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Bio-fuels At Petrol Stations


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Well, the business model has finally taken shape and we're about to start our seminars and leaflet drops to the petrol stations around certain parts of Isaan.

By the end of this month we can have about 1million litres of PME (Palm Methyl Esther) refined to government specs ready to ship.

Our strategy has been to look at

1) Chayaphum

2) Udon

3) Khon Khaen

4) Looi

in that order, simply because of the distances from our refinery near Bangkok. The reason we are looking at this area is because a lot of the agricultural products come this way and trucks use diesel, lots of farmers using diesel and the cost of diesel is expensive now.

We'll be able to sell the PME to petrol stations for about 26baht and ask them to sell it below the diesel price, which is anywhere around 27.2+ at the moment.

Of course we've done our research, but I'd be interested to hear from non-Thais as to the choice of first strategy targets and if the average diesel drivers, which is not really the main market, would switch to PME if it's cheaper and better for the environment.

I'm not promoting our stuff, therefore no names or anything like that, I'm just after some feedback.

Cheers

(I'll post this in the Isaan Forum as well, as it straddles Isaan and Business - if this is annoying or incorrect, please mods delete one or the other)

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I for one will make an effort to find stations selling bio-diesel. Sometime back I read an article about the huge investment made to develop bio-diesel. I think the number was 3.2 BILLION US dollars. That figure was supposed to include 30 new refineries. Is this part of that project? I think it makes sense to scatter the stations across the country and to concentrate on the main highways through the farm country for now. I remember the original plan was to sell a 5% mixture and as supplies became more readily available to increase it to 10%. Has that goal changed?

Well, the business model has finally taken shape and we're about to start our seminars and leaflet drops to the petrol stations around certain parts of Isaan.

By the end of this month we can have about 1million litres of PME (Palm Methyl Esther) refined to government specs ready to ship.

Our strategy has been to look at

1) Chayaphum

2) Udon

3) Khon Khaen

4) Looi

in that order, simply because of the distances from our refinery near Bangkok. The reason we are looking at this area is because a lot of the agricultural products come this way and trucks use diesel, lots of farmers using diesel and the cost of diesel is expensive now.

We'll be able to sell the PME to petrol stations for about 26baht and ask them to sell it below the diesel price, which is anywhere around 27.2+ at the moment.

Of course we've done our research, but I'd be interested to hear from non-Thais as to the choice of first strategy targets and if the average diesel drivers, which is not really the main market, would switch to PME if it's cheaper and better for the environment.

I'm not promoting our stuff, therefore no names or anything like that, I'm just after some feedback.

Cheers

(I'll post this in the Isaan Forum as well, as it straddles Isaan and Business - if this is annoying or incorrect, please mods delete one or the other)

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Hi Gary,

Thanks for your feedback. Umm, I wish I was part of a 3.2 Billion project, but ours is complete small fry compared to that. We've entered into a JV with a Thai refinery and they havenow started producing bio-fuels just for us.

I'm an expat living in Singapore and ecided to throw in the corporate life (VP Lucent Tech) a while back and do something for my wallet as well as for the environment - coming from a very 'greenie' country left scars :D

One of our partners is Thai, workimng here, from Isaan and he wants to provide something for the local farmers that is cheaper than the conglomerate product and is good for the environment.

We sell to Europe and are now embarking on our Thai 'feelgood' path.

The project you spoke of is still sooooooo many lightyears down the track and had the proviso that the bio-fuel will be sold to PT for mixing . . . :o No relatives in both industries?

Glad to hear that you'd go out of your way to find bio-diesel for the right reasons, whereas our primary pitch to the rural community will be saving money - - - Thais are not really environmentally conscious yet.

Let's grab a drink when we are in Loei!

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Hi Gary,

Thanks for your feedback. Umm, I wish I was part of a 3.2 Billion project, but ours is complete small fry compared to that. We've entered into a JV with a Thai refinery and they havenow started producing bio-fuels just for us.

I'm an expat living in Singapore and ecided to throw in the corporate life (VP Lucent Tech) a while back and do something for my wallet as well as for the environment - coming from a very 'greenie' country left scars :D

One of our partners is Thai, workimng here, from Isaan and he wants to provide something for the local farmers that is cheaper than the conglomerate product and is good for the environment.

We sell to Europe and are now embarking on our Thai 'feelgood' path.

The project you spoke of is still sooooooo many lightyears down the track and had the proviso that the bio-fuel will be sold to PT for mixing . . . :o No relatives in both industries?

Glad to hear that you'd go out of your way to find bio-diesel for the right reasons, whereas our primary pitch to the rural community will be saving money - - - Thais are not really environmentally conscious yet.

Let's grab a drink when we are in Loei!

Congratulations sing sing that you can in, Thailand, set up a company that is realy providing bio-fuel. I am from Europe and for years now we are working with our government to set up gas stations that provide bio-fuel, but we get a lot of resistence of the government on this. they are a bunch of hypocrites telling to do what ever they can for the enviroment but when we suggest that want to provide clean fuel they don't want to help us b/c we do not want it to be taxed the same way regular diesel is taxed....

coongratulations for the clean energy

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Please keep posting you progress and PM me when you get up this way. I'd be quite happy to meet up for a drink or three.

Hi Gary,

Thanks for your feedback. Umm, I wish I was part of a 3.2 Billion project, but ours is complete small fry compared to that. We've entered into a JV with a Thai refinery and they havenow started producing bio-fuels just for us.

I'm an expat living in Singapore and ecided to throw in the corporate life (VP Lucent Tech) a while back and do something for my wallet as well as for the environment - coming from a very 'greenie' country left scars :D

One of our partners is Thai, workimng here, from Isaan and he wants to provide something for the local farmers that is cheaper than the conglomerate product and is good for the environment.

We sell to Europe and are now embarking on our Thai 'feelgood' path.

The project you spoke of is still sooooooo many lightyears down the track and had the proviso that the bio-fuel will be sold to PT for mixing . . . :o No relatives in both industries?

Glad to hear that you'd go out of your way to find bio-diesel for the right reasons, whereas our primary pitch to the rural community will be saving money - - - Thais are not really environmentally conscious yet.

Let's grab a drink when we are in Loei!

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Thanks Gary, I will do that - looking forward to getting up there.

KM_Fubar, it's always the same. The Eu has decided that bio-fuels will soon be taxed at a higher rate as it is getting more and more popular and petro-taxes are declining even if it is miniscule.

I'm happily surprised at the number of responses here, the discussion is also quite popular at the regional Isaan forum here.

Excellent! :o

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Thanks Gary, I will do that - looking forward to getting up there.

KM_Fubar, it's always the same. The Eu has decided that bio-fuels will soon be taxed at a higher rate as it is getting more and more popular and petro-taxes are declining even if it is miniscule.

I'm happily surprised at the number of responses here, the discussion is also quite popular at the regional Isaan forum here.

Excellent! :o

good luck, I used to drive on Raps (not sure how it is called in english)-Methyl-Esther, years ago, I think arround year 2000 in Austria.

Nice smell like french-fries after it is burned

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good luck, I used to drive on Raps (not sure how it is called in english)-Methyl-Esther, years ago, I think arround year 2000 in Austria.

Nice smell like french-fries after it is burned

:o PME doesn't smell like chips at all - close your eyes (not while driving) and imagine the beach and surf . . . Oh, that's coconuts . . .

What you used in Austria was probably a mix of rapsoel and used oil.

Hoffentlich klappts mit unserem Plan!

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good luck, I used to drive on Raps (not sure how it is called in english)-Methyl-Esther, years ago, I think arround year 2000 in Austria.

Nice smell like french-fries after it is burned

:D PME doesn't smell like chips at all - close your eyes (not while driving) and imagine the beach and surf . . . Oh, that's coconuts . . .

What you used in Austria was probably a mix of rapsoel and used oil.

Hoffentlich klappts mit unserem Plan!

should have been methyl-esther of raps oil without used oil (or very small amount only) and it definitly smelled like chips :o

are old cars fully compatible, I heared from problems with the seals in the diesel pump on very old cars. But these warnings came from mineral oil factories....

Viel Glück/good luck

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Old cars are not fuly compatible, exactly. the rubber seals are the forst things to go as they would be quite corroded. Another factor, which a few people here pointed out is that the PME will clean the engine, which means it will clog the filter eventually. Ergo sum = setting the limit at 10 years

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