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There’s gas as in gasoline, and then there’s gas as in propane, often referred to as “autogas” by fuel industry insiders. In many applications, propane can deliver measurable cost savings compared with conventional gasoline and diesel powertrains.

When it comes to health and wellness, there is no shortage of data and literature for beverage-makers to consider when formulating new products. However, wellness is not reserved only for packaged products in the beverage market.

A plethora of market trends continue to impact the global supply chain including automation. In PwC’s “Global Supply Chain Survey 2013,” the market research firm found that 54 percent of companies surveyed in the retail and consumer goods industries listed automation as high importance with an additional 5 percent listing it as high importance by 2015.

Today’s business environment requires distributors to constantly pursue opportunities that improve the efficiency of their fleet operations. At Orion, Mich.-based Powers Distributing, this pursuit of efficiency pre-dates the economic roller coaster of the past decade and extends into other areas of the business.

With petroleum fuel prices at their lowest in recent history, the cost of being “green” has been driven higher than ever. Like any technology, green technology must pass the return-on-investment (ROI) test to justify its purchase. Altruistic or community relations have motivated some fleets to invest in the technology, but many fleets insist on a measurable ROI before investing.

Back when side-load equipment ruled the beverage industry, refrigeration generally was an afterthought, with just a few refrigerated trucks dedicated to delivering dairy products and limited varieties of draft beer. But as product mixes have expanded, a paradigm shift is taking place in the equipment world.