Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 supplier of propane

Propane

Propane is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula , normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as a fuel for engines, oxy-gas torches, barbecues, portable stoves, and residential central...

. Ferrellgas has corporate operations in the Kansas City

Kansas City Metropolitan Area

The Kansas City Metropolitan Area is a fifteen-county metropolitan area that is anchored by Kansas City, Missouri and is bisected by the border between the states of Missouri and Kansas. As of the 2010 Census, the metropolitan area has a population of 2,035,334. The metropolitan area is the...

 suburbs of Liberty, Missouri

Liberty, Missouri

Liberty is a city in Clay County, Missouri and is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. At the 2007 population estimate, the city population was 29,993...

 and Overland Park, Kansas

Overland Park, Kansas

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 149,080 people, 59,703 households, and 39,702 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,627.0 people per square mile . There were 62,586 housing units at an average density of 1,102.9 per square mile...

.

The company was founded in 1939 by A.C. Ferrell in Atchison, Kansas

Atchison, Kansas

Atchison is a city situated along the Missouri River in the eastern part of Atchison County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 11,021. It is the county seat and most populous city of Atchison County...

. Renaming itself Ferrellgas when A.C.'s son James assumed control, the company expanded across the Missouri River

Missouri River

The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...

 to acquire a Rushville, Missouri

Rushville, Missouri

Rushville is a village in Buchanan County, Missouri, United States. The population was 280 at the 2000 census, at which time it was a town. It is part of the St...

 dealer in 1968. In the next ten years, the company acquired other Midwestern dealers and established a wholesale operation, and profited amid the energy crises of 1973

1973 oil crisis

The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...

 and 1979

1979 energy crisis

The 1979 oil crisis in the United States occurred in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. Amid massive protests, the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, fled his country in early 1979 and the Ayatollah Khomeini soon became the new leader of Iran. Protests severely disrupted the Iranian oil...

. During that time, the Ferrellgas headquarters shifted, moving first to Platte City, Missouri

Platte City, Missouri

Platte City is a city in Platte County, Missouri, along the Little Platte River. The population was 3,866 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Platte County.-Geography:Platte City is located at...

 before moving further east to Kearney

Kearney, Missouri

Kearney is a city in Clay County, Missouri, United States. The population was estimated to be 8,599 in 2008. It is most famous for being the birthplace of Jesse James, and there is an annual festival in the third weekend of September to recognize the notorious outlaw.Kearney was unofficially...

. Its expansion continued, opening Ferrell North America

Ferrell North America

Ferrell North America performs propane trading and distribution for more than 600 Ferrellgas locations. Founded in Houston, Texas in 1977, Ferrell North America also purchases, trades, sells, stores, and transports natural gas liquids and oil refinery feedstocks in conjunction with major oil...

, a propane and feedstock distribution arm, in 1977. In 2004 it acquired Blue Rhino. Ferrellgas is the second largest propane distributor in the United States.

In September 2009, James E. Ferrell stepped down as CEO in favor of his hand-picked successor, Steve Wambold. Wambold, a ten-year company veteran, had served as the company's president and COO since 2005.

Although publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange

New York Stock Exchange

The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...

 since 1994, the Ferrell family maintains a presence with the company. James E. Ferrell

James E. Ferrell

James E. Ferrell has served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ferrellgas since 1965, when he assumed leadership from his father, company founder A.C. Ferrell. Since the time he took over, Ferrellgas has grown from a small, independently owned propane company to the nation’s...

 continues to serve as the company's chairman, and has twice been elected president of the World LP Gas Association

World LP Gas Association

The World LP Gas Association is a worldwide industry association which represents the interests of the liquefied petroleum gas industry globally.The Association's mission is to:...

. Through a stock ownership plan, Ferrellgas employees own a total of 18 million shares, out of 31.3 million shares outstanding.

Ferrellgas has approximately 800 retail locations in all 50 states in addition to Blue Rhino locations in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

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