Biofuels

Distributors Search for Creative Ways to Meet Demands

Demand for biodiesel, according to Soybean Digest, is going gangbusters. Production has more than doubled in each of the last two years. Now your suppliers and distributors are pushing to get you product in a timely and efficient manner.

For some suppliers, that demand has come on stronger than expected. "By May this year, we'd already sold as much as we expected to sell all year," says Matt Schrimpf, Piasa Motor Fuels, Alton, IL. "If demand maintains, we should sell more than 600,000 gallons of biodiesel in 2002." Not bad for a company that had never sold a gallon of biodiesel until May 2001.

"It's absolutely been wild. The spring fills were just simply overwhelming," says Mike Lockart, Growmark's marketing manager for alternative fuels. "The adoption process was really made easy for us because of the acceptance from the customer base. We see nothing but growth in the future."

With sales on the rise, suppliers have been looking for a place to put all that biodiesel their customers are demanding.

"We're experts at distributing refined fuels. Now we're evaluating the most efficient way to get soy into that mix," says Darin Hunhoff, Cenex refined fuels. "The initial answer was stocking it in 55 gallon drums and 5 gallon buckets. That was not cost effective, but it worked."

Hunhoff says the next step is for retailers and bulk distributors to put in storage themselves or work together to put in an off-site distribution facility. "That's what's been the most effective for us," he notes.

Warranty Watch

Most major engine companies have formally stated that the use of biodiesel blends up to B20 will not void their parts and workmanship warranties. This includes blends below 20% biodiesel, such as the B2 (2%) blend. Most engine companies have position statements about biodiesel that are available on the National Biodiesel Board Web site at: www.biodiesel.org

Ethanol-blended fuels are approved under the warranties of all major automobile manufactures marketing vehicles in the U.S. In addition, all mainstream manufacturers of power equipment, motorcycles, snowmobiles and outboard motors permit the use of ethanol blends in their products.