CASE STUDIES

BROCO OIL

WEATHERING THE STORM: Newberry’s expedited delivery aids Hurricane Laura Relief.

About BROCO OIL

Founded in 2007, Broco Oil sells and distributes petroleum products to an active clientele of over 15,000 commercial and residential accounts in the Greater Boston area.

CEO Bobby Brown is a US Navy Seabee veteran and an active local Fire Chief serving two 24-hour shifts every week at the fire station, in addition to his full-time role as CEO at Broco. Brown started the home delivery oil service to assist Boston families during the frigid winter months when their regular oil suppliers ran out of fuel. The business grew to include commercial businesses and disasters.

In 2019, the Small Business Administration bestowed Broco Oil the “#1 Veteran Owned Business in the U.S.” award due to their incredible disaster recovery work after a gas explosion at Columbia Gas.

The Challenge

Two days before Category 4 Hurricane Laura delivered a direct hit on Lake Charles, Louisiana, Bobby Brown got the call to deploy a team. Anticipating a wide power outage, Lake Charles was going to need help refueling the recovery effort.

Bobby explains, “We forward deployed 14 guys and 8 trucks, with a couple of Bobcats for clearing debris, a tractor trailer so we had a fuel supply and a couple of tanks to store oil. We were only planning to do maybe 150 generators initially.”

“But the devastation was so bad that at one point we were servicing over 400 generators. The guys were working day and night. They needed more — a lot more.”

“I could send a couple more trucks and staff, but they needed tanks. Thing is, after a hurricane, everybody needs tanks. There was a massive shortage. I scrounged up 6 more, and then in desperation, I called Trevor Fisher at Newberry Tanks and Equipment. I’d never done business with Newberry before.”

The Solution

Bobby explained he needed four 500-gallon, double-wall tanks for gasoline and diesel, as well as all related equipment — yesterday. Trevor asked if there was anything else. Bobby hesitantly asked if they could arrive fully assembled.

Bobby explains, “Most of the time, when we get tanks, you have to piecemeal them together. On this mission, it would’ve taken one of my guys most of a day to assemble a single tank. We only had 14 guys there. Trevor fast tracked the order on Newberry’s expedited delivery program.”

Speed

“The tanks arrived in 48 hours…I couldn’t believe it. They were assembled, painted, plug and play and ready to go. I was blown away. Newberry went above and beyond.”

And Broco’s client? “They were very happy. We were able to stay on top and keep our focus on what was most important: nobody running out of fuel, even the smaller ones that required multiple daily deliveries. We were even able to help the disaster relief task force when they were running out of gas.”

Proactive Approach

And would Newberry Tanks now fit into Broco’s list of usual suppliers?

“Absolutely. Newberry really took care of us. We needed that order as quick as possible and they got it to us. They did it in a fashion that reminds me of how I run my business: if a customer says they need my help, they get my help. I’ll ask questions after the fact. It’s always about helping people first.”