CNG station. Key to the success: Selecting wisely your CNG vendor partner

Posted by cngsource on January 20th, 2015

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is a clean, affordable form of energy that is becoming increasingly popular: there are already nearly 20 million Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs) on the road worldwide, and that is expected to rise to 70 million vehicles by 2020. In the USA alone there are in excess of 10,000 CNG powered transit buses driving safely and efficiently on our streets every day, and they can only keep running if they have the right CNG suppliers. If you have decided to convert your fleet to CNG or build a CNG station to fuel your NGVs, you have already made the first step. Choose the right CNG vendor too and you will soon be driving your company along the road to success.

Whether you have a CNG fleet in Houston or want to build a CNG station in Mexico or Indonesia, you need a reliable CNG vendor, a partner who shares your drive to succeed and has the capacity to make it happen. Look for a CNG vendor with at least seven years in business: CNG engineering is a complex affair and experience of both the norms and the exceptions is vital. It takes seven years to turn a student into an engineer: Why would you accept a company with less than 7 years of experience? When it is your business on the line, you need a partner you can trust to draw upon their own years of research and development to get your CNG project right first time.

If you want to construct a CNG station for fleets, you want confidence that the vendor has an established reputation as a CNG station builder, preferably having constructed multiple stations each year since their foundation and mastering the technology and physics behind the CNG compressors and CNG dispensers. Building a CNG gas station is not without its challenges, and it is reassuring to know that the vendor you have selected understands all the permit processes, has been through them before and can support you as you apply. This support might also include working with you on the filing of grant applications: there are many government programs for facilitating CNG adoption and inside knowledge on availability and acceptance criteria will put you at the front of the funding queue.

Prioritize finding a CNG station builder like CNG Source, who not only builds CNG gas stations but also operates their own branded stations. In this case, at CNG Source use their own stations mostly for R&D, training and testing equipment before shipping it. If the vendor already runs multiple large CNG fueling stations, and is proud to put their own name above the door, you can be sure of their ability to deliver a CNG project on time, on budget and with due attention to quality control, and that they are committed to running CNG projects in the long-term. They will be able to share with you their real life experience, from training CNG station staff in best practice, to collaborating with CNG equipment manufacturers, and this will undoubtedly give you a head start in the CNG business. Such companies have a vested interest in the CNG sector’s technological evolution, and direct exposure to this innovation benefits their clients and will benefit you too.

Your new CNG gas station is only as good as the CNG equipment installed: you want to be able to guarantee that the CNG fueling systems you buy will work efficiently throughout the lifetime of the CNG station. Think about the value of proprietary technology and manufacturing: how much importance do you attach to endurance and budget? Keeping the lowest cost per dispensed gallon is the key to a successful business plan, but very few CNG vendors can deliver upon that promise. Having equipment that works as hard as you do and keeps going reliably day after day can be the difference between make and break for your company. You need a CNG vendor who will be remain in business to maintain your CNG equipment, honor its warranties and fix technical issues, to monitor your CNG equipment 24/7 and to provide dedicated service and maintenance staff to identify potential issues and help you resolve problems quickly as and when things do go wrong. If in the future you want to update or expand your CNG business, you will be able to work with the same well-established vendor: they will know exactly what you already have installed and how to integrate it with other CNG systems.

Finding the right CNG vendor is not only important for those wanting to build a CNG gas station, however. If you’re planning to convert your fleet to CNG, you might be looking for a CNG turnkey solution. The right CNG partner will have proprietary technology and a comprehensive maintenance and service program. They’ll use their industry experience and be honest about what you actually need: your company has specific needs and a capital expenditure strategy. If these are not compatible with owning and running a CNG fuel station, the right CNG vendor will tell you so, allowing you to get on with running the core of your business, simply paying for the fuel you use without further commitment or distraction.

About Author: Mark Reynolds. is the author of cngsource.com Visit the site for more information about CNG station for fleets, CNG compressors, CNG dispensers, CNG gas stations, CNG fueling stations, CNG fueling systems, etc.