The Fueling Station Podcast

Season 5 - Episode 3

The Pod-troleum Guys are back in Las Vegas, broadcasting live from the 2026 PEI Convention at the NACS Show, and this time they're tackling a topic that doesn't always get the attention it deserves: preventive maintenance.

In this episode of The Fueling Station, Ed Kammerer and Jonathan Stong welcome Kevin Starring, OPW Retail Fueling Field Support Technician. A longtime industry veteran, Kevin's seen just about everything when it comes to installing, servicing and maintaining fueling equipment.

With fuel marketers investing millions of dollars in new stations and equipment upgrades, the conversation focuses on a simple but important question: What can operators do to protect those investments and keep their sites operating safely and efficiently?

The guys dig into:

• Why water intrusion is one of the biggest threats to underground fueling equipment
• How proper maintenance of tank sumps, spill buckets and seals can prevent costly problems
• The importance of addressing the root cause of equipment issues rather than repeatedly fixing the symptoms
• How fuel delivery drivers, contractors and site operators can work together to identify maintenance concerns before they escalate
• Why routine inspections, clean dispenser sumps and properly anchored shear valves matter for safety and long-term reliability

Along the way, the guys discuss the next generation of petroleum industry professionals, the excitement surrounding new OPW innovations and why a little extra attention to maintenance can make a big difference.

And because it's The Fueling Station, there's also plenty of good-natured banter about chicken fingers, Las Vegas and Metallica at the Sphere.

Season 5 - Episode 2

In this episode of The Fueling Station, Ed Kammerer and Jonathan Stong — “The Pod-troleum Guys” — are coming to you live from Las Vegas at the WPMA Show with a deep dive into one of the most important material shifts in the fueling industry: fiberglass.

Joined by OPW Product Manager, Elliot Gladden, the conversation explores how fiberglass has evolved from a niche material into a critical component across modern fueling infrastructure.

The guys break down:

• Why the industry continues to shift from steel and metal to fiberglass and composites
• The performance advantages of fiberglass, including corrosion resistance, strength and long-term durability
• How different manufacturing processes — from open mold to RTM and SMC — impact product quality and consistency
• The role of advanced design, like I-beam structures, in achieving extreme load ratings and structural integrity
• Where fiberglass is being used today, from sumps and manholes to high-load applications across multiple industries

They also discuss how innovation in materials and manufacturing is helping station owners and operators build more reliable, longer-lasting systems — especially in challenging environments such as high-water-table regions.

And of course, it wouldn’t be Vegas without a little Def Leppard talk.

Season 5 - Episode 1

Season 5 of The Fueling Station is officially underway, and we’re launching it the only way we know how: live from the WPMA Expo in Las Vegas.

The guys break down:

• Why distributors, contractors and manufacturers are all reporting record years
• The surge in new convenience store construction and system upgrades
• What global travel is revealing about energy growth in North America, Europe, the Caribbean and Asia
• The evolving (but not dominant) role of EVs in the market
• How product innovations are making installation safer, faster and more precise

They also preview a packed trade show season, including stops at regional expos, distributor events and the international stage at UNITI expo in Germany.

And because it wouldn’t be Vegas without it, there’s even a little Def Leppard talk.

Season 4 - Episode 4

In this special on-location episode of The Fueling Station, Ed Kammerer and Jonathan Stong – aka the “Pod-troleum Guys” – go live from the OPW Retail Fueling manufacturing facility in Smithfield, NC. Broadcasting from the heart of the operation, they host a behind-the-scenes look at the annual Distributor Seminar, a cornerstone event celebrating OPW's deep-rooted partnerships, product innovation and culture of excellence.

Get an inside look at the people, processes and passion that fuel OPW's 133-year success story. Hear firsthand impressions from distributor guests, walk the plant floor and discover why "Fueled by Excellence" isn't just a motto – it's a mission.

Season 4 - Episode 5

In this special on-the-road edition of The Fueling Station, Ed Kammerer hitches a ride on the Petroleum Equipment Institute (PEI) "Members and Miles" RV Tour with PEI President Jason Blake. Broadcasting from the heart of the tour — an RV traveling the Southeast — Ed and Jason dive into critical conversations about the future of the petroleum equipment industry.

Hear firsthand how PEI is tackling the workforce talent shortage, fostering the next generation of industry professionals and spotlighting innovations across manufacturing, service and construction. Discover why this often "silent" industry is stepping into the spotlight — and why the internal combustion engine (ICE) and fueling infrastructure remain vital for years to come.

Join Ed and Jason as they visit PEI members, discuss the tour’s mission and explore how PEI is helping to fuel the industry's future.

To learn more about PEI, visit https://www.pei.org

Season 4 - Episode 3

Join us as our "Pod-troleum Guys" Ed Kammerer and Jonathan Stong sit down and talk with longtime marketing partner Dale Dean. In this episode, they explore the value of relationships in business and specifically the important role they play in the petroleum industry.

Season 4 - Episode 2

The latest episode of The Fueling Station Podcast, hosted live at WPMA EXPO 2025 by Ed Kammerer and Jonathan Stong – aka the “Pod-troleum Guys” – featured a visit from Darren Wight, Executive VP of Client Success for DeanHouston+, OPW’s marketing-communications partner. Darren touched on how the development of content and marketing programs for petroleum-equipment manufacturers remains important in building a loyal and educated customer base, but highlighted how the growth of new media – YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. – is prompting manufacturers to take a fresh look at their marketing programs as younger social-media savvy people enter the petroleum industry.

Season 4 - Episode 1

Ed Kammerer and Jonathan Stong – OPW's renowned “Pod-troleum Guys” – launched Season 4 of The Fueling Station Podcast in an optimistic mood as they set up shop at the recent WPMA EXPO 2025 in Las Vegas. With the future looking bright for the petroleum industry, Ed and Jonathan welcomed Paul Nelson of Dover Fueling Solutions for an informative chat regarding the state of fleet fueling, which is a critical niche within the vehicle-fueling universe. Paul painted a promising picture for the future of fleet fueling with new technologies making these types of operations safer, more reliable and more secure than ever.

Season 3 - Episode 10

In the year's final episode of The Fueling Station Podcast, OPW's renowned "Pod-troleum Guys," Ed Kammerer and Jonathan Stong, take a look back at the many highlights of 2024, including the important industry topics they discussed and educated their listeners on, the interesting people they met and the exciting sites they saw all over the world, and set the stage for an even better 2025.

Season 3 - Episode 9

One of the most important parts of the retail-fueling ecosystem can be a vehicle wash. In this latest installment of The Fueling Station Podcast, OPW's "Pod-troleum Guys," Ed Kammerer and Jonathan Stong, welcomed the "Car Wash Guy," Mack Ewing of Turtle Wax Pro. During Turtle Wax Pro's first PEI/NACS Show as a member of the OPW Vehicle Wash Solutions family, Mack filled in the listeners on the growth of vehicle washes in retail-fueling settings and how partnering with the right chemical provider can take wash performance to new heights.

Season 3 - Episode 8

The "Pod-troleum Guys" - OPW's Ed Kammerer and Jonathan Stong - welcomed a special guest to The Fueling Station Podcast during their recent appearance at the PEI/NACS Show in Las Vegas: Perry Paganelli of CAF Outdoor Cleaning. The lively discussion touched on the importance of achieving and maintaining forecourt cleanliness along with the many benefits an appealing fueling experience can create for a retail-fueling/convenience-store business.

Season 3 - Episode 7

Things were hopping for Ed Kammerer and Jonathan Stong - the beloved "Pod-troleum Guys" - at the recent PEI/NACS Show in Las Vegas, but that didn't prevent them from sitting down with Justin Eyes, OPW Retail Fueling Product Manager, for a discussion on the latest advances in dispenser-sump technology. Specifically, they highlighted the benefits of the Pre-Plumbed DSE Dispenser Sump and the new HiFlo version, which helps keep service stations and truck stops running by eliminating installation-related downtime and errors.

Season 3 - Episode 6

The latest episode of The Fueling Station Podcast, featuring "Pod-troleum Guys" Ed Kammerer and Jonathan Stong, shines a bright light on all things Diesel Exhaust Fluid, or DEF, as the guys welcome special guest Steve Cox of KleerBlue. The wide-ranging and informative conversation examines the current state of DEF usage in North America and around the world, along with the characteristics that make its handling, storage and transport unique in the motor-fuel market, and notes that it is a commodity whose use will continue to grow as regulations governing that use become even stricter in future years.

Season 3 - Episode 5

In the latest episode of The Fueling Station, OPW’s Ed Kammerer and Jonathan Stong – the “Pod-troleum Guys” – take the podcast International as they check in from the recent UNITI Expo in Stuttgart, Germany. While there, they highlighted the differences in the retail-fueling markets in Europe when compared to North America while noting that ensuring a safe, efficient and reliable fueling process is imperative on both continents.

Season 3 - Episode 4

Ed Kammerer and Jonathan Stong – OPW Retail Fueling’s “Pod-troleum Guys” – report from OPW’s manufacturing facility in Smithfield, NC, where the company was hosting its 2024 Distributor Summit. This get-together is an annual opportunity to showcase new and existing OPW products and educate distributors – the lifeblood of OPW’s supply chain – while illustrating how the products, operations and people – OPW’s revered “secret sauce” – make it a global leader in fluid-handling solutions. Along the way, Ed and Jonathan talked with a number of distributor attendees to get their views on the event and suggestions for how to tweak and improve future Distributor Summits.

Season 3 - Episode 3

Flexible piping has been used successfully in product-piping systems at retail-fueling sites for many years. So, why hasn’t flexible piping been a first-choice technology in vent-pipe applications? In the latest episode of The Fueling Station podcast, recorded at the recent SE Petro Show in Myrtle Beach, SC, OPW’s Ed Kammerer and Jonathan Stong – the “Pod-troleum Guys” – answer that question and also explain, with the help of special guest Dan Boyle, the many benefits that both the distributor and the end user can realize when flexible vent pipe is utilized at the fueling site.

Season 3 - Episode 2

OPW's "Pod-troleum Guys" – Ed Kammerer and Jonathan Stong – welcomed special guest Shawn Austin, Executive Vice President of National Distribution for JF Petroleum Group, who stopped by for a chat at the recent 2024 WPMA Show in Las Vegas, NV. The guys did a deep dive on the evolution of the design, construction, installation and cost of fueling systems for use at retail-fueling sites. Specifically, they highlighted how this evolution – especially in the area of prefabricated or pre-plumbed components and systems – has helped create new best practices at the fueling site that result in a safer, more efficient, more cost-effective, more reliable, more risk-averse and more environmentally friendly retail-fueling operation.

Season 3 - Episode 1

OPW's "Pod-troleum Guys" – Ed Kammerer and Jonathan Stong – launched Season 3 of The Fueling Station podcast at the 2024 WPMA Show in Las Vegas, NV. The guys gave us a taste of what to expect in Season 3, which will build on the foundation that Ed and Jonathan laid in the first two seasons. This includes focusing on important topics in the retail-fueling industry and the ways that OPW's products and systems can help fuel retailers optimize safety, reliability, efficiency and environmental consciousness at their sites, all while providing a memorable and loyalty-building fueling experience for their customers.

Season 2 - Episode 3

In the latest episode of “The Fueling Station” podcast, OPW’s “Pod-troleum Guys,” Ed Kammerer and Jonathan Stong, welcomed Scott Boorse, Director of Technical Programs & Industry Affairs for the Petroleum Equipment Institute (PEI) to the show. Their discussion revolved around the importance of ensuring safety in all aspects of retail fueling, with an emphasis on PEI’s current efforts to create a series of Recommended Practices dedicated strictly to safety measures, the first of which highlights ways to optimize fall protection at fueling facilities. In the end, maximizing safety means leaving the facility as safe when you leave as it was when you arrived, with OPW’s industry-leading fuel-storage and -dispensing equipment lending a hand in that endeavor.

Season 2 - Episode 2

In the latest episode of The Fueling Station, hosts Ed Kammerer and Jonathan Stong – the “Pod-troleum Guys” Guys – visited with David Hardy, OPW Retail Fueling’s District Manager for the state of Texas, who spoke enthusiastically about the state of the industry in one of its most important regions. Specifically, there has been a lot of momentum in the installation of next-generation flexible-piping systems and spill-containment equipment, which dovetails with OPW’s recent release of the DSE and TSE models in the new E-Series family of Dispenser and Tank Sumps.

Season 2 - Episode 1

OPW's renowned "Pod-troleum Guys" – Ed Kammerer and Jonathan Stong – kicked off their trade-show (and podcast) season at WPMA 2023 in Las Vegas by recognizing their one-year anniversary and highlighting the robust show attendance and new products OPW has to offer as the retail-fueling industry continues to rebound. Special guest Dave Duncan, National Account Manager of IRPCO, also stopped by to offer his unique perspective on the state of new regulations that will be affecting the hanging hardware market niche.

Episode 7

Join host Ed Kammerer live from the 2022 PEI/NACS Show in Las Vegas as he is joined by Dan Boyle and extra special guest Scott Mehman. Together, Ed and his guests give an inside look at API tagging and some of the exciting new technology that is helping to revolutionize the industry!

Episode 6

OPW Director of Training Lewis Bell joined The Fueling Station podcast host Ed Kammerer from the floor of the recent PEI/NACS Show to discuss the importance of training and how OPW Retail Fueling has developed a wide range of materials that have been designed to make the training process for its equipment and systems as easy, comprehensive and helpful as possible.

Episode 5

Twenty-five years after OPW introduced its revolutionary PISCES fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) piping, also known as fiberglass "flex" pipe, the company remains a top producer of extruded piping that is used in retail-fueling systems. In the latest edition of The Fueling Station Podcast, OPW's "Pod-troleum Guys" Ed Kammerer and Jonathan Stong take to the manufacturing floor in Smithfield, NC, to discuss the latest extruded-pipe innovations that are coming off the assembly line at OPW Retail Fueling's manufacturing facility.

Episode 4

One of the most significant additions to the product menus at retail fueling sites in the past 15 years has been Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF), the use of which became mandated when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was looking for new and better ways to reduce the amount of sulfur-heavy emissions from diesel-powered trucks and automobiles and their harmful effects. In the latest edition of The Fueling Station Podcast, Ed Kammnerer and Jonathan Stong of OPW Retail Fueling - the "Pod-troluem Guys" - welcome Dan Boyle, OPW-RF Product Manager - Underground, for a discussion on DEF's use and its challenging handling characteristics, which make selecting and deploying DEF-compatible dispensing equipment paramount in helping to ensure a safe, reliable, cost-effective and efficient DEF program.

Episode 3

In the latest episode of The Fueling Station Podcast, Ed Kammerer and Jonathan Stong - the "Pod-troleum" Guys - take their show on the road to OPW Retail Fueling's headquarters in Smithfield, NC. There, they speak with Greg Kennedy, Director of Operations for OPW-RF, who discusses how advances in fiberglass-composite manufacturing processes are improving performance for OPW's fuel-containment products and systems.

Episode 2

In this episode of The Fueling Station, petroleum industry experts Ed Kammerer and Jonathan Stong welcome guest Dan Boyle to the podcast. Boyle, a Product Manager at OPW Retail Fueling, joins our hosts in sharing field stories and discussing the ins and outs of below ground installations.

Episode 1

OPW Retail Fueling is proud to announce the first episode of The Fueling Station Podcast! Join our hosts Ed Kammerer and Johnathan Stong as they take you into the world of retail fueling. With over 50 combined years of experience, our hosts break down current events in the industry and tell some stories along the way. Our first episode was recorded live at the WPMA show in Las Vegas.