SINGLE-TRUCK OPERATOR RESPONDS
I disagree with some of the ideas presented about single-truck operators (“Single-Truck Operator Competition”) that appeared in the Third Quarter issue. I am one of these companies. I spend a lot of money keeping my truck well-stocked with parts for my customers, and I have everything the “big guys” have in my truck, if not more. I network with other STO businesses, including electricians, pipe-fitters, construction companies, tank and line testers, some whose companies have been in the business for 70 years. We work together and can do anything the big guys can, and when one of us goes on vacation, we do have back up.

I think we do a better job with more quality than the big guys because we own our companies. It's our reputation that is on the line. I too have costs, including the $5,000 a year I spend on insurance. The big guys have a lot of costs we do not have, so yes, we can do the job cheaper than them. Our customers do get same-day service. If we don't have the part in our trucks, one of the other STOs usually will have it.

We work with our distributors, and they will deliver the part we need at the location with one phone call. And as far as the distributor is concerned, it's not just “a sale is a sale.” As a network of STOs, we buy as much as the big guys do.

We spend a lot of money on training, and our money is as green as everyone else's. In my network of STO businesses, we are all OSHA-certified, and we attend manufacturers' classes. I am a member of PEI and keep up with what is going on in the petroleum business.

Remember, in this economy and with the price of gas and diesel soaring out of control, customers are looking for less expensive ways to run their businesses. STOs offer an option.
— Dennis Gunnerson, D. G. Petroleum Services

GET THE WORD OUT
I recently spoke with a fellow PEI member from Ethiopia. He saw our article, “Rotary Impingement Cleaning,“ about cleaning USTs in the Second Quarter issue and requested a quote for our equipment. I am also putting him in contact with another PEI member in Texas to help provide fuel tank cleaning training. Thanks, PEI Journal, for helping us get the word out.
— Michael Delaney, Gamajet Cleaning Systems

HEADS UP FOR SAFETY
Just wondering if anyone found it odd that on page 18 of the Third Quarter issue, the person standing close to the tank being set in the photo is not wearing a hard hat and is standing in the worst possible spot if one of the straps breaks. And in all places, the mecca of regulations, the state of California!
— Art Hubbard, Oil Equipment Sales & Service Company

Editor Responds: David Hoferer wants readers to know that safe procedures were being followed when he was overseeing a project at this completed and operating dealership and points out that the angle at which the picture was taken creates the illusion. He is actually standing two feet away from a 12-foot wide pad that is three feet from the nine-foot high block wall and 20-foot high trees the crane is lifting the tank over, which was actually 17 feet from the wall. The photo was taken when the tank was just over the fence right by the wall, making it about 10 feet away from where he was standing. The crew setting the tank had hard hats on; those keeping the paths clear did not.

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The PEI Journal • Fourth Quarter 2008 • Volume 2, No. 4 • Contents are Copyright © Data Key Communications, Inc.
All rights reserved. • Nothing may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission of the publisher.