FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS TO 48 YEARS OF COMMUNITY PROPANE SERVICE

If you look at Kamps Propane today, it’s hard to imagine that the company first started its operations out of a two-bedroom apartment. But that’s exactly what happened when John Kamps started his company in Manteca. 

It all started in 1966. John was working at a company called Suburban (Doxol) Gas in Pomona, California. About three years later, when he was 25 years old, he asked his bosses if they could help him open his own business.

“They sold me a used truck. I opened my office in the second bedroom of my two- bedroom apartment and went to work.” In 2014 the company celebrated its 45th anniversary and the John still works at the office in Manteca.

Those humble beginnings didn’t last long. Kamps Propane’s success story now includes retail, BBQ exchange and wholesale operations, with over 2.5 million gallons of in-field propane storage. There are now 13 Kamps Propane offices throughout California, a retail company with 2 locations out of state (High Country Propane), along with the wholesale company (KIVA Energy), and  Pick Up Propane.   John Kamps gives much of the credit to his dedicated employees, but he started out by himself, working