VALDOSTA — With three generations involved, Akins LLC, formerly known as Akins Petroleum Company, has been providing fuel-related service to Valdosta for 40 years.

The current owner, Brooks Akins, spent time working the full-service gas stations when he was younger, but now he runs his father’s company, he said.

In the past Akins Petroleum Company owned several gas stations, but in 2005 Akins changed the company’s name to Akins LLC.

Now, approximately half of the business “falls under the propane side of things,” Akins said.

The propane is sold to both residential and commercial customers, he said. The company also equips appliances, such as stoves, to use propane and installs water heaters for houses and businesses.

When a business or a home is transitioning to propane, or are in need of an update, the company has a team that can assess the current infrastructure of a building, he said. After, understanding how the building currently functions, an Akins LLC crew will install the infrastructure needed by the owner of the building.

The company also builds outdoor heating spaces, Akins said. It takes requests and ideas from customers on what they want for outdoor heating. The company will help the customer from planning and installation to maintenance of a system.

“We go from your idea to reality,” he said.

The outdoor heating is not a current focus, but Akins plans to add kits to the showroom so that customers are more aware of the possibilities. 

“With the lack of cold winters the last few years, we are looking to add more outdoor kits,” he said.

The propane is also used for inside fireplaces and grills, Akins said.

The company offers a service that includes an employee going around and refilling gas tanks, or a customer can come into the store and refill there.

Akins LLC does not provide natural gas, but does have a crew dedicated to service and maintenance of existing gas lines, including natural gas lines, he said.

Akins said residents often try to fix or maintain their own gas lines, and he cautions against it.

“There’s a common misconception that because a plumber knows how to run a line they can do it,” he said. “Gas is like anything else — there is an inherent danger.”

He gave the example of using an electrician to rewire a house or building to show that there is specific training and experience needed to run and maintain gas lines.

The company also provides diesel fuel for vehicle fleets, farmers, construction sites and fuel islands, Akins said.

Fuel islands are similar to gas stations but do not have anyone there to operate them, he said. Companies can give employees a key to be able to access the fuel island and track how much fuel each employee uses at the island.

For a company that has several vehicles, Akins LLC can set up a fueling station for the company, Akins said. Akins can provide the fuel for the fueling station with its gas tankers.

Though it is typically a little more expensive than using a regular gas station, companies that use a fuel station on site are able to better monitor employees’ times while fueling vehicles and not need to send employees off of company property to do it, he said.

Fueling stations can be built at residential homes as well, but is much less common, Akins said.

The company provides lubricants to several of the quick lube shops around town and also services large reservoirs of oil for companies, he said.

It has added filtration systems to the large hydraulic reservoirs to help keep companies from having to buy brand new oil every time the lubricant begins to get dirty or starts to go bad, he said.

Aside from directly servicing customers, the company also acts as a supplier for other retail outlets, Akins said. 

The company receives gasses, fuels and lubricants in bulk and acts as a secondary supplier from the original source to other retail outlets, he said. However, Akins LLC is a retail outlet for the products and has its own brand. 

One of the lesser known services the company offers is fueling propane-powered cars, Akins said.

The company cannot retrofit a vehicle to be fueled by propane but it can provide customers with leads on conversion kits and mechanics who are capable of doing the conversion.

There may not be as many propane fueling stations around, but it is “cleaner than gasoline, requires less maintenance and the cost per mile is less expensive,” Akins said.

He said propane-powered vehicles are likely to become more commonplace because the infrastructure to fuel vehicles with propane already exists.

Akins LLC is located at 908 S. Patterson St. and is open 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday, but has someone available for emergencies 24/7.

For more information call (229) 247-1839 or visit http://akinsllc.com or find Akins Petroleum Company on Facebook. 

Jason Smith is a reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times. He can be contacted at 229-244-3400 ext.1256.