A Triple Point Update
I’ve been hearing and seeing a lot about Triple Point’s efforts in the biofuels market lately. They have been holding a number of seminars (like this one) and, according to the preverbal “word on the street”, seemed to be getting quite a bit of traction with the emerging market (read signing new customers). I called Michael Schwartz, the company’s chief marketing officer, to get a clearer picture of the biofuels market.
According to Michael, the biofuels market is really starting to pick up. Since releasing their “Commodity XL for Biofuels” product mid year, they have signed two new customers in the space, one in Europe and one in the US, and are continuing to get a number of inquiries for it. I asked Michael what in particular, if anything, separates their product from others that offer fuels functionality. He said that ultimately it came down to Triple Point’s ability to manage not only the fuel component, but also their capabilities in managing “softs”. Biofuel producers require the ability to track and manage multiple commodity components (including multiple feed stocks and finished products) seamlessly. Put another way, and via Triple Point literature, “Commodity XL for Biofuels has energy yield equivalent curves that provide precise hedge quantities for spot and forward markets allowing traders, for example, to manage the relationships between agriculture, crude oil and refined products.”
Despite some mixed press on whether biofuels can ultimately displace a significant amount crude-only based fuel products, Triple Point appears to be well positioned in that market.