Success Story

success story

Over the past ten years, our client spent good money to dispose of his wasted feedstock product. At a conference, he learned about a new extrusion method that could take his waste product and create an alternative fuel that could be used in vehicles and home heating systems. He and his brother built a custom fuel plant that processed their excess soybeans. Working with national experts, they discovered a proprietary formula for manufacturing ultra soybean oil into a “better than biodiesel” fuel additive.

Our client came to us with an idea which was outrageous at the time. He wanted to build the first soybean oil refinery in the Mid Atlantic States. Our job was the commercialization of his BioFuel product. At the start of the project, we immediately identified potential funding sources and made application that received a significant funding to jumpstart the project. The Xcelon Group was responsible for all phases of the business plan, which included the financial packaging, pricing structure, advertising and promotional material, brand identity, target market segments and sale and distribution channels, public relations.

We began with the feasibility study which determined the market was ripe for BioFuel. Using a variety of innovative marketing techniques, we got clients into the refinery by offering tours, giving lunch and learn sessions and good old-fashioned targeted personal solicitation. Using a relationship business model, we wedged into the oil and gas industries to carve out our own all American fuel additive niche.   Our media blitz included CBS News, 3 national magazines, local TV, newspaper and radio.

Legislative dignitaries from the Governor’s Offices and State Department visited the site. Transportation, energy, school districts were the focus for the roll-out. Within the first three months, The Xcelon team managed to generate very positive results apparent in sales and inquires. Created a new customer base, numbers of sales leads, number of new market segments and number of new partnership agreements.

In summary, we were selling a unknown product, with no value, no public awareness. We were involved in every phase of the marketing process from concept to implementation to generating consumer demand. Today, the product has received national attention and we have just begun to offer franchising opportunities.

In 2006, our client entered into Phase III of product development. They were awarded an Alternative Fuel Incentive Grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to build the state's first waterless biodiesel refinery. As of March 2007, the plant is producing 6,000 gallons of ASTM 6751 biodiesel daily. Capacity has dramatically increased from 1,000,000 gallons annually to 3,000,000. In June 2007, we facilitated a Governor's Press conference at our client's refinery that featured the company as a model business for gaining Energy Independence. We worked with one of the state's largest newspapers for a 1 1/2 full color story regarding the Company, their products and pictures of the facilities. (It is estimated that a full color advertisement of this size would have cost our client over $10,000 - we had it published for FREE.)

In July 2007, our client is embarking on a new venture. This time they are building a Waste Use to Biodiesel Facility adjunct to his other two businesses. Working with regional food businesses, they will collect used yellow cooking oil and manufacture it into biodiesel. This will bring biodiesel to market at a far more competitive price around $150 - $1.75/gallon - which should help boost Pennsylvania production sales. By using the waste cooking oil, usually made from soybean oil, they are creating a new after market for soybean taking the demand off virgin soybean oil to make biofuel and playing havoc with the agriculture commodities prices.

We can hardly wait to see what is next !

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