Diesel fuel is being shipped into the Port of Palm Beach and distributed to commercial customers for the first time, and that's making life easier for wholesale distributors such as Carlos Arruza.
"We used to have to go to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale and wait in long lines," said Arruza, president of SSI Petroleum in Belle Glade. "We're saving time and money, and it's saving our customers money, too."
Nearby were two gleaming white double-walled steel storage tanks with a total capacity of 6 million gallons. More than 150 people attended the grand opening of the diesel terminal Wednesday.
The terminal is the brainchild of the Vecellio Group Inc., a major contracting, mining and energy company headquartered in suburban West Palm Beach that is perhaps best-known through its Ranger Construction subsidiary as a road and bridge builder.
"We located it at the Port of Palm Beach because strategically it was the optimal place," said Christopher Vecellio, 30, who heads Vecenergy, the privately held firm's energy division.
The terminal is the only one for diesel fuel between Port Everglades and Port Canaveral, said Vecellio, who declined to provide the cost of the three-year project.
"In case of a hurricane, this is additional storage," he said. "There should now be more fuel sitting in the state."
San Antonio, Texas-based Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO, $64.68) is supplying the low-sulfur and ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, mostly from its Texas refineries, said Jerry McVicker, Valero's vice president of wholesale marketing. McVicker said the diesel fuel will be sold mostly to commercial and industrial users. Currently, it's selling about 30 truckloads of 1,500 barrels each every day.
Lori Baer, the port's executive director, said the operation also is providing jobs.
"Each time a diesel vessel comes in, there is a cascading result of 20 men working for three weeks," Baer said.
Vecenergy is one of more than a dozen divisions of Vecellio Group, which includes ventures as diverse as golf course construction and lime rock mining.
"We are trying to insulate ourselves from the ups and downs of the economy," Christopher Vecellio said.
Vecellio said the energy division began in 2004 with a liquid asphalt terminal at the Port of Palm Beach. Since then, it has grown to include fuel-offloading services at Port Everglades.
It's also producing 35 million gallons a year of biodiesel using inedible plant oils and animal fats in Spain through a partnership with BIDA, a leading European biodiesel technology firm.
Vecenergy is expanding its biodiesel operations with plants in northern Spain and Costa Rica and is looking into doing something similar in Florida, Vecellio said.
"We used to have to go to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale and wait in long lines," said Arruza, president of SSI Petroleum in Belle Glade. "We're saving time and money, and it's saving our customers money, too."
Nearby were two gleaming white double-walled steel storage tanks with a total capacity of 6 million gallons. More than 150 people attended the grand opening of the diesel terminal Wednesday.
The terminal is the brainchild of the Vecellio Group Inc., a major contracting, mining and energy company headquartered in suburban West Palm Beach that is perhaps best-known through its Ranger Construction subsidiary as a road and bridge builder.
"We located it at the Port of Palm Beach because strategically it was the optimal place," said Christopher Vecellio, 30, who heads Vecenergy, the privately held firm's energy division.
The terminal is the only one for diesel fuel between Port Everglades and Port Canaveral, said Vecellio, who declined to provide the cost of the three-year project.
"In case of a hurricane, this is additional storage," he said. "There should now be more fuel sitting in the state."
San Antonio, Texas-based Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO, $64.68) is supplying the low-sulfur and ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, mostly from its Texas refineries, said Jerry McVicker, Valero's vice president of wholesale marketing. McVicker said the diesel fuel will be sold mostly to commercial and industrial users. Currently, it's selling about 30 truckloads of 1,500 barrels each every day.
Lori Baer, the port's executive director, said the operation also is providing jobs.
"Each time a diesel vessel comes in, there is a cascading result of 20 men working for three weeks," Baer said.
Vecenergy is one of more than a dozen divisions of Vecellio Group, which includes ventures as diverse as golf course construction and lime rock mining.
"We are trying to insulate ourselves from the ups and downs of the economy," Christopher Vecellio said.
Vecellio said the energy division began in 2004 with a liquid asphalt terminal at the Port of Palm Beach. Since then, it has grown to include fuel-offloading services at Port Everglades.
It's also producing 35 million gallons a year of biodiesel using inedible plant oils and animal fats in Spain through a partnership with BIDA, a leading European biodiesel technology firm.
Vecenergy is expanding its biodiesel operations with plants in northern Spain and Costa Rica and is looking into doing something similar in Florida, Vecellio said.