Florists Deal With Helium Shortage
The helium shortage that stems back to November 2006 continues to worsen, according to helium industry sources and florists. Florist Lynda Gervais, CBA, of Ann’s Secret Garden in Bethany, Okla., says, “If I can get one tank [of helium] a month, I am doing well.”
The shortage was originally caused by the temporary shutdown of several international production sites, as well as the Nov. 8, 2006, scheduled maintenance shutdown of the Bureau of Land Management’s National Helium Reserve in Amarillo, Texas.
Although the Reserve is now producing at its full capacity and international helium production is “coming along pretty well,” says Leslie Theiss, manager of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) field office, also in Amarillo, “we can’t see an end in sight.”
The problem? “There is just not enough helium in the system … demand is growing faster than we anticipated,” Theiss says, adding that helium exports have grown more than 50 percent in the past five years. The resource is often being sold to Southeast Asian countries where it is used in the semi conductor industry. “Private industries are trying to find new sources and build plants,” Theiss says, “but helium folks don’t have the same resources as the oil and gas industry.”
Some florists, like Dee Marchionna of Balloons and Flowers by Rosemar in Camarillo, Calif., say they have not been affected. Balloon and floral supply wholesaler burton + BURTON has not been affected by the helium shortage, nor have its balloon sales dropped, says marketing coordinator Steve Rose.
Others, like Gervais, who is now using oxygen in balloons as much as she can, are feeling the pinch.
Jackie Brown of Shelby’s Floral & Gifts in Kennewick, Wash., says that while her shop does not do enough balloon business for the shortage to be detrimental, her last helium delivery opened her eyes to the situation. “I noticed the tank of helium was smaller” than normal, she says. “The delivery man said they aren’t going to send out as big tanks anymore.” While she hasn’t gotten the bill yet, she suspects “the price is going to go up, and the tanks will get smaller.”
Her suspicions might be on target. Terri Courrier of Plaza Flowers & Balloons in San Francisco says, “it is getting more expensive.” Although she hasn’t had any trouble getting helium recently, she says there were a few times in 2006 when she couldn’t get her order filled all at once.
Read more about the helium shortage.
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