Today we’d like to introduce you to Jane Gates.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
After 17 years, I chose to voluntarily transition out of my corporate career as an analytical chemist in 2006. Those years were spent supporting research and development in the micro-electronics, semi-conductor, and hard disc drive manufacturing industries. My passion had always been environmental science and applied chemical analysis. A match presented itself in 2007 in the form of a fuel combustion catalyst product that was being marketed to consumers via a direct sales model. This was through a local business networking group that I had recently joined. It sparked (no pun intended) my nascent drive to do something good for the environment.
From that serendipitous encounter began the long journey to becoming first a sole proprietor then the founder of a multi-million dollar company dedicated to manufacturing and distributing of a proprietary liquid fuel borne catalyst (FBC) formulation. The company, Better Diesel FBC Inc is now in its 12th year of business. Our market is mostly independent owners of heavy duty diesel transport trucks used to haul and deliver goods throughout the US and Canada, Our distribution network includes over 120 retail shops and diesel engine repair locations. The two main benefits of using diesel treated with Better Diesel FBC are up to 10% better combustion efficiency and approximately 70% less soot and smoke pollution. This alone provides a 5-8 fold return on investment to owner operators through far fewer repair bills and downtime caused by harmful diesel emissions. The use of our product can make a critical difference towards ensuring that a trucking business maintains its profit margins in spite of rising costs and the cyclical challenges of transport supply and demand.
Reduced consumption of diesel fuel is also good for the planet given that the complete combustion of a single gallon of diesel fuel releases 22.4 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere. This make use of the FBC part of the “all of the above” strategy for reducing global carbon emissions while at the same time reduces tailpipe emissions known to be hazardous to human health.
I am now fortunate to be comfortably semi-retired and happily spending my office hours tracking sales and providing on-going customer support. Each and every conversation I have with either a customer or one of my 3 other business owner colleagues brings me joy – I count my many blessings.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it was absolutely not a smooth road. The biggest challenge was overcoming a deep market skepticism around the myriad fuel additive products with claims of improved fuel economy. The biggest incentive available to me for taking this on was through knowing that the foundation of our product claims of improved combustion efficiency were based on solid scientific research. As a research-level chemist, I was able to understand this and transfer that foundational information to others. Even so, there was (and typically is) a long road from laboratory testing to market acceptance, especially when the target market consumers have a huge amount of capital tied up in very expensive assets, i.e., 18-wheelers.
The second biggest challenge was finding trustworthy business people to partner up with. No one can do this alone. Rather, building a company from the ground up takes a team of individuals with expertise in different areas working together under consistent and patient guidance. That was my role – I was on a continual quest to uncover resources necessary for adding the next rung to the ladder to market success. It was hard going but at the same time exhilarating – Fridays seemed to roll around too soon, and Mondays were always something to look forward to.
I certainly experienced a lot of false starts, interpersonal conflicts, and disappointments along the way before a team of mission critical business partners finally materialized. In hindsight, the message is that with each breakdown comes the learning of a new key insight for finding a path to strength and resilience. Challenges are there to inspire transformation, and therefore, should be embraced as being meaningful, that they occur for a reason.
We’ve been impressed with Better Diesel FBC, Inc, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Manufacturer of a proprietary fuel borne combustion catalyst product known as Better Diesel, FBC https://betterdiesel.com/.
Better Diesel FBC is sold and distributed by Pittsburgh Power Inc, under their private label Max Mileage Fuel Borne Catalyst, https://pittsburghpower.com/collections/max-mileage-fbc.
Even though our product seemingly serves a very niche market, i.e., independent truck transport owner operators, there is another consumer category that benefits directly from the use of the FBC product and that is diesel pickup truck owners. Better Diesel FBC, a.k.a., Max Mileage Fuel Borne Catalyst effectively eliminates all operational problems caused by soot and carbon buildup in engines (valves, rings, cylinders, exhaust manifolds, and emissions control systems (EGR, DPF), as well as exhaust side components (sensors, turbo-chargers), enabling better fuel economy, far fewer engine repairs, and extended engine life. The product also works in gasoline.
What makes you happy?
Getting great feedback from our customers and meeting some of them personally every year at the MidAmerica Truck Show in Louisville, KY. Having the financial freedom to make satisfying life choices.
Pricing:
- 16-ounce bottles $32.95
- 1-gallon $235
- 5-gallon $1,150.00
- 55-gallond drum – call for pricing
- 1 gallon treats 3200 gallons of diesel
Contact Info:
- Website: https://pittsburghpower.com/collections/max-mileage-fbc
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/burghpower/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BurghPower1/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janegates/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@pittsburghpowerinc.5948
- Other: https://betterdiesel.com/
