Lipton Energy Adds Propane Division
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Lipton Energy has added a propane division to the business and welcomed more than 250 new customers over the last nine months.
The company opened its doors to this new venture last August and has been in the process of installing two 30,000-gallon liquid propane storage tanks at the Pittsfield facility.
Vice President of Operations Cameron Winter said this is only the beginning in terms of the business's future and they are very excited to announce the new division.
"Between the oil, the diesel, the HVAC service, and now the propane and the gas stations we have they all kind of flow together," he said. "So we use them to promote each other, we see this as kind of just the beginning of a new future for the business."
The fourth-generation family business has served Western Massachusetts, Southern Vermont, and communities east of New York's Hudson River for more than a century. It was established in 1910, offering coal and steel, and changed with the times over the years to supply oil and diesel.
It now offers heating oil delivery, propane gas delivery, professional HVAC installation, oil heating, propane heating, and air conditioning repairs, and more.
Lipton also owns around seven self-branded gas stations in Berkshire County.
Though a number of industries had to temporarily close or pivot to remote work during the pandemic, Lipton remained active as essential workers and even expanded during this time.
Winter said he was brought on by President Michael Lipton in March 2020 — the same day the state of emergency was declared in Massachusetts.
"It just kind of fit in with our business model," Winter said about the propane division. "We've listened to the demand of our customers and to this area, where we thought that it would be a good fit with already doing oil and diesel deliveries, why not do propane? What we'd like to say is one call does it all."
With the addition of propane service, the company was able to hire about a half-dozen new employees and currently has three open positions.
Lipton was faced with a number of obstacles in the process including the COVID-19 pandemic and city permitting. It had to come before the City Council and multiple committees and commissions last fall for the approval of the site plan with the addition of the propane tanks.
The property sits in the 100-year floodplain, which warranted a special permit approval from the Community Development Board.
In January, the council approved an amendment of Lipton's application to store inflammable fluids at 36 Industrial Drive.
"We made sure we did everything correctly because we do care about the environment, we want to do things right," Winter said. "So we went through that whole process and again, during COVID, that just made it even much more of a struggle."
Lipton is currently fully operational with propane service by securing supply with a local competitor but is planning to have all of its own facilities running by the beginning of August.
Winter said the company has two propane delivery trucks, a crane truck, and an abundance of tanks and is just waiting to have the power for the new facilities connected to get things going.
"We're hassle-free, and what's really been good for us is that we're local and family owned," he added. "We sponsor local sports teams for the children and all that kind of stuff, and so we're just really excited about this, and we're really looking forward to providing the communities with our product."
Tags: business changes, propane,
