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Spring Show Wrap-Up
NAOHSM's 56th Annual Convention and Trade Show
With industry challenges ahead, NAOHSM focuses on education this year
By Debra Reschke
The National Association of Oil Heating Service Managers 56th Annual Convention and Trade Show took place on May 17-21, 2009 at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center in Hershey, Pa.
Attendance for the show was down from 2008, but over 3,500 people walked the show floor to view over 160 companies' displays, according to Judy Garber of executive administrator of NAOHSM.
As the oil heat industry is undergoing a tremendous change, the show chose the theme of 'Imagine," offering classes for managers, owners and technicians. Education was a strong element, including visits to the show by 12 vocational schools, which gave students the opportunity to explore the HVAC field. Both technicians and students could compete in a number of competitions Tuesday and Wednesday.
The annual Care to Ride event took place on Monday and raised $47,000 for Oil Heat Cares, an organization helping NAOHSM members to install equipment in homes of their customers in need. Among the participants walking, running, riding bicycles and motorcycles, Roger Marran of Energy Kinetics was the top money raiser for the fourth year in a row.
At the Awards Banquet on Tuesday night, the following were honored:
Associate of the Year ' Rosemarie Bartchak, Boyertown Furnace and member of the Berks Chapter.
Service Manager of the Year ' Kurt Massa, president of the Delaware Valley Chapter
Manufacturer of the Year ' R. W. Beckett
Hugh McKee Award ' Donnie Potter, director of the association and past president of the South Jersey Chapter
Instructor of the Year ' Jeff Sweda, instructor at Hazelton Area Career Center, Hazelton, Pa.
Special Recognition ' Harold Feld, long time member of the Westchester Chapter
Oil Heat Cares Cup ' Garden State Chapter (NJ)
Also, six of the 10 scholarship winners and their families were in attendance.
The Association's 57th Annual Convention and Trade Show will be hosted at the Providence Convention Center, RI ' May 23-27th.
AREE Show Wrap Up
A good show for multi-market interests
By Keith Reid
The Atlantic Regional Energy Expo kicked off the season with a strong focus on the oil side of the industry from the bulk plant to the truck and was a good show for both heating oil dealers and motor fuels marketers. There were plenty of HVAC products on display as well. Educationally, the sessions reflected the interest of the broad range of attendees with some unique highlights.
For example, the American Energy Coalition, previously covered by Fuel Oil News, also made a presentation on the proactive marketing required to face the challenges posed by gas utilities. In its own words, AEC, formerly known as the Metropolitan Energy Council (MEC), aims to become the premier national organization for competitive marketing for the oil heat industry and to preserve oil heat's customer base. The Coalition plans to combat the gas utilities' misleading ads via ongoing campaigns presenting the facts about heating oil's safety, efficiency and pricing. Its goal is to become a truly nationwide, grass roots association comprised of all supporters of the oil heat industry from all across the country ' everyone whose livelihood depends on oil heat ' from small-town dealers to statewide and regional organizations…from equipment manufacturers to independent
petroleum marketers…from lawyers to banks…and everyone in-between working cooperatively toward the same purpose.
A variety of new products and services were showcased at the show.
The 33rd North American Heating & Energy Expo
Over 300 exhibits at the Expo, covering everything from oil heat to trucks
By Stephen Bennett
At the 33rd North American Heating & Energy Expo, June 9-10 at Hynes Convention Center in Boston, vendors and suppliers exhibited their wares. Here is a sampling.
Bennette Design Group (bdgtools.com) displayed ergonomic tools and accessories, including its water- and fuel-resistant Pro-Tech Service Mat, designed to protect flooring surfaces during boiler or furnace work. The company also offers pads to be used by technicians while kneeling at their work.
Carlin Combustion Technologies (carlincombustion.com) presented a new two-stage burner designed to be responsive to low- and high-demand loads. The two-position, 50% turndown ratio, step-modulating, low-high-low residential oil burner was conceived by Econox Technologies, and developed by Carlin with research funding provided by the National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA).
Civacon's CivaFlo bottom-loading ready manifold system (civacon.com) is designed to help improve safety, performance and quality of fuel deliveries. It enables convenient operation, right by the hose reel, improving driver productivity, the manufacturer said. A driver can choose which compartment to open via a simple and secure air control valve, ensuring quality control on all deliveries, the manufacturer said. The CivaFlo manifold's product return/flush fittings are designed to allow quick and secure flushing of the pumping system at ground level, so that drivers don't have to climb on top of the tank with the nozzle and hose.
Cocard/Richmond Financial Services (cocardprocessing.com) specializes in reducing payment processing expenses for heating oil and propane dealers. It offers a wide range of payment options including online payments, EFT, and check by phone.
Danfoss Hago Inc. displayed its Danfoss line of brass novels and its Danfoss Hago line of stainless steel nozzles, along with information about its line of oil pumps. (Danfoss Inc., as it was then known, acquired Hago Manufacturing Co. in 2006.)
Digital Dispatcher (digitaldispatcher.com) a wireless system, enables routing, tracking, and management of vehicles, inventory, personnel and field data. Using a Bluetooth printer, service technicians can print service tickets on-site. Signature capture capability is being added this summer, said Tom Duffey, president.
Energy Kinetics (system2000.com) exhibited its Smart Solar water heating appliance, with two collectors, each measuring four-foot by eight-foot, and designed to resemble skylights when mounted on a roof. The collectors can also be mounted on a wall or on a rack.
Fairville Products Inc. exhibited its Fuel Right sludge-control additive (fuelright.com), which can be used as part of a number of different treatment plans and also as part of a tank cleaning service based in Baltimore and serving Maryland and surrounding states.
Field Controls announced a special promotion: with a purchase of $200 or more of qualifying Field Controls IAQ products, contractors can receive a $25 Visa gift card.
Qualifying products include: Media Air Cleaners; UV-Aire Products; Eliminator Foundation Vent Fan; Make-up Air System. Field Controls is providing counter displays to all wholesalers that stock Field IAQ products. Promotion details are available online at fieldcontrols.com/giftcard. The offer expires March 31, 2010.
FPPF Chemical Co. (fppf.com) exhibited fuel treatments, including Fuel Power, designed to disperse water in diesel fuel, and Gas Treatment, designed to prevent potential problems associated with gasoline-ethanol blends, such as filter plugging and water build up in fuel tanks. Another product, Octane Booster, is designed to raise octane in gasoline and clean the fuel system.
Fuel Management Services (fuelmanagementservices.com) displayed its UltraGuard heating oil treatment, designed to disperse macroscopic sludge and retard repolymerization; it is designed to counter the effects of higher-solvency fuel, including BioHeat.
The Elite Boiler, offered by Heat Transfer Products (htproducts.com) comes in six models with maximum input ranging from 80,000 Btu to 399,000 Btu, 'increased turndown at six-to-one," and is designed to be wall- or floor-mounted.
Kerr Heating Products (KerrHeating.com) displayed Paradigm, its condensing oil-fired furnace, designed to integrate seamlessly with other heating/cooling appliances such as heat pumps, wood and electric-fired furnaces.
Lin's Propane Trucks (linspropanetrucks.com) feature a lowered deck for ergonomic benefits. Applying the parking brake automatically closes all internal valves and disengages the PTO and throttle functions.
Tank-Guard (tank-guard.com), offered by Lincoln Laboratory, is a concentrated corrosion inhibitor designed as an annual treatment for fuel oil storage tanks. Tank-Check (tankcheck.com) is a Web-based oil tank tracking system.
Mid:Com Corp. (midcomcorp.com) exhibited Road Warrior an on-board computer with 10.2-inch color touch screen running on Windows CE. It features mapping, wireless data transfer, vehicle tracking and dispatching, among other capabilities.
MolecuLoc (moleculoc.com) is a reusable spill recovery and mitigation material. It can be reused up to seven times before being discarded to a landfill, according to the company, making it both cost-effective and environmentally sound.
QT Technologies (qttechnologies.com) demonstrated its Web-based mobile resource management service, which includes optimized dispatch and routing using the global positioning system (GPS), payment authorization and other features.
Ray Murray, Inc. (raymurray.com), gas equipment distributors, highlighted equipment and services it offers to help operators of bulk storage facilities comply with NFPA 58, which the company noted requires that all facilities that utilize containers of more than 4,000 gallons must be upgraded or retrofitted with internal valves, ESVs or back check valves by July 1, 2011.
R.W. Beckett Corp.'s AquaSmart is a universal boiler control designed for use on residential and light commercial boiler systems. It is scheduled to be available in the fall of 2009. SolarHot is a solar thermal system designed for easy upgrading of water heaters and is available now. The GeniSys Universal Control Kit, which can be stocked on a service truck, contains two GeniSys Advanced Burner Controls, a programming and diagnostic tool, a lockout alarm, and a burner-mounted kit to add AC to a furnace or boiler. More information is available at the company's Web site (beckettcorp.com).
Scully Signal Co. exhibited Scul-Com, an automated system for managing re-ordering and fuel deliveries. The system, still in testing, features sensors that indicate the remaining volume in a tank (less than a quarter full, for example) with the aim of increasing amounts delivered per stop and reducing the overall number of stops.
The Weil-McLain (weil-mclain.com) display featured the manufacturer's line of HVAC products, including air conditioning systems and furnaces, which it started offering about a year ago. The company also exhibited its Ultra Oil and Ultra Gas products.
SolarSheat, a line of 'modular solar air collectors" is designed to provide supplemental space heating with no electrical hook-up, being self-powered. More information is available at the company's Web site (yoursolarhome.com).
Fiberglass home heating oil storage tanks from ZCL Composites (zcl.com) now feature shields that prevent falling ice from striking, and possibly damaging, valves.