Case Study: Atlas Oil and A Large Food Manufacturing Plant
When a historic snowstorm swept across the United States, and Texas declared a state of emergency, one of the state’s largest food production facilities needed support, fast. Regional fuel supply was under threat, and any disruption would be costly—especially during Super Bowl season, one of the producer’s busiest periods of the year.
The situation called for a supplier who could get equipment on-site and natural gas flowing in under 24 hours, despite severe weather. It was a job that needed Atlas Oil.
“When the call came in, we knew there was no time to waste. Our team worked through the night—engineering the plan, aligning teams, and allocating resources,” said Clifton Dodge, Director of Business Development at Atlas Oil. “By morning, we were ready to hit the ground running. We were delivering natural gas to the facility in under 17 hours.”
Atlas was the only fuel supplier on site throughout the event, responsible for the full scope of temporary natural gas supply from engineering and equipment to logistics and continuous delivery.
By deploying an on-site engineer immediately and staging equipment in advance, Atlas delivered a level of service that would have been exceptional under any conditions, let alone the winter’s harshest storm. Here’s how careful planning and execution made it possible.
The Challenge: Sustaining Energy Supply Through a Winter Freeze
The facility is one of the largest food production sites in Texas, spanning 300,000 square feet with ten round-the-clock manufacturing lines. A loss of natural gas would bring production to a halt, and restarting an operation of this scale is neither quick nor simple.
The scale of the winter storm added another layer of complexity. Roads and overpasses were freezing. The job required drivers specially trained to operate in hazardous conditions. Equipment had to be staged and commissioned safely to withstand record low temperatures. Every link in the supply chain demanded careful preparation and experienced execution.
It was the kind of challenge that might overwhelm the average fuel supplier. But for Atlas—a prepared, end-to-end operator—there was never any doubt: compressed natural gas would keep flowing to the facility.
The Response: Designing and Executing a Freeze-Resilient Supply Plan
The call came in late, and Atlas moved immediately. Within hours, an Atlas engineer was on the ground at the Texas facility. Before equipment was mobilized, this on-site assessment established exactly what would be required to support continuous natural gas supply. System requirements were confirmed, and the necessary regulators and equipment were ordered without delay.
With the system defined, Atlas moved into logistics. Anticipating that travel conditions would deteriorate quickly, the team filled and staged compressed natural gas trailers ahead of the storm. By positioning supply in advance, Atlas reduced reliance on real-time transport during the most hazardous periods.
The trailers were supported by a regional compressor station, roughly a four-hour drive from the site under normal conditions. Maintaining flow across that distance during a freeze required careful scheduling, conservative routing, and experienced drivers accustomed to operating in winter conditions. As temperatures thawed slightly during the day, Atlas rotated in newly filled trailers, maintaining continuous supply without interruption.
The original engineer remained on-site as Atlas arrived and rigged up the system, overseeing setup through commissioning to ensure the configuration was executed correctly and safely. Within 17 hours of the initial call, Atlas had the system fully in place and began delivering compressed natural gas to the facility.
The Outcome: Reliable Performance Under Extreme Conditions
Atlas delivered uninterrupted natural gas supply to the Texas facility for the duration of the storm. Despite freezing temperatures, road closures, and regional disruption, the plant experienced no outages and no safety incidents. Production continued as scheduled.
Following the event, the client cited the level of service, responsiveness, and attention to detail as materially different from prior experiences. The speed of the initial site response and the stability of operations throughout the storm gave the facility confidence that supply would hold, even in severe weather.
The engagement took place under extreme conditions, but for Atlas, it was business as usual. Around-the-clock fuel support is built on careful planning, a robust physical footprint, and teams with experience across every operating environment.
For this food manufacturing facility—and for customers across industries—working with Atlas means exceptional service, no matter the environment.
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