Bantam Fuel is now Bantam Home & Energy!

LITCHFIELD, Conn. - July 22, 2013 - PRLog -- The company is changing its name to reflect the fact it has expanded its product and service offerings over the past decade beyond its core products of heating oil and propane gas delivery and service, Aziz said.

The name change is scheduled to take effect next week, said Peter Aziz, the company’s president.

Bantam Home & Energy now offers its customers such products and services as plumbing, air conditioning, generators, ultrasound analysis of oil tanks, insulation services, dynamic price caps, interactive home energy assessments, and heaters for swimming pools, in addition to comprehensive home heating and water heating.

“The name Bantam Fuel worked fine for us when most of our business involved delivering heating oil and propane to our customers and servicing their equipment,” Aziz said. “But we’ve evolved to the point where we offer so much more than that. The name Bantam Fuel just doesn’t accurately describe our business anymore.”

“Changing our name to ‘Bantam Home & Energy’ helps reflect what we are already doing as a company,” he added. “And it definitely reflects what customers want today.”  

When asked if the company is seeking to further expand the products and services it offers, Aziz said “We like to keep our eyes open, and we’re always looking to expand what we can offer to our customers.  At the same time, we won’t expand into a new line until we are certain we can provide the very best service available.”

The company has made the unusual decision to provide broad bundles of services to homeowners, rather than billing separately for each thing.  For example the new “Preferred Bundle,” at the same basic cost as a traditional service contract, will include a free Home Energy Assessment, a free Ultrasound analysis of basement oil tanks, a free Efficiency Tune-Up, and a standing 20% discount on all repairs, in addition to 12-month 0% financing on new equipment, 12-month budgeting, online account management, and of course Automatic Delivery of oil and propane.  And Preferred Bundle customers never pay extra for nighttime or weekend repairs, while getting priority scheduling.

“This is a radical shift from the way other fuel companies treat their customers,” Aziz said.  “Once a customer selects a bundle, we treat them like a member of the family, and make sure they get all the services their home needs to be efficient and comfortable.”

The current name change represents the third time the company has changed its name in its 83-year history.

Founded in 1930 as the Bantam Supply Company, it was a retail hardware operation and small motor repair shop that also delivered some coal and kerosene.  In 1981, two years after it was acquired by Paul Aziz (Peter’s father), Bantam Supply acquired the Litchfield Fuel Company and changed its name to Bantam Supply & Litchfield Fuel.

The company began expanding its product and service lines in 1987 when it first offered propane to its customers. It introduced price caps in 1992, and heating system installations soon thereafter.  In 2000, the name was shortened to Bantam Fuel.

In 2006, it became the first heating oil company in Litchfield County and one of the first in the state to provide BioHeat to all of its customers. Bantam BioHeat is a blend of premium heating oil and up to 5 percent biodiesel, a natural, renewable resource, making it the cleanest, most efficient home heating oil available.

The following year, 2007, the company began installing and servicing air conditioning equipment and propane pool heaters. It began selling and servicing generators a few years ago and added plumbing to its list of services in 2011.

Bantam Home & Energy employs more than 50 people, including about 30 in its core businesses and an additional 20 people at the two gasoline stations it operates in Litchfield – the Irving Gas Station, at 250 West St., and Bantam Fuel Mart, at 199 West St.

The company services several thousand propane and heating oil customers in a 20-town region that includes most of Litchfield County and a portion of  New Haven County, said Aziz, who is also the incoming Chairman of the Connecticut Energy Marketers Association.

For more information go to BantamFuel.com or call 860-567-9431.