12th Annual Cargas Energy Summit Goes Virtual
Lancaster, Pennsylvania – September 23, 2020 — The annual Cargas Energy Summit saw record attendance this year with more than 400 participants. The annual event allows Cargas Energy customers and partners to participate in educational sessions, get a glimpse of upcoming features and enhancements, and connect with one another.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, for the first time ever, the event was converted to a virtual format, one of the contributing factors to this year’s attendance. A total of 577 people registered for the event, and 426 logged on and participated in at least one session.
The Opportunity in Uncertain Times
The uncertainty caused by the pandemic has impacted businesses as a whole in 2020. In the energy industry, fuel dealers are entering the winter season without a clear understanding of how consumer behavior and demand might change.
In the keynote presentation, VP Aaron Cargas addressed working through uncertain times, sharing the story of Frank Phillips, CEO of Phillips Petroleum, and Paul Endacott, VP of the Philgas Bottled Natural Gas division.
Phillips was the first propane company to deliver fuel to customers’ homes. Phillips and Endacott built their residential delivery service by marketing it as “natural gas without pipelines” and “just like city gas,” offering the comfort and convenience of the city’s natural gas pipelines to rural customers. Endacott also developed a tank leasing system, purchasing propane tanks and installing them at customers’ homes.
By 1929, the Philgas division was delivering 10 million gallons of propane. But the Great Depression put the Phillips line of credit at risk, leading Frank Phillips to call for a full stop on capital expenditures. Endacott, however, doubled down on his tank lease program, arguing that selling rather than leasing tanks to customers would ultimately make the company less money. Leased tanks allowed Philgas to charge for the installation, control the maintenance, and prevent competitors from delivering to their tanks.
Because of the Philgas model, leased tanks became the standard, and the propane industry grew.
“It points out to me that there is always some opportunity in uncertain times,” said Cargas. “In March, Cargas took a similar pause as we tried to gauge how the pandemic would impact our business. As we talked to you, our customers, about what you were doing, we saw the industry continuing forward and fuel dealers making smart, targeted investments in their businesses.”
Cargas Updates
The presentation also highlighted changes to the Cargas Energy software and the Cargas team since the last Summit. Product improvements include a new Advanced Reporting & Dashboards module and a new version of the HVAC service module, both released in the spring; improvements to the routing functionality and Mobile Delivery application; and an upcoming POS mobile app and texting capabilities.
VP Dennis DiSabatino gave an overview of investments Cargas has made in people, tools, and technology to better serve its customers. Recent initiatives have focused on consulting resources for existing customers; multi-channel support, including the launch of online help and live chat; annual upgrades; and content production.
While some segments of the business have been more adversely affected by the pandemic than others, overall, Cargas continues to see year-over-year growth and remains optimistic about the future.
“Like you, we’ve had to adapt to a new way of providing service to our customers and also working with each other,” said Nate Scott, President & CEO. “During the past six months, we’ve logged more than 2.5 million minutes on video calls. We’ve changed, and we’re relying on technology to help us do that.”
He added that, at the end of last year, Cargas moved to its new headquarters in the heart of downtown Lancaster.
“We built our office with the vision of hosting both customer and community events. We’re doing our first-ever virtual Summit in lieu of that, but I promise you, next year, if we’re able to, we are really looking forward to hosting you here at our office and seeing each of you in person.”