For more than one hundred years, Leahy’s Fuels, Inc., in Danbury, Connecticut, has been keeping people warm and safe during those cold New England months.
“We’re your neighbors. We are the people who live down the street or the other side of town, and all decisions are made locally,” Stephen G. Rosentel, president of Leahy’s Fuels, Inc., said during the latest episode of the podcast Mission Possible, produced by Connecticut Energy Marketers Association. (CEMA)
The purpose of the podcast is to highlight how the home heating fuel industry has evolved since its inception and how the customer service the industry provides is beyond compare.
“A couple weeks ago, I had a customer who came in and wanted to say hello. For 56 years, he’s been a customer of Leahy’s Fuels, Inc., and he said he would never think about doing business with anyone else. So, we’ve had second and third generations of families as customers. In addition to that, people are always coming in to thank us for supporting fundraisers and charitable activities going on in our community. To date, we support about 48,” Rosentel said.
In addition to the company’s personal connection with customers, the home heating fuel industry has evolved by delivering a greener, cleaner product.
“When I came into the business 40 years ago, we were selling 3000 parts per million sulfur content, that was gradually brought down to the point where regular heating oil is now 15 parts per million sulfur. It’s a huge reduction in sulfur content. In addition to that now we only sell B20 which is a bio blend, 20% biofuel and 80% ultra-light low sulfur heating fuel,” Rosentel said.
By pretty much removing most of the sulfur, Rosentel said the benefits are great and far reaching.
“The equipment is much more efficient by generating more heat in the home and emitting fewer emissions,” Rosentel said.
Leahy’s Fuels, Inc., has also expanded its propane business. Forty years ago, propane was mostly used for hot water and cooking, but it has evolved to be a very viable fuel for heating the entire house. With renewable propane also coming on the market, Rosentel said the future for the industry is bright.
“There’s a reason why we’ve been around for a long time,” Rosentel said, and he looks forward to many more years of keeping his customers safe and warm.”
Leahy’s Fuels, Inc., services a 40-mile radius outside of Danbury, Connecticut, as well as portions of New York state with 13,000 customers.
To hear more of Rosentel’s interview, you can watch the podcast on YouTube or listen to it on many podcasting platforms including Spotify.
Show notes:
Mission Possible: Delivering Cleaner Fuel today highlights our members and how their businesses have changed over the years by delivering cleaner, greener fuel. We also talk about federal and state electrification efforts, the good work our members do for their communities, and how they care about their customers. CEMA stands for Connecticut Energy Marketers Association. We represent 600 family-owned heating fuel companies throughout the state and region. The show is hosted by Shelly Sindland, CEMA’s director of communications.
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