STEADILY and strategically, American PetroLog LLC has expanded its dedicated ISO tank container service over the past year. Several hundred tank containers are now in operation and more are being added.
American PetroLog’s ISO tank container service is offered throughout the United States and Canada with a primary focus on the chemical industry. The service offering is getting plenty of attention, from many chemical manufacturers.
“Typically, our ISO tanks move in a closed-loop model, which means each unit is exclusive to a customer and once the tank is empty, it is returned to the shipping point for reload,” says Jeff Colonna, American PetroLog president and chief executive officer. “This approach has a huge benefit to the customer when the product can be top loaded and tank washes can be minimized. Our approach allows us to maintain product integrity without concerns for prior product contamination.
“We arrange for many of these shipments to move by rail since we have direct contracts with all of the Class 1 railroads, as well as many of the shortlines throughout the country. We can also provide ISO tanks on chassis to oilfield services customers. We’ll position dedicated ISO tanks at well sites, and once the product is consumed we swap out the empty tank with a loaded one.
“Our ISO tanks are used as rolling inventory, which enables our customers to reduce their on-site storage needs, while being able to react to market needs with product that is in close proximity to the end user.”
Supplied by TankSpan and built by CIMC, the 20-ft full-frame ISO tank containers are fabricated from stainless steel and are jacketed and insulated. They have a 6,605-gallon capacity. The tanks have ground-level actuation for vapor recovery, which helps workers offload the tank. ISO tanks and chassis also have GPS tracking.
The ISO tank container services are part of a growing logistics portfolio at American PetroLog. Services include liquid and dry bulk trucking, warehousing, government fuel services, a transload and storage location in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas area, and they are developing a new transload facility in the New York City, New York area.
Robert Kellner, American PetroLog chief relationship officer, says: “Our facility in Venus, Texas, allows us to efficiently service the rapidly growing North Texas market, and we have found strong demand for our transloading and bulk storage services.”
Esau Washington, American PetroLog director of sales and marketing, adds: “We are expanding our range of bulk liquid intermodal service because our goal is to always provide customers with a solution that results in an efficient and streamlined supply chain.”
The company has offices in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Ashville, North Carolina; Lafayette, Louisiana; and Houston and Venus, Texas.
American PetroLog was established in 2015 with a small management and operations team that has decades of experience in bulk logistics. The American PetroLog team prides itself in building close partnerships with customers and transport providers.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe is one of the transport partners used by American PetroLog. The railroad recently awarded the company its coveted “Premier Transloader” status. This designation makes American PetroLog part of a few select companies that BNSF Railway recognizes due to their exceptional performance in supply chain management, customer service, and safety.
