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Jimmy Haslam, Pilot Flying J chairman, on how he is keeping his gas stations up and running in and around New York and New Jersey after Hurricane Sand...
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Gas lines stretching for miles in some areas affected by hurricane sandy how our gasoline stations at least the ones that are open managing the pressure.
Joining us live and exclusively on the phone from Knoxville Tennessee.
Jimmy has slumped pilot flying.
650.
Different travel and gasoline station areas all across United States and Canada.
All of them -- in storm affected areas open and running how is -- possible.
Everything is open and running and -- as you know our basic background is in the truck stop business and our primary customer is that diesel customer that trucking company and those companies rely heavily on us to keep their trucks rolling so we keep millions and millions of gallons in storage and I neither pipelines -- terminals.
Around the country and that enables us when.
Our hurricane or storm or some type of extraordinary event comes.
To -- to keeping in product in this case the big.
Push was on gasoline because of the proximity to New York City and we have.
We travel centers in close proximity -- New York City and all of whom were down.
Mac the day because the power than -- -- generators brought in and they all have gasoline and obviously sold a tremendous amount of gasoline -- for five days I'll.
Well we we had a reporter at your mile wide travel center and your general manager -- -- and that.
This -- and it was just brilliant she had everything under control and it just -- and I was looking at at the research on your company.
And it ended in essence -- you guys often say.
I think your -- symbol is you know be prepared for anything.
Jump ahead don't just wait for something to happen and it appears that you have run this company precisely for crises like this.
And my next question is where these generators gasoline powered or were they natural gas and when will all of your gas stations at some point happens generators.
We probably won't not -- -- substantial cost to put these generators and all the front man and I know there's been a lot of and he is well I don't stores or whether the complete distortion truck stops have these generators all the time to think about it this is today.
We might have that happen 12 years five of our locations okay that is an extraordinary extraordinary storm I think everybody.
Needs to remember that and what we do -- -- storm comes up and we -- the weather very closely and we saw that there was a high chance.
But the storm coming aboard somewhere between Washington and Boston.
And it would begin to zero in on the New York area we positioned separate generators and places like western -- West Virginia central Pennsylvania.
Easter or accuse me western mass and once the storm gets they usually declares state of emerge they want industries for awhile as soon as things start to clear.
Will bring these electrician who will bring electricians and from that we work with around the country that know how to do this.
Don't look to generators stuff will be back in business in the case of -- while which is on.
Route seventeen right out does that this city this weekend we're won a few stores it was up and running.
Two reasons one we had a generator hooked up into we have this tremendous amount of product and store -- brilliant that we can call on in times like this.
Brilliant but you've also taken positions recently -- in natural gas she bought the shale operation.
Or at least took a position minute and Ohio and it up I've been thinking a lot Jimmy on the one thing that we've learned because we had a generator goes running on gasoline that started to run out gasoline was of real problem as you know so.
Do you see a shift at some point that this is so.
And ingrained in our psyche now of what has happened here the people may start to move to converting more cars to natural gas.
I actually think this septic live there is that much stronger chance that the truck fleet both over the road.
-- -- trucks that -- shorter routes convert to either seeing endured -- we have the partnership with clean energy and have.
Natural gas installed and I think forty of our locations.
Right now will be up to fifty by the end of the year and at the end of 2013.
-- have a network of a hundred -- -- sell through that would.
If a person wanted to go from Boston to California or from Miami to Seattle we can take care and so we will have the network in place with natural gas detector at truck.
There does not mean to be a huge push on -- yes.
Obviously we're gonna do with the market that demands and -- the markets there there will have natural gas -- stores.
Jimmy a nor'easter is now coming at least somewhere around the eastern seaboard are you doing anything now to prepare for that it -- Just literally walked out of what we tell supply distribution meeting it to be -- show -- and the next thing we're gonna talk about it this next storm coming in at.
Of course the concern is what happened in the northeast is.
When all the power it was obvious the -- going to be down the colonial pipeline that supplies most of the northeast.
Started pumping fuel slower than normal because.
They want to make sure there was a chance a place eventually fuel to ghetto it will catch up over the next few days and so -- -- this storm is.
The horrific and I don't think it's going to be near what this last storm -- we ought to be okay.
Is understand now about 75% of the gas stations are now open -- New York City it.
If there's no storm threat I would think in the next two or three days things would begin to catch -- but we are watching it very quickly the generators all still in place.
The other thing we do is we deploy extra transport trucks from around the country.
In the periphery of this areas though that it's it is bad in the terminals are dead went down we've got -- -- pulse product will be in position that the -- the stores and obviously to customers.
Jimmy Gobble let -- get back to that meeting because it's certainly an important thing right now we've seen now more than ever and on top of the Jimmy owns the Cleveland -- so IB.
You're keeping your eye -- that and that's at all that it's unbelievable thank you so much particularly tiger jam any time any time.
Jimmy has -- the -- that after after the chairman of pilot.
