Eco-entrepreneur tests fuel-saving products

Montana Business Quarterly, Summer, 2008 by Amy Joyner

"We spill as much gasoline in the United States when filling lawn mowers as what the Exxon Valdez will carry," Pete Deneault adds. The EPA Web site clarifies his assertion, saying that 17 million gallons of fuel, mostly gasoline, are spilled each year while refueling lawn equipment. That's more than all the oil spilled by the Valdez in the Gulf of Alaska.

Saving fuel is a separate issue for many consumers, he admits, because the cost of a residential EnviroGard push mower is about $1,400. Fabian Deneault adds that as environmental concerns grow, certain consumers will come around.

His brother knows that is a high price and hopes it may go down over time. "I don't control the price, Larry [Coker] does," he tells.

One of those potential customers is a 25-year friend of the Deneault brothers--Andy Holmlund, superintendent of Ronan School District No. 30. Holmlund says that during conversations with Fabian Deneault, he asked, "What available products are out there to create an environmental benefit?"

The EnviroGard mowers were one product that attracted Holmlund's interest, and they're being tested this summer on the 10-plus acres of grass that the school district must mow. Holmlund explains, "It reduces pollutants. There's an economical cost savings in propane versus [other] fuels. And there's safety in that storage in closed fuel containers."

Big Sky Enviroproducts arranged for the district's use of a commercial-grade propane mower, which will be tested for two weeks side-by-side with a traditional gasoline mower the district owns.

"We'll be able to cost out some things. I'm a tad bit of a skeptical human being," Holmlund adds. "I like to see the proof in the pudding."

When testing is complete, Big Sky Enviroproducts will post results on its Web site, www.bigskyenviro-products.com.

Mach 3 Super EcoFuel Saver

With their environmental antennae up about the benefits of propane lawn mowers, Big Sky Enviroproducts started to look seriously at investing in products that increase the efficiency of gas and diesel engines. In Las Vegas last year, Fabian Deneault met with another Montana-raised businessman, Tracey Marquardt, CEO of Consortium Strategies, LLC, a service and distribution company that offers cost-effective, fuel-saving products and labor-conserving products for engines. Their customers are everyday consumers and corporate fleets looking to save fuel, money, and the environment.

Consortium Strategies' Mach 3 Technologies division markets Mach 3 gas treatment. Tested by SAE certified laboratories, Mach 3 improves gas mileage for gasoline and diesel engines by as much as 20 percent, while reducing emissions by approximately 40 percent.

The Deneault brothers are investing their money, as well as confidence, by working with Marquart to market this fuel "reformulator" that not only boosts engine performance but also reduces pollution emissions.

"Mach 3 is not really an additive or a treatment. It's a fuel reformulator, or a fuel conditioner," Pete Deneault notes. "There are so many treatments and additives that have given the products a bad name." The Deneaults will always call their product a "fuel reformulator."