Brad Ford

Testing has gone well so far. Burn and throw meet expectations. Glass adhesion has been better than expected - kinda hate to mention that, because it could be just in the right pouring conditions at the moment. Additional testing will bear that out. Hope to have product to see within a month. Will update more as details emerge. Brad

OK...I will let it go...this time! FYI on planning - Availability of the new wax blend will likely be mid to end of Sept. at the earliest.

We have added CO to proprietary blends for years. I can't say that scent throw was the only reason for its inclusion. It is believed to benefit overall burn quality - scent throw being a component of the burn quality. The degree of improvement is strictly subjective - there are too many variables to state as fact. The limited feedback is positive so far.

Where have you been? I have tried calling you for months!

I can't speak for TN. I suppose it might have more to do with the level of interest for the product. But they will certainly have access to it if they are interested. I hope to have some feedback on trials within a week or so.

I will have some samples available...but likely won't have enough for everyone - sorry. So when the time comes I will make an announcement and provide samples to the first "X" respondents. That's the only fair way I know at this point.

I hope to be able to offer it in about a month...

We are in the final phases of testing a new parasoy blend that includes coconut oil. I hope to have some positive feed back to report soon. Brad Ford Clarus Specialty Products

This is outside my area of expertise...not that I have much of any! But I would like to know myself.

Expect prices of paraffin and blends to increase . Just about everyone is going up sometime this month I think. Ours takes effect mid-month. IMO: Crude is doing some funny things - the more it fluctuates the harder things are to predict. I would say that most of the pressure for this increase is a tightening supply of products (i.e., inventories). But not due to availability...there is plenty of feed stocks on the market. Demand for fuels, and oil based products is still way down. Like any good business, the refineries have been cutting production to match demand. When inventories get too low prices go up. When they get high - prices go down. This is because refineries can never stop production - it is a 24/7/365 process. Only production rates are adjusted. The lower the production rate vs. plant capacity the more expensive the material produced becomes - it is a volume game. This is about 60% of the driver for price movements - the remaining is raw material costs (at least for wax). I think crude may slide back a bit, but i don't think we will see $30's - maybe mid $50's if we are lucky. However, I am certain of this - if/when the economy improves (which seems a ways off now) - the price of petroleum base products will go up fast. The refineries will not increase production until they are sure the increased demand is for real. This will put tremendous pressure on current (at that time) inventories. And then what happens? All together now...up, up and away. BUT - this assumes no hurricanes, war, etc....then who knows. That was more than you wanted to know wasn't it? Sorry for the rambling...

We have a product like that - 3020. We ship from Dallas, TX. That might be too far for you however. Let me know if I can help.

Do you mean 70% veggie - 30% paraffin? I have that combo as well as the exact opposite. If I can be of any help please let me know.

i would think that wicking up or using a more open structured wick would help if you are having trouble. A thicker fuel needs a bigger pipe...

Please note that micro wax may have up to triple the viscosity (thickness) of paraffin when it is liquefied. Petrolatum is essentially a high oil wax blend with lots of micro wax. With those 2 items at 40% of your formula, your finished wax blend will be much thicker/viscous than paraffin or soy by itself.

I would be happy to help you if you are looking for a 70/30 blend. Contact me for a sample. This blend is a standard stocking item in our Dallas, TX warehouse. Or perhaps you could contact TN Candle Supply. Brad

the warehouse in Dallas doesn't take the orders...you would need to contact us first. Let me know if I can help.

anyone near the Dallas area should give me a call...clearing out old inventory.

Wax prices in general were on their way down. However, a paraffin price war has erupted between the N. American and Asian manufacturers. Dramatic drops in the price of paraffin are due by end of Dec. 2008. This will likely push prices on all paraffin based wax blends down as well. Expect prices to move downward for the next few months...until someone "blinks". Who knows what happens after that.

posted this in another thread, but this is relative to this post...RE: wax prices. Demand for oil/fuel has dropped so far so fast, that most oil related products are also seeing a drastic slowdown. Like it or not, North American companies do a fair job of matching supply with demand. The same cannot be said for our friends in the Far East. Supplies there are starting to get long (high inventories). If crude stays down in 50-70 dollar range for a little while longer, there will be pressure to move this Wax (i.e., discount) from the Far East. This will drive the market price of wax down. I expect some softening on paraffin prices in early 2009. Demand during the holiday season is still high enough to keep prices from falling too much...but look out for the after Christmas sale!

I can feel the arm twisting already!

Hi Carole, Demand for oil/fuel has dropped so far so fast, that most oil related products are also seeing a drastic slowdown. Like it or not, North American companies do a fair job of matching supply with demand. The same cannot be said for our friends in the Far East. Supplies there are starting to get long (high inventories). If crude stays down in 50-70 dollar range for a little while longer, there will be pressure to move this Wax (i.e., discount) from the Far East. This will drive the market price of wax down. I expect some softening on paraffin prices in early 2009. Demand during the holiday season is still high enough to keep prices from falling too much...but look out for the after Christmas sale!

You can buy any brand/off brand of petroleum jelly - most of the "Vaseline" type products are produced by 2 or 3 packagers. As long as it says "USP Petrolatum" you can be assured it will work fine - no matter the brand.

paraffin prices are going to drop quickly...most likely around the first of next year. My advice is (for what its worth) - if you don't need it now...wait it out...prices will come down.

OUCH! I thought I try to add some info...it won't make anyone happy...but it might make more sense. Besides the 100% increase on crude oil from over a year ago, two domestic wax refineries announced they were ceasing production by the fall. Citgo and Marathon combined for well over 100 million pounds of waxes produced per year. That is now all gone. The remaining manufacturers cannot take up the slack - yet or maybe ever. Chinese imports are down to due to exchange rate and declining domestic (China) crude supplies. So we have a classic supply/ demand problem. Demand is outstripping supply which is driving up the price. Until this balances out - there will be no relief on paraffin prices. Now I have seen that soy prices have been steadily dropping all summer. Perhaps that will soon make its way down to the market. Just trying to keep it real... Brad

I am sorry to hear that some of you have had bad experiences with our wax. I am also sorry to hear that Green Leaf is no longer carrying this wax. They did a great job promoting this product. While I will be the first to admit there have been 2 or 3 batches that were outside the norm...over all - the product has remained very consistent for many years and hundreds of thousands of pounds of production history. We still have a large user base for this product and do have not plans to discontinue it. Interested parties can contact TN Candle supply. I am available to answer any questions. My toll free number is 866.400.0921. I hope this clears up some of the confusion. Brad Ford Clarus Speciatly Products www.claruswax.com