For those mining operations in remote sites, off-the-grid power systems that are both efficient and secure are essential, particularly for operations without easy access to a power grid.

Other power systems will need to be utilized on-site such as diesel-fueled power generators serving as a local micro-grid for both prime and standby power. These diesel generators must also prove themselves effective and reliable in all prevailing conditions, whether high altitudes or extremes in temperature.

Comparing underground and open pit mines, underground mines use considerably more power than the open pit kind. Underground mines require additional power for shafts, extractor fans, and dewatering pumps, for example. They will most likely require air conditioning and sites in colder climates may require some heating.

Natural gas
Natural gas-fueled generators are a reliable source of power if remote mines happen to be near a gas pipeline that can provide a tapped-in resource. These generators can provide continuous or prime power supply and are much cheaper to run than the diesel-fueled ones. They’re also considerably more environmentally friendly, with increased fuel efficiency, and have 34 percent lower greenhouse gas emissions.

As long as gas-fueled generators are well maintained they can function for longer periods, and some can run on a mixed hydrogen and natural gas blend. Natural gas generators are expected to see considerable growth in the next decade due to their much lower overall cost.

Parallel generating systems
Often remote mining site projects will require, in addition to diesel-fueled generators, parallel generating systems, switchgear, hybrid power systems, combined heat and power plants (CHP), battery storage systems, and acoustic enclosures, for example.

‘Parallel generating systems’ refers to the use of multiple power sources such as generators which synchronize the generator output for a short period prior to the transition to utility power. A closed transition is utilized to transfer loads with zero interruption of power.

This paralleling of multiple sources is good in that it increases reliability through increased redundancy. Redundancy proves more reliable than a single generator when it comes to handling critical loads; it also helps eliminate focus failure points; brings flexibility to load management; eases maintenance; and enhances serviceability through a reduced likelihood of disruption.

Hybrid power systems
Also known as renewable microgrids, hybrid power systems are typically found in remote mining sites. The power is generated by solar photovoltaic (PV) systems or wind turbines.

As noted by global energy solutions provider BWSC, this system “serves as a cost-efficient fuel saver for the reciprocating engines. The reciprocating diesel or gas engines generate power to balance the supply and demand of power in the system and provide crucial inertia for ensuring grid stability. In cases where short-term demand peaks are frequent, energy storage systems can provide sufficient energy to meet the demand.”

BWSC’s site goes on to note, “The energy storage systems can also be used to displace additional fuel and related costs when storing hours of renewable power for when the sun is not shining or the wind not blowing.”

In addition, energy storage systems can provide power regulation support, and thereby minimize the need for running engines. In some cases, storage can also substitute investments in engine capacity.”

Mohammad Sedighy, Principal Consultant, Electrotechnologies at Canadian engineering firm Hatch, told International Mining that “past attempts to incorporate renewable energy at meaningful penetration levels at these remote sites have proved challenging. Renewable power used to be expensive, and many early projects weren’t able to compete with diesel power on cost. The continuity of supply was an issue due to weather dependency and the variability of the renewable power generation itself.”

He goes on to say that “This is quickly starting to change. Hybrid power is on the cusp of making major leaps, thanks to falling costs of renewable energy, the maturity of several forms of energy storage technologies, and the advancement of smart, real-time dynamic control systems. We can now better integrate renewable energy into remote power grids through the improved performance and control of microgrids, with optimal sizing and use of energy storage.”

Combined Heat and Power plants (CHP)
Also known as cogeneration, a CHP plant provides a self-generation solution. The CHP generates sustainable electricity and thermal energy at the same time. Sustainable because heat that would normally be lost in processing can be redirected for other purposes such as steam to generate electricity or for steam chillers for cooling, for example.

According to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, “CHP is a suite of technologies that can use a variety of fuels to generate electricity or power at the point of use, allowing the heat that would normally be lost in the power generation process to be recovered to provide needed heating and/or cooling.”

The site further explains that “CHP technology can be deployed quickly, cost-effectively, and with few geographic limitations. CHP can use a variety of fuels, both fossil- and renewable-based.”

And according to an article in Science Direct, “The main advantage of CHP is the efficient gain from saving natural resources and reducing emissions into the atmosphere, because it produces both heat and electricity at the same time.”

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)
Many mining groups want to cut their emissions and can do so by relying on energy storage systems that enable them to increase renewable power consumption. BESS is an energy storage system that can be incorporated into a mine’s microgrid. Such technology serves to level demand through the reduction of peak loading and by storing excess renewable energy generated at a mine site.

According to SAFT, a global battery and battery systems company “The BESS allows the microgrid to maximize the amount of renewable energy it uses by compensating sudden variations in the power output of solar panels and wind turbines. The system will provide ultra-fast reacting spinning reserves to help maintain grid stability, which reduces the need to have diesel generator sets running idle for this purpose.”

Mining plays an essential role in any economy and is vital for the wellbeing of any community. Mining companies are quite often leading employers in communities. Aside from the extraction process, mining affords many careers in production, management, and scientific roles which can include engineers, chemists, consultants and geologists, to name a few.

As new technologies become part of mining industry it’s important to realize that aside from supporting thousands of jobs, the mining industry is the foundation of our modern lives, a driving force in any economy.

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“For every one percent increase in GDP, resource usage has risen, on average, 0.4 percent,” according to analysis by information technology services and consulting company Accenture in a paper titled Circular Advantage.

“This is not sustainable,” writes Adriana Begeer in the firm’s blog. She is a senior manager and supply chain operations lead for the resources industry at Accenture. “The current rate of resource use exceeds the ability of the earth to replenish these sources. We’ll consume three planets’ worth of resources by 2050 based on the current pace.”

Taking a look at the high-growth energy sector, diversity and inclusion (D&I) strategies have increasingly been adopted to increase both financial performance and innovation, as innovation is a crucial component in dealing with depleting resources and ensuring the resilience of the sector.

D&I are two concepts that are interconnected but not necessarily interchangeable. Diversity can be defined as the spectrum of innate human experiences resulting from race, gender, age, social class or religious and ethnic values, for example. The concept of valuing diversity began in North America in the mid-1960s and became adopted worldwide soon after.

Inclusion pertains to empowering, involving, and recognizing the dignity of all people. It is about promoting and sustaining that sense of belonging by respecting one’s values, beliefs, talents, and cultures. A focus on diversity cannot negate the importance of inclusion. Once a diverse staff has been hired, inclusion makes them feel welcome and retains talent.

Historically, women and ethnic minorities have not been proportionally represented in the energy industries such as oil, gas, and renewable energy. For this reason governments, industry associations, and energy companies are actively adopting D&I strategies to ensure that those who want to work in the energy industry can take advantage of equal opportunities to pursue their ambitions.

According to a survey conducted by technology company Diversio for Equal by30, there is still work to be done. “Women account for 32 percent of the energy sector while racial and ethnic minorities account for 22 percent, with Black and Latinx individuals underrepresented compared to population,” said the report.

D&I must become a priority for the energy sector to be able to meet the demands placed on energy resources and optimize human capital.

Another study by the Energy Workforce & Technology Council in collaboration with research partner Accenture states, that there have been some improvements. “The share of women in U.S. oil and gas workforce rose to 19 percent in 2021 from 16 percent in 2018. Women are more equally distributed between business support and technical roles,” the study said, continuing, “Ethnic minority representation within the sector lags the overall U.S. workforce and faces similar challenges in representation when it comes to management and top leader roles.”

The council notes that D&I’s first goal is to both find and retain diverse and innovative talents while providing advancements in opportunities that would, in turn, enable resiliency in the energy sector workforce.

“As women and minorities left at larger rates than the overall U.S. workforce, this brings greater pressure on oil and gas companies pursuing inclusion and diversity goals, and that is a challenge,” said the council’s Chief Executive Officer Leslie Beyer to industry news platform OGV Energy. “Diversity will remain key to creating the new ideas that companies need to deliver a safe, affordable and sustainable low-carbon future.”

Heidi Lynne Kurter, senior contributor for Forbes, in her July 2020 article: 4 Ways To Create A More Diverse Workplace That Inspires Innovation, cited a Harvard Business Review report that indicated that companies focused on hiring, retaining, and developing diverse talent are more likely to surpass the competition. “This is because diversity brings together different cultures, races, genders, generations and backgrounds to provide new perspectives, ideas and solutions,” she noted.

To achieve more diversity, industry associations such as The Association of Women in Energy (AWE) have sprung up. AWE is devoted to, “helping women in the energy industry. AWE provides opportunities for women to meet other energy industry professionals and to enhance their knowledge of issues facing the industry. Our mission is to encourage and unite women in energy.”

Government programs are also doing their part. The Office of Minority Programs in the Energy Workforce Division located in Washington D.C., states that it, “supports entrepreneurship, innovation and job creation for diverse communities in the high-growth energy sector.” It adds that this support extends into the Department of Energy (DOE) and research opportunities. “These efforts directly support the Administration’s goals of job creation and increasing business opportunities for underrepresented communities… We work with our partners to develop tools, resources, and technical assistance opportunities to increase participation in the energy economy.”

The Energy Workforce Division’s initiative, Women in Energy, “aims to reduce knowledge gaps that prevent women from entering and/or advancing in the energy sector.” This initiative contains, “workforce development programs aimed at increasing access for women to enter into the energy field.”

The United States recognizes that remaining a leader in the global clean energy economy and garnering the knowledge to combat the challenges of climate change, requires attaining and securing a diverse talent pool.

For this reason, the Minorities in Energy Initiative was created by the U.S. energy department. This program, “will strive to ensure that our energy workforce more fully reflects the diversity and strengths of the country,” according to a September 2013 announcement on the Department of Energy’s website, which went on to say “Historically, minorities and women have been vastly underrepresented in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields that drive the energy sector… The Minorities in Energy Initiative collaborates to, “inspire underrepresented Americans to pursue careers in energy and supporting their advancement into leadership positions.” With regard to the program, Energy Secretary Ernest J. Moniz was noted as saying, “We can only be successful in achieving our energy goals if we are inclusive of America’s diverse communities.”

1977 saw the birth of the American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE). The concept for the AABE arose from the mind of Clarke A. Watson from Denver, Colorado, who owned an energy-consulting firm, Watson Associates, a division of Westland Companies. The mission of the AABE, in part, is to, “serve as a resource for policy discussion of the economic, social and political impact of environmental and energy policies on African Americans and other minorities,” notes the AABE website.

Also noted is the encouragement for both the public and private sectors, “to be responsive to the problems, goals and aspirations of African Americans in energy-related fields and to, “encourage African American students to pursue careers in energy-related fields and to provide scholarships and other financial aid for such students.” The AABE annually awards more than $350,000 in scholarships “Each of our scholars has indicated an interest in pursuing an energy-related career,” the AABE site indicates.

In Canada’s energy sector, Indigenous peoples can play a role in the success of energy transition. Canada’s Indigenous Peoples are already stewards of the land, environment, and natural resources. “Both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians see the value of greater Indigenous participation in Canada’s energy future and want to ensure that Indigenous communities benefit more directly from energy development,” states the Government of Canada’s Generation Energy Council Report.

The report goes on to note, “As part of this new relationship, Indigenous people must be included as partners in shaping Canada’s energy future,” further stating that this is an opportunity, “for Indigenous Peoples and communities to take their place at the table and help drive the evolution of Canada’s energy sector.”

A number of Indigenous-owned energy projects have become a reality, and 50-50 partnerships between renewable energy companies and First Nations across Canada have been established. “There are already an estimated 31 such projects underway or completed across Canada,” the Council reports.

The energy industry faces the challenge of both recruiting and retaining a diversified and inclusive workforce, so D&I will play a crucial role in recruiting the best talent to replace an ageing workforce. “The energy challenges of tomorrow require a diversity of perspectives to tackle global and local issues,” as the Columbia/SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy explains in a 2019 report titled The Nature of the Energy Industry Future Workforce Challenge, which stated further that, “Diverse workforces also promote the kind of creative solutions needed to solve 21st-century energy challenges.”

A more diverse and inclusive workforce has been proved to be more innovative, ensures retention and results in happier and more productive employees. Beth Bowen, managing director for the Americas at Brunel, stressed the importance of diversity in the company blog. “Embracing diversity will be vital for companies looking to manage the ongoing energy transition in the coming years… We must challenge ourselves and each other to pursue workplace diversity with renewed purpose in order to balance the representation of all cultures and voices and enable the industry to reach its full potential.”

For the past century, the North American energy sector has proven to be a substantial catalyst for industrial and economic growth as well as social development. Providing power through renewable resources rather than maintaining conventional technologies will be crucial to local economies in the future.

If for this reason alone, industries must value the role of minority workforce development in the transition toward sustainable energy. Diverse talents will be the ultimate solution in realizing this new age of energy use and resources.

The post An Energy Sector in Transition<p class="company">How Diversity and Inclusion Will Meet the Challenges</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

It was at the turn of the 20th century that early mines were established in this gold-rich region; by the end of the century, they had all closed. Like most gold mining communities, Kirkland Lake certainly experienced its cycles of ups and downs. Some communities never recover from the lows, but this was not the case for Kirkland Lake. Foxpoint Resources, today known as Kirkland Lake Gold, came to town in the early 21st century and re-opened one of the major old mines, the Macassa. As the company settled in with mining operations, it found additional sources of gold, and other gold mining companies soon followed. Today, Kirkland Lake Gold (KLG) employs approximately 1,000 people, and mines some of the richest gold ore in Canada.

“That’s where today’s prosperity comes from,” says Wilfred Hass, the town’s manager of economic development. “Since 1911, there’s been about thirty-four million ounces of very high-grade gold pulled out of the ground here.”

Kirkland Lake has been diligent in its efforts of diversification, which have been especially geared toward companies that want to take advantage of the town’s location alongside the Trans-Canada Highway that traverses the country from coast to coast. “The town’s successful diversification efforts include, for example, the forestry industry. In 2009, the Town partnered with a local entrepreneur to establish a sawmill producing specialty cuts. That partnership has weathered the ups and downs of the Canada-U.S. softwood lumber dispute to emerge as one of the most successful small mills in Ontario, with a full ‘stump to market’ capacity.”

Tourism and hospitality are another sector that Kirkland Lake is bolstering. The town “pursued and secured a new hotel largely on the strength of the weekday demand generated by the mining industry and the weekend demand generated by a robust events-based tourism strategy that has seen the town play host to popular acts including the Tragically Hip, Blue Rodeo, Gordon Lightfoot, and more.”

Kirkland Lake’s location also makes it a prime site for logistics operations. FedEx recently decided to locate to Kirkland Lake in September 2018, with a planned 29,000-square-foot distribution centre. According to FedEx officials, the town was selected because “of the ease of access to the major highways, the proximity to customer distribution centres, and a strong local community workforce.”

California based Artisan Vehicle Systems, a manufacturer of battery-powered underground mining vehicles, recently selected Kirkland Lake as its Canadian headquarters earlier this year with the long-term intentions of building a sixty-thousand-square-foot facility to include a service centre, product research facility, and a vehicle assembly shop. All this is to accommodate the company’s biggest customer, Kirkland Lake Gold, which was instrumental in initiating Artisan’s interest in the town.

Wilfred says that with respect to diversification, “You never turn your back on your main industry.” To this end, Kirkland Lake Gold is undergoing a major expansion. In 2009, the mine identified a major new high grade break that increasingly has been the focus of its operations. In 2017, KLG announced it would spend $325 million to sink a new shaft, upgrade and expand its mill and build other required facilities, including a new dry. This expansion will extend the life of the mine by an additional 15 to 25 years, and result in an additional 450 new direct jobs. It is also significant to note that Artisan’s battery vehicles are responsible for more than eighty percent of Macassa’s gold production according to an article from Northern Ontario Business (November 2017).

Wilfred explains further that Kirkland Lake Gold’s mining operations involve mines that are very deep with extremely hard rock. The company was looking for new technologies that could better deliver positive results of such operations, and Artisan was the ideal choice to supply electrical underground equipment.

Artisan’s newest technology, the Z-40, is a cutting-edge electrical scoop capable of working underground at great depths. The Z-40 is, “causing a bit of a revolution in the mining industry because, with the cost of power and difficulty at working at great depths, you have to constantly exchange the air that’s down there, resulting in tremendous hydro costs.”

Artisan’s presence is, “extending the life of the mine. It’s making the mine safer, and it’s opened the doors to other new technologies coming – services and support – and, hopefully, for Kirkland Lake, it will result in both a larger assembly and service shop set up in our industrial park,” says Wilfred. He says that the lifespan of the mine will be approximately twenty to twenty-five years, and by joining three existing mining operations, this will, “create a 450 person increase in the workforce.”

With all of the renewed activity taking place in Kirkland Lake, there will be a domino effect for the smaller surrounding communities. “We have a catchment area within a forty-five-minute drive from the downtown that has roughly thirteen thousand people,” says Wilfred. “They’re already anticipating that you’re going to have increased land sales; you’re going to have some of the smaller businesses expanding out into those areas, and you’re going to have probably a greater investment in your health and education infrastructure to support more people coming here.”

“With all of this activity, we’re seeing a very positive increase in our tax base – primarily all the tax sectors,” Mayor Tony Antoniazzi adds. “Certainly, with this expansion with Kirkland Lake Gold, we’re going to see a greater tax base in the industrial side.”

He explains the need to address residential housing to serve the numbers of new residents coming to the community. “We’re seeing some expansion in the multi-residential … On the political side, as a council, that’s one of our main duties – trying to increase that tax base.”

Kirkland Lake Gold’s operations, “has a carry on effect with the other gold mining companies in the area,” Wilfred says. He states, as examples, that Agnico Eagle Mines Limited is spending $5.4 million in exploration with one of its holdings in Upper Beaver, approximately ten minutes from Kirkland Lake. Agnico Eagle is, “the largest landowner here, and if that goes through, you will have another mine for fifteen to twenty years.”

Additionally, Alamos Gold Incorporated’s Young-Davidson Mine in Matachewan is ninety-six kilometers from town with about a four-hundred-plus workforce. “It’s going great guns too,” says Wilfred. “We’ve actually developed a bit of a cluster there, and they feed back and forth off of each other.”

Securing strong partnerships builds relationships that result in an aligned vision for the future. The Town of Kirkland Lake has formed a number of partnerships over the years, especially with the Kirkland and District Community Development Corporation (KDCDC), its leading government lending organization. KDCDC is, “extremely important for the small-and-medium-sized businesses in the area,” explains Wilfred.

Federal partnerships focus on managing and directing growth such as those found with the federal economic development initiative for northern regions (FedNor) and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund (NOHFC) which are, “dedicated to helping communities like ours in economic development in northern Ontario,” continues Wilfred.

As an indication of the value of these partnerships, he explains that when FedEx needed to extend its services to its new facility, Kirkland Lake was able to, “apply and receive ninety percent funding. That’s something that’s extremely important.” To extend mining services would have cost the town approximately $2 million, which it did not have. So the town went to the federal government for assistance. “Every dollar [the government] put in, I would say is probably creating three to four dollars in spin-off economic benefit and creating jobs. Those are our main partners.”

Other partners include the chamber of commerce which represents the existing small businesses and assists them with productivity and succession planning. Temiskaming Development Fund Corporation (TemFund) which works in conjunction with KDCDC, also functions as a lender to those new and current organizations in the manufacturing and tourism sectors within the District. Additionally, the non-profit North Eastern Ontario Communications Network Incorporation (NEOnet) serves the town well and has shifted from being a telecommunications agency to, “being more of a productivity enhancement agency,” says Wilfred.

For any business considering Kirkland Lake, it is important to research and attain as much information as possible about the community, what makes it unique, and where a business might fit in.

“It would really depend on what your industry is,” Mayor Antoniazzi notes. “We’re not shy to tell you that, perhaps, you would be wasting your time,” clarifying that Kirkland Lake does have some difficulty with retail businesses as many small towns do. “We have the bricks and mortar stores that provide our daily needs. We also have a population that’s an hour away from a major shopping centre in any direction. So they’re going there.”

On-line ordering is another option for many. “So if you’re thinking of coming to Kirkland Lake, we would be taking you through the town, helping you to do whatever market research you need to do to find out if you would actually make it here … Give it a full year of research because the winter months have a different demand than the summer months … We’re very careful with that. We don’t want to see failures.”

If considerations are based on larger commercial or industrial aspects, “We usually will go to our funding partners and do market surveys,” continues Mayor Antoniazzi. “We know we can’t do your job for you. Our job is to give you as much real information as we can to help you make that decision.”

Kirkland Lake is currently undertaking a community improvement plan (CIP) and land inventory specifically for commercial and industrial growth. “We’ve expanded very quickly with the businesses,” says Wilfred. “We’re running out of service-ready industrial and commercial land. That project will be identifying new areas for growth.”

This may be a small community, but it is certainly not boring. There is plenty to see and do with such sights as the Museum of Northern History, Miners’ Memorial, Hockey Heritage North, and numerous summer and winter activities to engage any interests. The annual homecoming week in July is ranked in the top one hundred festivals by Festivals and Events Ontario. “We bring in top-of-the-line acts … We’re a community of eight thousand people. We have cities nearby of sixty thousand, and even then, they can’t pull off [these events],” says Wilfred, adding that the town has, “probably the best-groomed snowmobile trails in northeastern Ontario with the longest riding season … We have quite the outdoor lifestyle. We’ve invested very heavily in our community assets.”

“If we don’t invest in our own community, how can we expect our large partners to invest in it?” asks the mayor.

Kirkland Lake will be celebrating its centennial anniversary next year and is looking forward to many attendees and a lot of reminiscing, but more importantly, “We’re hoping to get a sense of renewed energy for the next one hundred years,” says Mayor Antoniazzi. “We’ve built a community that we’re all certainly proud of.”

The post A Northern Community with a Can-Do Attitude<p class="company">Town of Kirkland Lake, ON</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

Paraco Gas, a family-owned and operated propane company was established by Pat Armentano in a garage in Mount Vernon, New York in 1968. At the time, the company known as Patsems Incorporated specialized in welding supplies and was an industrial gas supplier.

Over fifty years later, Paraco Gas, with its home base in Rye Brook, Westchester County, New York, has become a name synonymous with leadership in the propane gas industry. The company is one of the country’s top propane retailers serving the commercial, residential and wholesale markets in eight states.

The company has twenty-seven distribution centers, over 120,000 customers, and approximately 500 employees who provide propane services for home heating, hot water, cooking, motor fuel, propane cylinder exchange and more. “The diversification allows us to bring in steady revenue throughout the year,” says Paraco’s Executive Vice President and third-generation family member Christina Armentano.

The company’s success can be attributed, in part, to its numerous acquisitions. There have been fifty to date, the first being Peekskill, New York’s Paraco Fuel Corporation in 1979. This purchase was significant as it enabled the company to expand its product range, as Paraco entered the propane industry for the first time.

“We want to focus on our core business to allow us to service our customers at the highest levels,” Armentano says. “Paraco has a strong pulse on energy trends and customer needs.” The company’s main attention is on the northeast market, servicing eight states – New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island – with New York being, “our largest and, in certain areas, most concentrated market. However, there are plans to continue to expand in all states we service.”

Armentano is seeing energy trends in customers’ requests. “It depends on geographic areas and the needs of the customer base. We have seen a trend in customers looking for an execution of alternative energy sources such as propane,” she explains.

“Where we are consistently seeing an interest and a real need for propane is in areas that are unable to get those natural gas energy sources. They’re looking for a reliable clean source that can help them as a home solution,” she adds.

Vice President of Supply Chain Arthur Ravo explains that in the company’s home base of Westchester County, ConEdison is the natural gas provider but, “They currently have a moratorium on any new natural gas installations or expansions,” he says. “The infrastructure for natural gas is limited, where propane is very portable.”

According to Armentano, residential heating gallons make up less than twenty-five percent of Paraco’s overall business. “Many propane companies don’t have the mix of business segments that we have. So, their residential heating gallons are a much higher percentage,” Ravo adds.

When growing its business, Paraco Gas seeks people who have the attributes and talents that would best fit its culture. The company wants people who are seeking not only a job, but a career. “We believe that employees are our most important asset and believe in hiring smart, talented employees who are looking for a long-term career,” says Armentano. “We believe in promoting from within whenever possible, and therefore, spend time with each employee understanding their desired career path and how we can help them get there.”

The company provides ongoing employee training to enhance knowledge and skills built on a cultural foundation of “collaboration, hard work and work-life balance.” The company’s wellness committee, in which many employees participate, was established “by our leadership team in partnership with the human resources department, to focus on the health and well-being of our employees,” says Armentano.

The committee gives employees the ability “to have a positive impact on the culture overall,” says Armentano, and employees are granted “the ability to take on a leadership role within the committee and to showcase areas they are passionate about.”

“We still very much have the entrepreneurial foundation on which the business was created,” Armentano says, reflecting on the company’s more than fifty-year history. “We have a group of really smart, hard-working, dedicated individuals who have worked incredibly hard to foster a culture of transparency.” The well-established entrepreneurial spirit “creates an environment for fostering new and creative ideas that may be outside our typical norm, to continue to offer best in class service to our customer base.”

Paraco Gas uses a number of tools to monitor performance in customer service, such as “real-time monitoring of our customer interactions to make sure all of our representatives are available to answer each and every call that comes in, within an acceptable amount of time. We believe in one-call-resolution and leaving our customers with a great experience with each interaction.”

The company also employs a quality assurance program that listens to and grades calls. This aids managers in providing “constructive feedback in areas of need and offer suggestions for how to handle the various situations that come up,” explains Armentano. She notes that off-phone training is provided to representatives to “introduce any new promotions or products, as well as to continuously work on understanding the process, and of course, soft skills and problem-solving skills.”

Paraco Gas has a rigorous training program that employees receive at the time of hire and “at regular refresher intervals through their career.” Safety training involves operating commercial vehicles safely, installing propane containers and interior piping according to compliance codes, and performing safety surveys and leak checks, “to safely and efficiently supply our customers with green, clean, highly-efficient fuel. Paraco’s commitment to safety is paramount to how we operate on a daily basis.”

In addition, the company has a history of training emergency response teams within their service communities and, at times, is called to communities that are not part of its service area for its expertise in emergency situations.

“We’re not only on top of what the local code changes might be, but we’re training [response teams] in propane safety, specifically, including doing demonstrations and holding classes so that [employees] get more comfortable working around propane safely,” says Ravo. He adds that at the Waterbury, Connecticut plant, for example, the head of production, “set up a pretty detailed evacuation model, and it’s practiced each month there.”

“The traditions of Paraco Gas have been built around quality customer service, and that begins with safety, front and center for every employee, customer, and community we service,” Armentano adds.

The company has a new state-of-the-art cylinder refurbishing center, its first, in Waterbury, Connecticut. Ravo explains that propane tanks are coming in, “from all of our service centers now, and we can take outside work in if it makes sense for both parties.” The refurbished products are refilled by an automated process and then shipped out to the same centers.

“We have been in the grill cylinder exchange business since 1998, and until this plant opened, [service centers] were outsourcing a majority of our refurbishing work,” says Armentano. “By bringing the cylinder exchange operations in-house, we were able to decrease overall costs and have direct control on the quality of the final product. This plant will keep us competitive with an increasingly crowded market and allow us to offer a higher quality product and service to our customers.”

Paraco Gas faces at least 150 competitors, with oil companies now beginning to expand into the propane arena. So the company has to be diligent and proactive in its plans to move forward.

“As industry leaders, we have a strong understanding of the players within our space,” Armentano says, explaining that acquisitions have been a vital strategic plan for the company since the first acquisition in 1979. “With any acquisition, we try to find a win-win relationship with the buyer. As a family-owned and operated business, we have the benefit of understanding what is important to small privately held business. We have also partnered with the largest companies that have multiple locations, they may have an underperforming operation they are looking to sell off that may fit well in our geographic footprint.”

Paraco Gas will be growing organically and through acquisitions over the next few years. Armentano says, “Our goal is to continue to be the largest privately-owned propane company in the northeast. We plan to continue to successfully leveraging technology to improve operational efficiency and provide excellent customer service to both our residential and commercial customers.”

The propane industry is a rapidly evolving market. Some of the growth in demand will, “come from developing countries that are transitioning from fossil fuels and coal to propane,” says Armentano. “Propane throughout the world is displacing burning of coal, wood, and cow dung in some developing countries. The United States is now a net exporter of propane because of the shale gas finds and the shale revolution,” Ravo adds.

Armentano notes that the ConEdison suspension of natural gas installations could present a challenge. “We will, I believe, see an increased consumption of propane within those areas because of propane being a portable reliable fuel.” She suggests that those once relying on natural gas will no longer be able to because of capacity issues.

“We strive to continue to have a family culture for our employees and be a ‘local’ trusted brand for our customers,” says Armentano. “We believe that we are currently fulfilling both, but we know that our leadership team has to work on this every day.”

The post A Trusted Name in Delivering a Clean Safe Energy Source<p class="company">Paraco Gas</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.