Fuel Efficiency
Dec 10, 2019
The MKC energy department just became a lot more efficient with its fuel, but not in the typical terms of MPG or environmental emissions. As an initiative to better serve its customers, the department partnered with Cargas Energy, a Windows-based, total dispatching system that can map tanks, route trucks, keep order history and automatically order refills.
“As we continue to expand our footprint, keeping control of the details gets increasingly harder,” says Rick Limon, MKC energy sales manager. “A 1986 handwritten note about where a certain tank is doesn’t work very well anymore. It was imperative that we made this upgrade.”
The Cargas system is tank-based, meaning each tank is mapped out and the size, order limit, product, and last delivery date is specific to the tank. MKC Energy Intern, Jake Tiernen, had the honor of inputting every tank MKC services into the system.
“I used plat books to find the intersecting coordinates of each tank, then found the address and whose tank it is,” Tiernen says. “I plugged that information into the Cargas system, with a Google map picture of the tank.”
Utilizing the system has helped Limon and his team be more accurate and efficient in their work.
“It increases our ease of operation,” Limon says. “By using Cargas, we’re able to take more off the plate of our customers. They know product is going to be there during the season they need it.”
Producer Point of View
McPherson area farmer Dennis Friesen relies on MKC fuel and oil for his tractors, semis and pickup trucks. Friesen manages a corn, wheat, soybean, alfalfa and brome operation and values MKC’s automated delivery system.
“They haven’t failed me yet,” Friesen says. “They always fill the tanks. I’ve never run out and I don’t have to call.”
For Keith Bauer of Sun Valley Inc., MKC’s automated delivery is comparable to the water in his house.
“I honestly don’t know how it works,” Bauer says. “At home, I turn on the faucet and the water is there. At Sun Valley, we have a 10,000 gallon tank and MKC works to refill it. It doesn’t take any of our employees to manage it.”
Located in Hutchinson, Sun Valley Inc. operates 72 trucks that haul mostly agricultural products and feed ingredients across the region. Bauer says partnering with MKC helps their drivers be more efficient in their time and mileage as they are able to fuel up on-site.
Moreover, Bauer is a firm believer in the Ruby Red fuel additive package.
“We had bought four brand new trucks at the time we tested it,” Bauer says. “Two traveled more throughout the region while two stayed local and got 100% of their fuel from MKC. We didn’t have to change the fuel filters in the local trucks for 18 months. On the other two, we changed them at six and nine months. It was obvious we were getting better fuel with MKC. There’s no better proof in the pudding than that.”