Giant To Sell 25 Stations
Vapors Cause Fire at Tesoro Hawaii Refinery
Basin, Tribes to Build New Montana Refinery
Beall Acquires Lobb Trailer

GIANT TO SELL 25 STATIONS

SCOTTSDALE, AZ. — Giant Industries has announced that it plans to sell 25 service stations and convenience stores in rural areas in eastern Arizona, southern Colorado, and northern New Mexico.

Giant Chairman Jim Acridge explained the decision to divest the sites, stating, "The company is always upgrading assets to improve our returns and cash flows. These assets were acquired as parts of multi-unit retail acquisitions and do not comply with our marketing strategy or deliver our desired returns."

Acridge added, "We will talk to the buyers about the potential of branding these locations under our recently introduced Conoco and Mustang Jobber Program."

VAPORS CAUSE FIRE AT TESORO HAWAII REFINERY

HONOLULU, HI. — A flash fire caused by gasoline vapors started a blaze at Tesoro’s Campbell Industrial Park Refinery here. Damage from the fire is estimated at $300,000.

The fire started when vapors escaped from a flange connecting two pipes on the outside of the refinery and then ignited. The cause of the problem has been linked with a failed oil pump.

Fourteen fire companies responded to the gasoline fire but the flames were extinguished by Tesoro’s fire brigade.

"It’s what we call a good stop," Honolulu Fire Captain Richard Soo told reporters. "The potential for a mass explosion is very great. The company showed the safety measures in place here."

Five Tesoro employees were hospitalized due to smoke inhalation and all were treated and released. No other injuries occurred due to the accident which had flames shooting up over 20 feet in the air.

BASIN, TRIBES TO BUILD NEW MONTANA REFINERY

BILLINGS, MT. — Basin Refineries, a company operating with the Sioux and Assiniboine tribes, has announced that it will build a refinery in eastern Montana.

The refinery will be located on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Its output will reportedly be up to 15,000 barrels per day.

Basin Refineries says they will use oil owned by area tribes and Canadian imports to run the refinery and produce gasoline, diesel, jet, and propane. The output will supply tribes, marketers, and government agencies in the surrounding area including Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Basin Refineries has said they hope to have the refinery — which will be assembled from a shuttered refinery in Texas — operational within a year.

BEALL ACQUIRES LOBB TRAILER

PORTLAND, OR. — Beall Corporation has purchased Lobb Trailer Manufacturing of San Bernardino, CA. Lobb is a manufacturer of aluminum/steel composite bottom dump double trailers, designed to haul lightweight aggregates, sand, and gravel. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Lobb’s operations will become part of Beall SoCal, headquartered in Rialto, CA. The Lobb staff will be supervised by Don Olson, Beall’s vice president and general manager SoCal.

Mike Lobb, the founder of Lobb Trailer, will be working with the SoCal branch as the new manager of construction equipment. He will also coordinate activities at the company’s manufacturing factory in San Bernardino which was also acquired by Beall in the deal.

"Although only in business for a little over one year, Lobb has made a remarkable entry into the lightweight bottom dump field," stated Tyler Bailey of Beall, "and has received numerous orders from well-known California customers."

Originally published in the September 1999 issue of O&A Marketing News.
Copyright 1999 by KAL Publications Inc.