Flyers Energy Acquires Allied Washoe
Hawaii County Raises Tobacco Purchasing Age to 21
Fleetcor Acquires NexTraq and Epyx
Major Oils to Build New LNG Plant, Terminal in Alaska
Cool Planet Raises $30 Million

FLYERS ENERGY ACQUIRES ALLIED WASHOE

AUBURN, CA. — After over 100 years of supplying fuel, heating oil, and even coal in northern Nevada, Allied Washoe Petroleum, based in Reno, NV., has been acquired by Flyers Energy. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Washoe Petroleum had been operated by the Madsen family in Reno since its founding in 1900; Jon Madsen had expanded the company in the early 2000s by acquiring the Reno jobbership of Allied Petroleum. In recent years, Mike Cox had been serving as CEO and co-owner of the company along with Madsen.

"It is with mixed emotions that we have decided to pass the torch and sell the business," stated Madsen and Cox in a recent letter to customers. "We believe this is the right time and that Flyers Energy is the right company to carry on our tradition of service excellence. We anticipate no immediate change and a seamless transition."

With the completion of the acquisition in January, Madsen has retired from the industry and Cox is consulting with Flyers Energy as part of the transition. Jo Ellen Vaughn is working as the bulk plant supervisor in the Reno facility and David Peck remains on the sales force.

Flyers Energy will continue to operate Allied Washoe's former offices in Reno, Minden, and Winnemucca, Nevada. In addition, they will be adding Shell-branded lubricants to their product offerings and will join the Pacific Pride fueling network.

"Mike Cox and his team have built a solid, well-respected business in the Western Nevada market," said Rick Teske, Flyers' general manager. "We are excited to offer our expanded product and service offerings to the Allied-Washoe customers."

Flyers officials noted that they are "on a campaign to expand their holdings throughout the Western U.S." and their move into Reno was "a natural next step."

HAWAII COUNTY RAISES TOBACCO PURCHASING AGE TO 21

KAILUA-KONA, HI. — The Big Island has passed new legislation that will restrict sales of tobacco products to consumers aged 21 and over.

The new law does not make it illegal for underage customers to use tobacco products, but it does make it illegal for retailers to sell tobacco products — including cigarettes, cigars and electronic cigarettes — to consumers under age 21. Retailers caught selling tobacco to underage customers will be facing fines ranging from $500 to $2,000 per offense.

The Hawaii County Council voted unanimously to pass the bill after hearing from supporters of the legislation and Mayor Billy Kenoi signed the bill into law at the end of December.

The new tobacco law goes into effect July 1.

The Hawaii County regulation is the first in the West restricting tobacco sales to consumers over age 21.

FLEETCOR ACQUIRES NEXTRAQ, EPYX

NORCROSS, GA. — Cardlock company FleetCor Technologies, Inc., has acquired two companies to add to its offerings: NexTraq and Epyx.

NexTraq, based in Atlanta, GA., offers real time vehicle tracking, route optimization, job dispatch, and fuel usage monitoring services. The business has over 100,000 active subscribers for its telematics services. The sale closed at the end of October for an undisclosed amount.

"NexTraq serves the same commercial fleet clients with its telematics solutions as we do with our fuel card solutions," said Ron Clarke, CEO of FleetCor, announcing the deal. "This represents a big cross marketing opportunity for us to deepen our existing client relationships and generate more profit per client."

Epyx, based in the United Kingdom, operates an internet-based system linking fleet owners with vehicle repair facilities. The Epyx service automates repair authorization, schedules service appointments, and simplifies overall vehicle service administration. The company earns fees from each of the vehicle services it facilitates.

The sale of Epyx to FleetCor also closed at the end of October for an undisclosed amount.

"We've been looking for ideas to extend beyond fleet fueling to fleet maintenance," said Clarke. "Epyx has done that. They've developed a highly specialized system that helps their fleet customers better manage their overall maintenance life cycle and costs. We like the potential to bring this solution to a lot more clients."

MAJOR OILS TO BUILD NEW LNG PLANT, TERMINAL IN ALASKA

ANCHORAGE, AK. — ExxonMobil, BP, ConocoPhillips, and TransCanada will be co-building a new natural gas liquefaction plant and terminal at a site in the Nikiski area of the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska.

The location, which was finalized in October, "results in a pipeline route that provides an access opportunity to North Slope natural gas by the major population centers in Fairbanks, Mat-Su Valley, Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula," according to Steve Butt, serving as the senior project manager for the Alaska LNG Project.

The LNG facility is expected to include a gas treatment plant located on the North Slope, an 800-mile, 42-inch pipeline with up to eight compression stations and at least five off-take points for in-state gas delivery, as well as a liquefaction plant and terminal.

"This is a step forward for the Alaska LNG project and shows continued progress toward building Alaska's energy future," concluded Butt.

COOL PLANET RAISES $30 MILLION

CAMARILLO, CA. — Biofuels company Cool Planet Energy Systems Inc. has announced that it has raised almost $30 million to build its first production facility.

Cool Planet has not announced where the plant will be located, but it is expected it will locate its biodiesel production in Colorado. The biodiesel plant will convert non-food biomass, such as wood chips, algae, and corn cobs into gasoline.

Among the 35 investors who have pledged $29.9 million for the project are General Electric Co., Google Ventures and BP plc. Cool Planet Energy was founded in 2008 by Mike Cheiky.

Originally published in the February 2014 issue of O&A Marketing News.
Copyright 2014 by KAL Publications Inc.