: “If a 7-Eleven type store moves in close to you, it will suck you dry,” said Bill Gordon, president of Childress Oil, a Fort Worth Phillips jobbership.
• In a trend that is still active today, convenience stores kept getting larger and larger. Some of the smaller conversion locations concentrated on carrying 25 fast moving products, compared to the 3,000 carried by a typical 7-Eleven at the time. Larger format stores offering between 2,100 and 2,400 square feet could offer between 1,000 and 3,000 items.
• Roughly 50% of all sales fell into 10 categories: bread, beer, delicatessen items, candy, milk, tobacco, soft drinks, snack foods and health and beauty aids. Candy had the highest margin at 28.4%.
It’s interesting that in today’s world the challenges, opportunities and even general profitability of various categories have been fairly consistent. An exception is foodservice, which wasn’t a common offer at the time. And as for the larger stores … that trend has certainly continued.
For more than 100 years, from its founding in 1909 to when it went out of business in 2013, National Petroleum News (NPN) documented the rise of petroleum marketing and retailing in the United States. NACS, PEI and The Fuels Institute have catalogued the rich history of NPN in its entirety. Each issue of Fuels Market News will look back at the history of our vibrant industry, through the eyes of NPN, to see how it reflect the issues, challenges and opportunities we face today.
Keith Reid is the editorial director of Fuels Market News.
We are enabling the evolution of the consumer experience in fueling and charging. With nine carefully curated brands and extensive partner networks, Dover Fueling Solutions® (DFS) remains dedicated to providing end-to-end solutions that power vehicles, streamline operations and attract customer loyalty.
