Propane Ninja sees growing demand for composite cylinders

Propane Ninja, a central Florida-based retailer, has experienced considerable success infiltrating the forklift market with its composite cylinders.

The retailer, which was founded in 2013 and has since grown into a 500,000 gal. (180,000 l) company, began sourcing the product from manufacturer Viking Cylinders about three years ago.

Composite cylinders are made of fibres and plastic resin, offering an alternative to steel and aluminium tanks.

Martin Zenk, senior representative of business development at Propane Ninja, points out that the cylinders, weighing 47 lb. (21 kg) come in under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommendation for two people lifting - 50 lb (22.7 kg) - and significantly less than the weight of regular steel propane cylinders. Composite cylinders can therefore be moved around by one person, he explains.

"That means if you're running a forklift and you're using the aluminium or the steel tanks, you should be having two people load and unload that propane tank when you're swapping out," Zenk says. "So that's a big labour incentive to use something that's less than 50 pounds."

Zenk estimates 70% of his customers adopt the Viking cylinder after a full product demonstration. He also says the cylinders bring anywhere from 15 to 20 new customers a month. Of those, three to five customers are typically referrals.