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the australian farmer
from its National Technical Team, and ongoing main- tenance through its National Maintenance Team.
the agricultural industry as it transitions towards a net zero economy. “We understand the farmers responsibility to achieve carbon neutrality is now.” To assist with this journey towards net zero, is the offer of Carbon Neutral plans to our customers via Cli- mate Active, an Australian Government initiative. This offset is achieved by ELGAS purchasing carbon credits that are equal to the emissions produce. To support the transition from diesel to LPG, ELGAS offers site assessments for LPG storage, technical ad- vice on equipment conversions, installation assistance The energy solution for farms and businesses: a case study Being able to swiftly switch to LPG gas literally meant the survival of a remote rural town. “Ten weeks after ELGAS came on site, we had gas to our boilers,” sums up Steve Townsend, Plant Manager at Tongala Nutrition, of the LPG gas supplier’s critical role in getting the fledgling company up and running. In late 2023 Tongala Nutrition purchased a dormant former Nestle site at Tongala, a small rural town 225 kilometres north of Melbourne, with plans to reopen as a food and beverage manufacturer focussed on produ- cing UHT milk for the domestic market, but with global export aspirations. “Of all the services connected to the site, natural gas was the only one disconnected,” Steve says of when the start-up company took over the site. Attempts to reconnect natural gas proved futile - both in cost and lost time. “For the timeframe we needed to get gas running, it wasn’t going to work,” says Steve. “And it was going to be more expensive. So, we approached an ELGAS agent in Echuca and they jumped on board.” ELGAS Sales, Technical and National Maintenance teams immediately worked with Tongala Nutrition and quickly executed the installation. "They managed to fit a system and get us running within weeks. It’s been working well ever since.” With two large boilers on-site, LPG was the only cost-effective option for Tongala Nutrition. “It’s the best bang for the buck for the energy we get,” says Steve. “We’re a start-up and ELGAS has
given us such good support. In our first 12 months, we didn’t know what our volumes would be and how often we’d need gas. We only pay for what we use, which is a great part of it.” ELGAS’s pricing and contract arrangements sup- ported Tongala Nutritions success moving forward. Its telemetry system enables ELGAS to remotely monitor all LPG tanks at Tongala. This allows for improved ser- vice scheduling for timely refills, better understanding of gas usage patterns, and enhanced reliability of ser- vice with fewer disruptions. “We’ll be using about 100 tonnes of LPG per month,” says Steve, a Tongala local, adding that the town’s re- vival with Tongala Nutrition re-opening the site was hinged on ELGAS stepping in with a reliable, safe, and cost-efficient local energy supply. “We had supply contracts with major retailers,” Steve explains. “If ELGAS hadn’t supported us with this project, we wouldn’t have been able to meet those con- tracts. It was as critical as that.” ELGAS and Energy Safe Victoria have supported
Tongala Nutrition’s journey “all the way with regulations and procedures we must have on site. And ELGAS has provided safety training and docu- mentation to support that”. Steve expects Tongala Nutrition’s LPG requirements will grow. “The beauty about the ELGAS system is that we can grow by adding LPG tanks on site as we need. Easy.”
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