Fuhr Enterprises was recently chosen to receive a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) grant, which is good news for Minnesota drivers. The Minnesota company, which owners Mike and Mark Fuhr started in 1991, will install E85 and E15 fueling at three retail stations in the Twin Cities area with the award.
The company is a diversified business that includes retail convenience stores and the servicing of car washes. We caught Mark by phone while he was working, and watery sounds of an automatic car wash were noticeable in the background.
Yes, a grant will help them secure new fueling equipment including tanks and dispensers. But Mark sees well beyond that. “We always look for the big picture. Customers are price conscious and see the cleaner, renewable benefits of bio-based fuels,” adding, “As retailers, we want to respond to demand‒anything we can do to increase sales volumes is where we want to be.”
They’ve already trialed both E85 and E15 at their Holiday #3503 franchise in Saint Paul. That site was made possible through partnering with a previous public-private Minnesota-USDA infrastructure program. Success at the outlet led them to jump at this latest opportunity.
The Homegrown Fuel Keeps Growing
E15 is their biggest seller‒It’s use is approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for all gasoline-powered passenger vehicles built in model year 2001 and later. And hundreds of thousands of E85-capable flex fuel vehicles are also based in Minnesota and many of those drivers seek that fuel’s benefits and pump price advantage.
As for pricing, Mark indicates they’ve been able to keep 88-octane E15 and flex fuel E85 “attractively” priced relative to regular 87-octane gasoline. The Fuhrs understand the importance of getting the lesser-known fuels up on the marquee. Mark’s intent is to utilize street-visible price signs wherever community station rules allow for more than two products. He says, “We also want to add mentions in creative ways, such as getting E15 and E85 on our electronic readers and static boards.”
In addition to their Holiday franchise at 1770 Old Hudson Road (north of I94 on White Bear Avenue), the Fuhr’s soon-to-be E15 and E85 locations are listed below.
•Eastern Heights BP of Saint Paul (south of I94 on White Bear Avenue),
The grant-writing process was challenging and more than a little time-consuming. “Luckily, I didn’t have to deal with much of that,” Mark laughs. But he remains pragmatic about it all, “Like other parts of running a business‒If it was easy, everyone would be in business for themselves! We’re just happy with how it turned out.”
Here at MNFuels.com, we confess to not knowing all it takes to run a chain of C-stores (or to maintain automatic car washes). However, as customers and biofuel fans, we know acceptance of ethanol-based fuels is growing. It’s also certain more retailers will recognize that big picture as Mark and Mike Fuhr already have.