MAY 7, 2009 ISSUE
Business Spotlight
G&B Energy’s Appalachian Energy—Keeping Us Comfortable, Keeping Us Moving for Almost One Century
G&B Energy Marketing Manager Anthony Sebastian, left, and Appalachian Energy Branch Manager Charles Rogers, right, stand inside Appalachian Energy’s gourmet kitchen and fireplace showroom, located at 190 Poplar Grove Road in Boone. In addition to fuel and heating oils, Appalachian Energy also sells Wolf gourmet kitchen appliances, Sub-Zero luxury refrigeration and wine storage, gas water heaters, tankless water heaters, heaters, gas logs, grills, wood stoves, patio heaters and outdoor gas fireplaces. Photo by Sam Calhoun
Since the 1920s, a family-owned company has been keeping the High Country warm, its vehicles moving and its machines fueled.
Now a division of G&B Energy, the High Country’s Appalachian Energy started in 1920 and currently boasts a repeat clientele of 95 percent, which speaks positively of the company’s products, employees and services.
“We’ve had some customers that have been around longer than our longest employees—some for 52 years I believe,” said Glenn Teague, who has been an employee of Appalachian Energy for 37 years.
“We are a distributor of heating fuels, including propane, heating oil and kerosene, but we also sell gasoline and off-road diesel, primarily wholesale,” said Anthony Sebastian, G&B Energy marketing manager. “We also are a hearth and gourmet kitchen appliance shop selling fireplaces, stoves, water heaters and more.”
Appalachian Energy, under Branch Manager Charles Rogers, delivers propane, heating oil, kerosene and gasoline to residents of Watauga and Avery counties, and to portions of Ashe and Wilkes counties. Off-road diesel fuel is available at Appalachian Energy’s office, located at 190 Poplar Grove Road in Boone. The office is also home to the Appalachian Energy Gourmet Kitchen and Fireplace Shop, which carries Wolf gourmet cooking appliances and Sub-Zero luxury refrigeration and wine storage products. Outdoor kitchen components are also part of the selection, as Appalachian Energy can design, outfit and construct outdoor kitchens with islands, grills and other modern features. To view photos of Appalachian Energy’s outdoor kitchens, click to www.gbenergy.com/appalachianenergy.htm and click on the photo gallery.
Appalachian Energy also stocks and installs gas tank water heaters, Rinnai Continuum tankless water heaters, heaters, gas logs, grills, wood stoves, patio heaters and outdoor gas fireplaces. What’s more, Appalachian Energy employees can arrange for new heating units to be installed in new and old homes—a service that many customers overlook.
Appalachian Energy’s fleet is comprised of five oil trucks, five propane trucks and five service trucks that sometimes are in use around the clock because the company offers 24-hour emergency service for all of its clients.
Today, G&B Energy owns five convenience stores and seven fuel retailers, including Appalachian Energy and retailers in Elkin, Pilot Mountain, Advance, Sparta, Miller’s Creek and Mills River. In total, the company employees 115 people in North Carolina.
G&B Energy started in Elkin in 1930 when E.C. Boyles became an agent for Standard Oil Company, now ExxonMobil. After absorbing other energy suppliers and expanding the company’s scope, Boyles passed the leadership baton to his son-in-law, Fred Eidson, in 1976. Eidson purchased the assets of many North Carolina oil companies and expanded the company to include convenience stores in the 1980s.
R.D. Hodges Oil Company started in Boone in the 1920s and prospered under family ownership until the early 1980s. In 1983, Bill Mann of Boone bought R.D. Hodges Oil Company and changed its name to Hodges Oil Distributors. In the early 1990s, David Wray bought the company, as well as Blowing Rock Oil Company. While Wray owned the company, he sold heating fuels but not propane. To provide the service, Wray became a commissioned agent of G&B Energy, meaning G&B provided the propane tanks and propane for Wray to sell and Wray provided the location. Both entities split the profits until Wray sold the company—after changing its name to Appalachian Energy—to G&B Energy in 1999.
Appalachian Energy will host an Open House on Friday, May 15, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at its location on Poplar Grove Road. The Open House is free to the public and includes discounts of up to 50 percent on items such as gas logs and heaters. Attendees will also enjoy product demos on fireplaces, grills and tankless water heaters; product information from factory representatives from Kozy Heat, Rinnai, Traeger Grills, Sub-Zero, Wolf, Empire and Fire Magic; and $10 20-pound cylinder fills. Previous customers of Appalachian Energy will also enjoy a free lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Appalachian Energy is located at 190 Poplar Grove Road in Boone. The showroom and office are open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, click to www.gbenergy.com/appalachianenergy.htm or call 828-262-3637.
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