J.J. Sullivan: Family Owned, Locally Focused AFourth-generation, family-owned heating companies are a bit rare, but New England still has a few of them. J. J. Sullivan Fuel & Propane, in Guilford, CT, got its humble start as a gas station and grocery store in 1925. Coal, kerosene and fuel oil delivery were added to their list of services over the years, and eventually, air conditioning. Over the past nine decades, and through three acquisitions, they’ve built the company up to 15 employees, five service vans and seven fuel trucks. However, they’ve never lost their local focus. “To maintain efficiency and provide rapid service, we limit our territory to a 20-mile radius,” said Paul Sullivan who, along with his brother Jim, makes up the third generation of Sullivans to provide heating expertise to south-central Connecticut. “We’d rather do a great job nearby than a good job further away.” J.J. Sullivan has an on-site fuel storage capacity of 200,000 gallons, which saves them running to New Haven, the nearest place to buy wholesale oil, in the midst of a blizzard. J.P. Sullivan, Vice President of J.J. Sullivan Fuel & Propane, parks at the shop. It’s not rare to deliver 25 or 30,000 gallons on a midwinter day. Between Sullivan’s fuel capacity and small territory, customers know they’ll never be put on a waiting list when they need oil. Tradition evolves However, sticking to their guns on a traditional way of business and manageable size doesn’t mean they’re not evolving. J.J. Sullivan’s latest acquisition, the purchase of nearby Madison Oil in February of 2016, brought with it the ability to deliver propane, expanding their services. They’ve also implemented new data management, service and delivery scheduling software. Nearly 85% of their fuel customers are signed up for automatic delivery, which is based on heating degree days. When it comes to equipment, Vice President J.P. Dan Vastyan Delta C, LLC Sullivan has kept a pulse on the industry as well. J.P. is Paul’s nephew, and has worked for the family company for 12 years. Along with propane comes installation of condensing boilers and furnaces, although they’ve serviced highefficiency systems for quite some time. The state’s utility program, Energize Connecticut, has helped drive adoption of new technology, from circulators to solar arrays. Much in the same way that the company has grown— through tradition with an eye on technology—Sullivan’s owners kept pace with, and remained loyal to, the same set of representatives and manufacturers—many of them for decades. They install Weil-Mclain and Buderus boilers, HTP and Vaughn indirect tanks, Honeywell thermostats and Taco circulators. “Dino Malespini, at Emerson Swan, has not only been a great source of information for us in the past 15 years, but he’s been a friend,” said Paul. “If any of our techs has a question, he’s very quick to reply, and he keeps us up to speed on new technology that affects our business.” In mid-2016, Malespini brought new Taco 007e circulator to the Sullivan shop. It’s an ECM-powered (ECM stands for electronically commutated motor) version of the venerable 007 circulator, featuring the same pump curve but many upgrades beyond energy savings. “We’ve used Taco pumps for far much longer than I’ve been in the trade,” said J.P. Sullivan. “I’ve gone into mechanical rooms and seen the Perfecta circulator—the grandfather to the 007—still in service.” It wasn’t long before J.P. had a jobsite lined up to try the new circulator. Fast change out A local automotive service garage not far from the Sullivan shop had recently become an oil and service customer and lamented some issues they were having over the past heating season. When J.P. visited the job, he found all the hydronic unit heaters and a few sections of baseboard radiation to (L-R) VP J.P. Sullivan and his uncle, Paul Sullivan, in the office. 12 ICM/January/February 2017
ICM January-February 2017
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