Ferrellgas Partners LP - FGPR stock
Introduction[edit]
Ferrellgas Partners L.P. (OTC: FGPR) is a publicly traded Master Limited Partnership energy company in the oil and gas refining industry. It engages in the distribution and sale of propane and related equipment to customers in the United States. The company purchases propane from third parties, transports it to its various distribution locations, and finally to tanks on customers’ premises. It serves agricultural, commercial, residential, portable tank exchange, wholesale, and other parties in approximately 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. The firm also carries out tank exchanges via a channel of partnership-owned and independently-owned distribution outlets. Its primary operations are cut across the Midwest, Southeast, Southwest, and Northwest regions of the United States.[1] Ferrellgas Partners L.P. was incorporated in 1939 and is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas. Its common stock trade on the OTCM under the ‘FGPR’ symbol.[2]
Business Operation[edit]
The company believes in and works extremely hard to deliver easy propane services to its customers. It ensures state-of-the-art technology, and reliable propane supply, and keeps a dedicated team of employees who offer superior services. The company delivers efficient services to clients with complete honesty and transparency through strategic partnerships with diverse and development-oriented companies.[3]
Besides delivering propane and portable propane tanks to retailers, the company oversees its portable tank exchange operations under the Blue Rhino brand name. Ferrellgas’ propane is used for cooking, water heating, space heating, outdoor cooking using grass grills, irrigation, weed control, crop drying, and other propane-fueled appliances; as an engine fuel for combustion engine vehicles and forklifts; and as a heating or energy source in manufacturing and drying processes. It also engages in the sale of refined fuels; provision of common carrier services; and retail sale of propane appliances and related parts and fittings, as well as other retail propane-related services and consumer products.[2]
In addition, Ferrellgas manages a transportation fleet consisting of 168 transport trucks and 222 railcars, as well as barges and ships on every U.S. liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) pipeline. The company also owns and runs three large underground storage facilities and an LPG fractionator, which separates LPG from other gases.[4]
History[edit]
A.C Ferrell launched the family-owned and operated gas business in Atchison, Kansas during the economic strain periods of world war 2. He teamed up with his wife, Mabel to drive the business through thick and thin. A.C Ferrell worked as the salesman while Mabel oversaw its operations by collecting bills, managing money, keeping the books, and running the business out of the home until the war ended. The end of the war sired an enormous opportunity for the business fraternity and the Ferrells started selling gas refrigerators, floor furnaces, and electric milking machines. Ferrell further used a trailer equipped with a complete kitchen for marketing to attract potential customers.
The enterprise kept growing while Ferrell drove the company truck delivering propane and handled sales. The company erected its first plant across the River in Missouri in 1947. Mabel succumbed in 1952 leaving Ferrell with the business and approximately 12 employees. A.C Ferrell incorporated the business in 1954 as Ferrell Companies, Inc. His son Jim Ferrell, who received a degree in business from the University of Kansas in 1963, joined his father in running the business. His ambition for expanding saw him borrow $14,000 from a propane supplier, reciprocated by buying all his propane from that company, and used the money to purchase J & J Propane in Rushville, Missouri. In 1969, he created Propane Industrial to serve the larger Kansas City industrial market.[5]
Acquisitions[edit]
The company acquired Leavitt Propane in Kearney, Missouri in 1973. This significant acquisition introduced Ferrelldgas to the wholesale business and spread its operations to three states; Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri. Ferrellgas bought Kathol Petroleum in 1977 and renamed it Indian Wells Oil Company. The acquisition delivered the company a natural gas liquids extraction plant, a field of gas wells, and an introduction to Wall Street. Returns from the Indian Wells were used to partially acquire Buckeye Gas Products Company in Nebraska and Iowa in 1984. Buckeye was fully purchased two years later and transformed into a national propane supplier. After numerous large and small acquisitions, Ferrellgas converted from a privately owned company to a Master Limited Partnership (MLP) traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
The company bought North Carolina Propane Gas Co. Inc., the second largest propane dealer in North Carolina in 1997. In late 1999, Ferrellgas purchased Tulsa-based competitor Thermogas for $432.5 million, its all-time largest acquisition to become the nation's largest propane marketer in terms of retail volume.[5]
- ↑ CNBC.com/Quotes/FGPR/Profile – CNBC News. Retrieved 8/22/2022
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 finance.yahoo.com/quote/FGPR/ - Yahoo Finance.
- ↑ Ferrellgas Partners Investor Information – Ferrellgas Partners official website.
- ↑ Company History Company History – Fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved on 8/22/2022
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. History – Funding Universe. Retrieved on 8/23 2022
OTC Symbol: FGPR | OTC Tier: Pink Current
