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- MFA Oil acquires Propane Pardners
Columbia, Mo.-based MFA Oil has acquired Propane Pardners under undisclosed terms. "The industry has changed for rural electric cooperatives, and we believe MFA is a good fit for the propane business," said Gene Dorrel, general manager of United Electric Cooperative. Propane Pardners is a joint venture of United Electric and Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative. American City Business Journals/Kansas City, Mo.
(11/5)     
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- High costs drive fleet operators to use autogas, alt-fuels
More fleet operators across the U.S. are considering using alternative fuels such as propane autogas as fleet operating costs increase, according to a recent study by Automotive Fleet magazine. "Many fleets see alternative-fuel vehicles as a long-term solution to rising fuel prices and fuel price volatility," said GE Capital Fleet Services' fuel product manager, Jayme Schnedeker, whose company contributed to the study. Propane autogas is one of the most highly considered alternative fueling choices by fleet managers, Schnedeker said. Propane Today blog
(11/5)
- Demand for roof measuring technology soars in Sandy's wake
The aftermath of Hurricane Sandy has brought a slew of business to EagleView Technologies, a Seattle company that provides software to assess the pitch and size of the roof from aerial photographs. The company's orders for the week grew almost tenfold as insurance companies start to assess claims, according to EagleView CEO Chris Barrow. The next surge in demand could come from contractors and claims adjusters, Barrow added. Bloomberg Businessweek
(11/2)
- New roofing material: Plastic soda bottles
Plastic soda bottles could be the next thing in disaster reconstruction. SodaBIB, a project developed by a team at New York Institute of Technology, uses flattened bottles and a redesigned shipping pallet to create temporary roof repairs. The pallet contains a fastener that allows the bottles to be interconnected and then used as a roof covering. TriplePundit.com
(11/5)
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- Expert: Maintenance extends life span of lawn equipment
Maintenance helps extend the lifespan of outdoor power equipment, writes Sarah Browning, an extension educator at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension. This includes fall cleaning of the equipment, changing the oil and replacing the spark plug. Tools that would be used in winter such as chainsaws should be fueled with a winter-blend gasoline, she notes. Lincoln Journal Star (Neb.) (tiered subscription model)
(11/3)
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Free Power Outage Materials Available
Rough weather can lead to power outages, impacting the use of propane equipment. Help customers prepare for and address power outages with modules and handouts from the Propane Education & Research Council. Visit PERC's Consumer Safety Brochures and Related Materials page to find the Power Outages module, brochure and news release that can be distributed to customers.
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Propane-Fueled Bobtail Webinar Available
The webinar on the soon-to-be-released Freightliner bobtail truck fueled with propane autogas is available from the Propane Education & Research Council. Visit Propane Delivering Propane for the 40-minute webinar that featured a presentation from Freightliner on its new S2G chassis.
| Leadership & Management | | |
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- Survivalists offer a new model for innovation
In rural Missouri, a group of unwashed survivalists are developing machinery they say would allow them to rebuild civilization in the event of a cataclysmic disaster. Their toolkit could also have broader implications, says group leader Marcin Jakubowski, by making it easier for noncorporate innovators to develop technologies on their own terms. "That is the model for the next economy. By open-sourcing the entire production system, you can increase innovation by a hundredfold," he says. Bloomberg Businessweek
(11/1)
- Why bosses need workers who'll answer back
Nobody likes back talk, but bosses should actively encourage employees to talk back to them, says John Baldoni. It's more important to hear uncomfortable truths than to have workers try to protect your feelings, Baldoni explains. "The man or woman at the top of the pyramid must work hard to enable people to speak truth to power," he says. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Leadership
(11/2)
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The news summaries in PERC SmartBrief are based on original information from news organizations and are produced by SmartBrief Inc., an independent email newsletter publisher.
The Propane Education & Research Council is not responsible for the content of sites it does not own. Linking to a website does not constitute an endorsement by PERC of the
site or the information found there. Send questions and comments to SmartBrief at perc@smartbrief.com.
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| About PERC |
The Propane Education & Research Council promotes the safe, efficient use of odorized propane gas as a preferred energy resource. The Council was authorized by Congress
with the passage of the Propane Education and Research Act (PERA), October 11, 1996.
For a weekly roundup of PERC news by email,
subscribe to The PERC Update.
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| | Recent PERC SmartBrief Issues:
- Monday, November 05, 2012
- Friday, November 02, 2012
- Thursday, November 01, 2012
- Wednesday, October 31, 2012
- Tuesday, October 30, 2012
| | | Lead Editor: Bryan McBournie
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