Gas Reclaimers Systems have saved car rental companies thousands of dollars by using patent-pending technology to remove fuel from turn-back vehicles.Gregory Francois understands the ever-present need for car rental companies to keep costs down while maximizing revenue opportunities. That’s why he founded Gas Reclaimers Systems (GRS) – a company that removes the fuel from late model vehicles sitting in auction.

This product is patent-pending and fully compliant with the strict air quality standards of local and state governments.
Based in Granada Hills, Calif., GRS is now operating in more than 20 cities nationwide and has extracted over three million gallons of gasoline – saving their customers a total exceeding three million dollars.

Overcoming Obstacles
Early in the development process of the gas reclaiming device, Francois says his team realized there was a serious barrier to making this idea a reality. Auto makers had developed technology that prevents anyone from entering the fuel tank through the filler neck. In order to reclaim the gas in the most efficient way, GRS had to create a method that would bypass these anti-siphon devices.

After several thousand dollars and hundreds of research hours, GRS developed a proprietary technique for safely removing the fuel, saving car rental companies thousands of dollars. Vanguard was the first company to show serious interest in the services offered by GRS.

Now, GRS also has contracts with Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Hertz Rent A Car, Dollar Thrifty Rent A Car, EZ Rent A Car, Advantage Rent A Car, U.S. Rent A Car and Fox Rent A Car.

Safety First
Francois and his partners met with local air quality and fire authorities and eventually designed their first prototype in late 2002.For two years GRS worked directly with the Air Quality Management District of Southern California. To date, the only mass-produced reclamation machines made in the United States are compliant with the California Air Resources Board’s criteria.

As members of the National Fire Protection Association, Francois’ crew has access to fire consultants and is constantly updated on changes in fire codes. In fact, GRS has input into new codes developed within the field.

Car rental companies that purchase the GRS equipment are also given a hotline number to discuss recent updates.

The Costs
Francois’ reclaiming service requires no up-front cash lay-out from the customer. He says they provide the labor, state-of-the-art EPA compliant equipment, liability insurance and the efficient method for bypassing anti-siphon devices.

Car rental companies tell GRS when to service their turn-back vehicles, and then the gas will be extracted from the cars without any out-of-pocket expense. A daily and month-end report is also provided, showing the number of cars serviced and the number of gallons returned to the car rental company’s holding fuel tank.

GRS charges by the gallon to remove the fuel. The price does not fluctuate with gas prices; they fix their price and lock it in for as long as their cost structure remains the same.“Your gas is extracted from your turn-backs, returned to your tank and resold to your customers – all before you pay us,” Francois says.

Cost savings depends on the customer’s commitment, says Francois. Some locations are saving thousands of dollars and have cut gas purchases by as much as 50 percent.

One Customer’s Experience
As the director of airport concessions for Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Mike Souza employs Gas Reclaimers Systems’ services at both small and larger rental fleet locations.

Souza uses the services in two ways—by leasing the equipment and using DTAG employees to reclaim the fuel, or by contracting with GRS directly to come out to his locations. The choice is made based on fleet size and availability of GRS manpower in a market.

The key to optimizing the return on investment is in the logistics, Souza says. As a service, operators should make sure plenty of vehicles are on hand to de-gas to optimize the trip. When the equipment is leased, employees need to be reminded to use it to cover the monthly fee. It makes more sense to lease the equipment for fleet sizes more than 400 cars. If available, the on-site service works best for smaller fleets.

Here is wishing car-rental innovation GODSPEED ahead!