CHICAGO -- Covering ground ranging from data encryption to a dispenser that "pumps" electricity, Gilbarco Veeder-Root outlined its plans to address industry issues with both new products and upgraded designs.
On the trade show floor at the annual NACS convention in Chicago this month, company officials touted what could become an alternative fuel trend with pumps for electric cars. Gilbarco Veeder-Root, Greensboro, N.C., and Coulomb Technologies, Campbell, Calif., announced a partnership to develop products that will build a charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. Such a pump was [image-nocss] on display at the manufacturer's booth.
"Gilbarco Veeder-Root offers the industry's leading sales, distribution and service channels for retail and fleet fueling equipment with their Gilbarco and Gasboy brands," said Richard Lowenthal, CEO of Coulomb Technologies. "This partnership leverages Gilbarco's expertise and payment products to provide retailers and fleet operators the best clean air technology, sales and support network for building the alternative fuel infrastructure they will need for the future."
Coulomb Technologies has developed a charging solution for plug-in vehicles. "Supporting the development of a recharging infrastructure for the transportation industry is important to us and our customers," said Richard Browne, Gilbarco's vice president of marketing for North America. "This partnership expands our industry-leading portfolio of equipment for alternative fuels."
Browne pointed out that their partnership complements and supports new vehicles being announced by General Motors, Chrysler and others.
The company also showed personal identification number (PIN) pads that are compliant with payment card industry (PCI) mandates set to take effect in the coming months.
Retailers are adopting encrypting PIN pads at their fuel dispensers well ahead of the impending deadlines, said Scott McDowell, marketing manager for North American payment products at Gilbarco Veeder-Root, Greensboro, N.C. The company shipped the 1,000th PCI-approved FlexPay encrypting PIN pad (EPP) last month.
"The majority of new dispensers are now being ordered with the FlexPay EPP option factory-installed to meet current and future PCI requirements," McDowell said. "Retailers are getting the PCI EPP approved devices on their new dispensers to avoid the cost of field retrofits later and to beat the January 2009 deadline for compliance in new dispensers."
Retailers who do this save about $400 per dispenser in field installation costs, according to McDowell.
"We have had no problems with the FlexPay Encrypting PIN Pads," said Randy Cobb (pictured), vice president and general manager of Danville, Va.-based Abercrombie Oil Co. "They meet our compliance needs, and I actually prefer the metallic, tactile keys over the plastic membrane type. They are more user-friendly and appear to be quite sturdy." In addition to his position at Abercrombie Oil Co., Cobb is president-elect of the North Carolina Petroleum & Convenience Marketers and takes office in January 2009.
Gilbarco also touted dispenser upgrades that include its Ecometer meter solution, a device with 75% fewer moving parts than a traditional piston meter. Officials said the reduction in moving parts means that Ecometer remains more accurate over time, protecting fuel inventory from losses associated with meter "drift" and reducing the cost of meter calibrations.
"Gilbarco's Ecometer advanced meter solution is truly field proven," said Chad Johnson, Gilbarco's marketing manager for its Encore S product. "With over 10 years of proven performance and 80,000 Ecometers installed in Europe, retailers have dispensed over 21 billion gallons of fuel in the field with Ecometers' precision and accuracy. Performance at more than 500 North American sites and in extensive, multi-year lab testing confirms the benefits translate to the North American environment. The ability to reduce fuel losses has become increasingly important to the industry as fuel costs have increased."
The Ecometer performance is achieved with axial flow technology to measure fuel as it flows through the meter housing. Two spindles rotate evenly in a housing that minimizes wear and enhances performance through the life of the dispenser, officials said in the release. The design of the Ecometer allows it to be packaged in the side columns of the Encore S dispenser, making it inherently more resistant to intentional fraud.From a vapor-recovery perspective, the Veeder-Root segment of the business displayed its "EVR Green" on the trade-show floor. The device is more compact than other solutions in the market, said Mark Maybee, vice president of vapor-recovery technologies for Veeder-Root. Where other systems require space and even new construction for installation, this device fits onto a tank's vent pipe.
Also, Gilbarco and Tridium Inc., Richmond, Va., have joined forces to develop the Gilbarco Intelligent Device Management (IDM) solution. It will include fuel and dispenser management as part of an overall remote site/device management program. The system will encompass energy management, remote fueling and current c-store equipment monitoring and diagnostics including heating/air conditioning, lighting, power consumption, coolers and other fixtures within the c-store environment from a remote, central location.
Gilbarco IDM provides an on-screen summary dashboard for easy management review and decision-making. The system enables management by exception. For example, a retailer who established in advance that a given cooler should operate within a specified overall temperature range will get an alarm notice if the cooler temperature goes out of that range or they are notified when a dispenser needs routine maintenance, such as filter changes, receipt paper or other alarm conditions. Retailers can optimize power and energy consumption by establishing rules to avoid peak utility rates, maximize uptime, protect inventory, and comply with guidelines for food storage.
"The return on investment for this program is less than 18 months," said Fawaz Khalil, Gilbarco's director of service marketing. "Retailers report percentage power consumption savings in the range of double digits and additional savings measured in terms of increased uptime and saved inventory."
Gilbarco's IDM system will be built on the Tridium Niagara Framework, a universal software platform designed for Internet-enabled equipment systems and device-to-enterprise applications.Hardware for onsite fixtures will also be provided by Tridium.
Gilbarco Veeder-Root is a leading supplier of outdoor payment systems, integrated fuel control, site management and support services for petroleum marketers and commercial fueling enterprises worldwide.
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