How the Next Generation Is Revolutionizing the Propane Industry

Steve Gasser (00:04.056)
Hello, welcome to the Remarkable Podcast. This month, we’re doing a special series leading up to the Southeastern NPGA Expo in Nashville, talking with people who have a real pulse on where the propane industry is heading. And one thing we see working with propane companies across the country is this. There are a lot of good companies out there, but not all of them are getting the attention, trust, or recognition they deserve. And the ones that are, well,

They’re doing something different in how they show up, how they communicate, and how they build relationships. This is exactly the kind of conversation that matters. And that’s why I’m excited to talk to Brian Kanaba from LP Gas Magazine. Brian, welcome to the show.

Brian Kanaba (00:50.41)
Steve, how are you? Thank you so much. Well, good, good. We’re doing well over here. Appreciate the opportunity to speak with you and get a chance just to kind of talk about the industry and all the good that’s going on. So thank you so much. Absolutely. Steve, as we talked prior before we hit the record button, I’ve been on

Steve Gasser (00:52.66)
I am so good.

Steve Gasser (01:03.341)
Yeah.

So, for our listeners, tell us a little bit about you and LP Gas Magazine.

Brian Kanaba (01:18.316)
the publication, I hate to say it out loud, Steve, but it’s been 25 years. So, seen a lot, seen a lot, the good, the bad, and the ugly, right? But yeah, it’s been a long time, so we know the industry, we know the people, and very in tune with, know, Perk, NPGA, everything. So it’s been a long time. Brian Richardson, he’s been our staff for, there’s 13 plus years, so.

Steve Gasser (01:26.23)
Yeah.

Brian Kanaba (01:43.99)
We know it. We’ve seen a lot and it’s been fun. And now I know the reason why people stick around in the industry. It’s just that great of an industry where people don’t leave or if they leave, they become a consultant or if they leave, they stay in the industry somehow. Now I know why. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Steve Gasser (02:02.638)
I totally agree. That’s the same way I feel. I haven’t been in the propane industry as long as you have, but it’s like it’s a close-knit group of people.

Brian Kanaba (02:08.663)
Yeah.

100%, 100%. And trust is number one, and you treat people fine, and just like you do in your daily lives, that’s just how it works in the industry, and it’s been phenomenal. I can’t complain for one second.

Steve Gasser (02:28.558)
So what are some trends or shifts that you see companies, you think companies should really be paying attention to here in 2026?

Brian Kanaba (02:35.085)
Yeah, absolutely. And I’ll be more than happy to kind of go over different things, you know, maybe like the industry pulse, what’s going on in the industry from new advances to the demand, the newer demands going on in the propane industry, the new generation coming in. But, you know, to kind of, you know, kick it off here, Steve, propane industry is healthy.

Steve Gasser (02:41.645)
Yeah.

Brian Kanaba (02:54.093)
from our perspective, it seems very healthy. Demand is still supported by heating, know, exports and industrial use. But the biggest changes we’re seeing and the happenings is in the digital operations, you know, of all the propane marketers. Renewable propane, you know, being adopted is big and just the new markets like power generation and data centers. Now, power generation is not new, but it’s kind of like…

It’s newer in terms of I think the marketers kind of going, okay, let’s go, let’s go. So those are the things, kind of an overview of the things that we’re seeing just right off the top of our heads that are making the industry continue to be healthy and really, really going strong. The pulse of the industry, Steve, is we see, you know,

The near term of the US market, we’re seeing the oversupply, which is nice, because we went in in 25, 26 winter season. Retail prices were generally kept in check, which is good, meaning it’s a good stable business, which has been phenomenal. But with the war going on now,

Everything’s kind of upside down, right? The barrel is what it is and we’re going to fill it up our tanks at the gas station for four bucks a gallon now and that doesn’t make everybody happy. So that affects propane, but it affects everything. But that’s kind of the pulse right now. What’s what’s happening just to kind of a little overview of different things that we’re seeing. Yeah, yeah.

Steve Gasser (04:19.425)
Boy, that’s some great insight. So when you think about, where do you see companies getting stuck or falling behind right now?

Brian Kanaba (04:26.602)
stuck or falling behind, think it’s the same thing as we see all the time is, and again, I’m not a propane marketer, so.

I don’t know how difficult their jobs are on a daily basis and I’m sure it is. It’s a very tough business, but it’s accepting the things that are out there right now that will grow propane gallons. Home heating is number one, it always will be, but you need summer load. You need that load throughout the year. And that’s kind of the same story every year, every year, every year, because you can’t rely on winter season. The West Coast right now, this year, not as good as the winter as the Northeast and the Midwest.

got slammed this year. So okay, so what do they do if they didn’t have that good of a winter? Boy, I hope I have some summer demand, you know, whether it’s propane generation or rely on renewable propane to just being more efficient in the winter season, because become more efficient, you’re going to be better off in the summer seasons. So it’s just the adoption of all that, the adoption of auto gas adoption of all that stuff that’s there.

But it’s just like, let’s go. Let’s go. Because a lot of people are just used to, like you and I, this is what we’ve always done all the time. this is, you know, but just like me and you.

I changed the way I do my business too because I need to. I don’t want to get in that lull where it’s just kind of the same thing. Because then it just kind of eventually is going to go like this. So adoption of all these things that are out there. There’s so much there to grow gallons and become more efficient. Just go grab it. That’s why we go to the shows to find out a little bit more what’s going on and talk to different marketers. What are you doing in your region? Oh my gosh, we should start looking into that. So we’re seeing that change though.

Brian Kanaba (06:12.304)
We’re seeing the change. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s slower in some areas than others. You technology, I think that’s taken off a lot more than it ever has before. So there’s a, there’s, it’s just adoption, Steve, at the end of the day, just being willing to take that chance and get out of the norm. Get out of the norm.

Steve Gasser (06:14.591)
It’s slow, but yeah, you ever seen the change?

Steve Gasser (06:34.701)
So from your perspective, what makes a company worth paying attention to today?

Brian Kanaba (06:39.66)
makes a company with paying attention today. I would say being more efficient and being more customer service oriented, everything. don’t care. You do anything in your life right now. Customer service is not good at a lot of places. I don’t care if you’re going out to dinner. I don’t care if you’re calling your cable company for something. It’s terrible. It’s terrible.

Steve Gasser (06:51.906)
Yeah.

Brian Kanaba (07:06.39)
So customer service is so big, especially for propane markers because when they need something, they need something now. They don’t wanna talk to whomever. So I think that is proven to be so, so big. I could tie that into the newer generation coming in.

Steve Gasser (07:12.577)
Yeah.

Brian Kanaba (07:27.958)
really two groups that we really need to focus on is that younger customers and the younger workers, right? To kind of help answer your question fully there. Because Perk did some research where, you know, they highlight millennials are promising demographic because they value energy choice and they value environmental performance. Same thing with the propane marketers, they’re valuing these newer.

individuals coming into their company to become more tech enabled and more appealing to customers. So there’s a long answer but it keeps coming back to the customers because if they’re more tech enabled the customers are looking for convenience, they’re looking for transparency, they’re looking for cleaner messaging. Check, check, check. And you bring the newer generation into industry combining with…

Steve Gasser (08:07.106)
Yes.

Brian Kanaba (08:16.94)
the customer being newer, boy, you got a nice little equation right there to really take your marketing company to a different level than we’ve ever had before. So long answer, but I try to pull it all together.

Steve Gasser (08:28.109)
Okay. Yeah. I need to publish that equation somewhere and give you credit because that was a really good equation. I love that. I want get into something I know that’s that’s that’s near and dear to your heart. And I know Beth really, really calls you up on this too is you you’re really good at paying attention to details. Things like follow ups, thank you notes and how companies show up really personally. How much does that still matter in business today?

Brian Kanaba (08:33.058)
Yeah. Well, thank you.

Yes.

Brian Kanaba (08:47.992)
Thank you.

Brian Kanaba (08:56.918)
I preach it almost weekly, honestly. And people are probably sick of me hearing about it talking about it, but it’s just like anything. We purchased something a couple of weeks ago and got a little thank you note in the mail of what we purchased. And I was like, that’s what we do. And to see somebody else doing it. And I told my son, he’s my youngest son, he’s 23. I go, look.

Steve Gasser (08:59.756)
Yeah.

Brian Kanaba (09:21.226)
You could look at it and go, my gosh, you know, cause he’s got his own business. go, it goes a long way, bud. It keeps you, you know, apart from your competition, it shows you cared. You took the time to hand write something. You can email and that’s fine and that works, but everybody can email and it can be a copy paste email. Okay, I sold this person, just put his or her name in there, send.

Steve Gasser (09:31.841)
Yes.

Brian Kanaba (09:43.993)
You gotta throw a little something in there. Maybe you laughed about a joke with that person or something. Throw something in there, it’s just gonna be little more personal, because that’s what we need today. And everybody likes those types of things. I do. I’m assuming everybody else does. So I’m very big on touch points to our readers, to our marketers, to our partners. Just staying in touch and finding out what’s going on. The moment we step away from that, we lose sight on what’s happening with a propane marketer out there and the problems that they’re facing.

Steve Gasser (10:13.846)
Mm-hmm.

Brian Kanaba (10:14.284)
We can only assume what they are, but if we don’t talk to them and reach out, we don’t know. And the more we do that, the better we can produce and provide the information to our industry. So very important. Number one, all day long.

Steve Gasser (10:27.189)
Yeah, boy, those small notes, make such a difference. You know, sometimes you think you write this small note and it’s just a little piece of gratitude. But, you know, gratitude is never small to the person that received it.

Brian Kanaba (10:29.773)
Cute!

Brian Kanaba (10:33.934)
That’s it. No, Absolutely, 100%, 100%. So just staying in touch and making sure that they realize that we care and we really want to know what’s going on because that’s our job is to educate the propane industry the best we can.

The only way we can do that is to stay active. Stay active, see the people, talk to them, find out what’s going on. Do things like this. You know, I can’t wait to see the other people who you have on here so I can glean some information from them to make us better. yeah, yeah, well good, good. Looking forward to seeing it.

Steve Gasser (11:05.547)
And some remarkable guests. Yeah.

Steve Gasser (11:10.423)
So as we’re heading into the Southeastern Expo, what should people be paying attention to this year?

Brian Kanaba (11:16.302)
paying attention to, look at the new advances. We talked about it before. Don’t be afraid of those. Don’t be afraid to go outside the box. Stop at booths that you would never have stopped by before because you’re kind of like, I’m not sure. Or maybe stop kicking the tires about it. Just go find out.

When you go, you may leave there going, man, I’m so glad I stopped at so-and-so’s booth because I didn’t realize that they could do that. And just don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. Look at all the opportunities. And I’m just going to technology because if you go to the show five to seven years ago, look at that exhibit list, compare it to today, you’re gonna see a lot more technology companies on there than you did five, seven years ago. Why? I think…

Steve Gasser (11:57.613)
Mm-hmm.

Brian Kanaba (12:07.498)
Marketers aren’t kicking the tires anymore now. They’re really interested because they they have to become more efficient It’s not even a it’s not even a flip of a coin now You have to number one number two some of these tech companies that are outside your industry They do the same thing for other industries. They just need to tweak it for propane now They’re looking in going hey, I think they’re ready now, so that’s why you’re seeing more So my my point is go visit those companies

whether it’s tape monitoring, whether it’s fleet routing, whether it’s whatever efficiencies are gonna make you better. of course, go see all the other companies, your truck manufacturers and all those companies, look at, go to the show, have a goal to come out with like three or four things that you would love to do differently and find out who’s out there to help you do it.

then you’ll walk away from that show, I think going, man, that was probably one of the best shows I’ve ever had. Have a goal before you go in there. If you’re going in just to walk up and down, that’s fine. But when you leave, you’re like, it just another show. Come back with some stuff, share it with your team, get them excited to do something new. And then it’s just a ripple effect after that.

Steve Gasser (13:01.537)
Worth it. Yeah.

Steve Gasser (13:16.471)
So what are you personally most interested in at the expo this year?

Brian Kanaba (13:20.376)
What am I interested in? I am interested in, the new generation coming in. As you’ve seen, or as we’ve all seen, the industry is getting younger, right? The next generation is coming in.

I like to see how they are progressing and what they are doing and seeing them at the booths and talking and getting involved in the industry, whether they’re marketers or if they are exhibitors, because they are the next ones taking over, right? Brian Richardson, our editor, he started a feature several years back called Rising Leaders, because we see all this new generation coming in, but does the industry know who they are?

So our job is to gather that information and introduce them to our industry. Hey everybody, here are the new women and men taking over the industry. And introducing them, seeing what they’re doing. Fast forward to today, Brian took that editorial and said, all right, now let’s go back and say, where are they now?

So where they were coming in to three or four years ago, where are they now? What are they doing? How they move the needle in the industry? Have they gone to DC for propane days? Have they done all those things? Because that’s that next generation coming in and we’re seeing they’re doing that. They’re involved. You got NPGA starting Young Professionals Council. That’s awesome. So.

Again, long answer is seeing what they’re doing and seeing how it’s all coming together because that’s what’s going to make the needle move in the propane industry from this point on because they’re the ones who are going to take the chances. They’re the ones who are going to be more tech savvy. They’re the ones who are going to be a little bit more vocal because this is going to be their industry for a long time from now.

Brian Kanaba (15:17.806)
until that next generation comes in. But we’re seeing it all come in at one time, which is kind of cool. So that’s one of the big things I’m looking at is just seeing how they’re reacting to the industry. What are they doing? And how are they moving the needle, not just for their company, but the industry as a whole? So it’ll be pretty exciting. Yeah.

Steve Gasser (15:37.111)
Yeah, the multi-generation, I think it’s so unique in this industry. Second, third, fourth, fourth generation.

Brian Kanaba (15:41.403)
absolutely, 100%. yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly. And they’ve seen it all. And they’ve seen it all. And they said, hey, Dad or Grandpa, why haven’t we done this before? And they’re like, well, it’s because we’ve always run our business the same way we’ve always run it. And they’re like, well, maybe it’s time to change. And hopefully they’ll hand that baton and give them that responsibility. Because sometimes it’s still, well, I want to do it, but.

I gotta run it by, you know, mom or dad or something. so it’s curious to see them take the baton and just run with it. So, yeah, very cool, very cool.

Steve Gasser (16:10.637)
It’s hard.

Steve Gasser (16:22.007)
Brian, if people want to see you at the expo, where can they find you?

Brian Kanaba (16:26.644)
Everywhere We run around we run we have a booth we have a booth We’ll always have somebody there from whether it’s myself or our editorial team or our events coordinator or our president Kevin Stoltman We’re North Coast media. We’re a publishing company. So LP gas magazine. This is one of several different trade publications, but

Our group is just all propane. That’s all we do. We’re not in any other books. Kevin Stoltman, the reason I’m bringing that up, if you want to come and see him, how he knows how important this industry is, he comes to our shows. He comes to our events because usually the top dog just goes, you just go do it. That’s not how we work. He’s involved and he’s in the trenches just like we are. So come see him as well. Somebody will be in that booth. I’m out and about all over the place seeing different partners in their booths or

Brian Richardson and the rest of our team are attending some meetings that are going on while the show is going on. So we’re kind of all over the place. But that’s the good thing about, you know, send us a text, say, hey, can you meet at three o’clock at your booth or at our booth or wherever. So there’ll be ways to find us, but check our booth first and then leave a message and somebody will text us, say, hey, Susie was looking for you and she wants to meet you here and we’ll do it. We’ll do it. So we’re all over.

Steve Gasser (17:23.725)
There’s so much going on.

Steve Gasser (17:46.241)
Yeah, you’re going to be all over from Saturday through Tuesday. Yeah.

Brian Kanaba (17:49.032)
It’s crazy. It’s crazy. And to think it’s what less than a month away that just blows my mind. Blows my mind. Yeah, it’s very exciting. We’re very, we’re we’re excited. We’re, we’re happy to see everybody again, like we said before, you have to people you see they’re your friends now, you know, how cool is that? What industry, there’s not many industries that are like that. There’s just not, we’re excited to go see them because they’re your buddies. Let’s go. You know.

Steve Gasser (17:54.463)
It’s coming up in a few weeks, yeah. Exciting.

Brian Kanaba (18:18.816)
so phenomenal phenomenal absolutely sure absolutely

Steve Gasser (18:19.405)
It’s such a great network of people, a great industry. Yeah.

So Brian, I appreciate you taking the time today. I love your perspective, especially as we head into the expo. And for those of you listening, if you’re going to be in Nashville, this is exactly the kind of thing to think about. How you show up, how you build relationships, and what makes your company worth paying attention to. We’ll be at the show as well. And if you want to talk through where you are and what you should be focusing on next, we’d love to connect. And Brian, make sure you find him at the event as well. He’s got a great pulse.

Brian Kanaba (18:39.509)
Absolutely.

Absolutely. Yeah.

Brian Kanaba (18:49.848)
Right?

Yeah. Well, thank you. If I could just leave you with one thing, Steven, I think this is kind of cool. Talk about the pulse of the industry, right? So there’s kind of maybe four signals that we could all look for. All of us is inventory levels in the propane industry, export capacity.

Steve Gasser (18:55.381)
on what’s happening in the industry.

Yeah.

Brian Kanaba (19:13.974)
Renewable propane and just the digital technology that’s going out there again It could be from anything from fleet routing to take monitoring to whatever it is But if those are all moving up together You know the industry is modernizing then just surviving so if those things all come together We’re just gonna keep growing and growing and growing but boy if it comes up together as a whole that’s gonna be pretty cool to see

Steve Gasser (19:43.413)
modernizing rather than just surviving.

Brian Kanaba (19:45.398)
Yes, moderate, yes, exactly, exactly. So I’ll leave you with that one. Okay, you as well, bud. Take care, appreciate the time.

Steve Gasser (19:47.149)
Good luck.

Steve Gasser (19:51.885)
I love it. All right, we look forward to seeing you in Nashville.