CIOMA Day at the Capitol
Western Petroleum Marketers Association Convention
Petroleum Marketing Equipment Customer Appreciation
Want to see the photos that didn't make the issue? Check out the Cutting Room Floor.
Pilot Flying J to Spend $500 Million to Renovate Existing
Sites, Build New Locations
Ami Adini &
Associates Settles Negligence Suit
with Water Board
Hawaii Tanks
to be Converted for Biofuels
7-Eleven
Testing Drone Delivery
BAT to Acquire
Reynolds American
KNOXVILLE, TN. — Pilot Flying J has announced that it will invest nearly $500 million over the next five years to renovate its existing truck stop locations as well as build new sites.
In an interview with the Knoxville News Sentinel, Pilot Flying J President Ken Parent said the company is dedicated to its core business of professional truck drivers but will be looking to increase the appeal of their travel centers to the motoring public. He estimated that the company will spend approximately $100 million a year for the next four years to upgrade their facilities including updating their signage, exteriors, logos, floors, and lighting.
The company will also invest in upgrades to their "PJ Fresh" restaurant offerings, coffee selections, and convenience stores. Older gasoline dispensers will be replaced, according to Parent, while others will be refreshed to the new image.
"We think it's really important to go back and invest in our existing chain," Parent told reporters.
Pilot Flying J said they also plan to open 20 to 30 new stores annually for the next five years, all of which will include gasoline, PJ Fresh restaurants, a convenience store, free Wi-Fi, and showers. Some of the new locations will also include drivers lounges.
The company will also be building light-maintenance and repair shops. Aimed at taking care of maintenance for truck drivers, 20 of the repair shops are scheduled to be built this year. Pilot Flying J officials say the number of shops may jump to a possible 200 by 2021.
The company has already completed building a training facility at its Knoxville, TN., headquarters to educate the automotive technicians who will staff the repair shops.
SACRAMENTO — Ami Adini & Associates, Inc., based in Los Angeles, CA., has negotiated a settlement with the California State Water Resources Control Board over allegations it was negligent in conducting cleanup of petroleum contaminated underground storage tank sites.
Under the terms of the agreement, Ami Adini & Associates will forgo more than $1 million in reimbursements it was seeking from the Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund and is debarred from future work with any State Water Board programs. The prohibition extends to all work overseen, directed, funded, submitted to or administered by the State Water Board.
"Pursuing an action for professional negligence demonstrates that the State Water Board is serious about protecting the resources of the Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund from waste and abuse," said Cris Carrigan, director of the State Water Board's Office of Enforcement. "We think this sends a message to claimants and consultants that cleanup alternatives need to be continuously evaluated for effectiveness. Soil and groundwater cleanup alternatives need to be implemented in a fashion that achieves site closure in a reasonable amount of time."
This settlement resolves the allegations of negligence against Ami Adini & Associates. However, a separate allegation from the Water Board that the company submitted false information to receive payment from the Cleanup Fund for work not performed and supplies not used is still going forward. This issue will to go to trial later this year.
Ami Adini & Associates, owned by Ami Adini and Elie Balas, provides UST investigation and remediation services at petroleum contaminated gasoline stations. The company has worked at more than 70 sites in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Humboldt, Sonoma, San Mateo, and San Joaquin counties.
HILO, HI. — Hoku Kai Biofuels has announced plans to refurbish storage tanks and the pipeline at the former Shell facility in Hilo, HI., to begin importing biofuel to the Hawaiian Islands.
The company said they plan to use an 10-inch pipeline in place in Hilo Harbor to transport fuel to the storage tanks which had been used at an asphalt plant. The tanks would store approximately 1.2 million gallons of biofuel.
Work on the tanks is expected to be completed in September and Chuck Barker of Hoku Kai estimated that imports of biofuel should begin by the end of the year.
RENO, NV. — 7-Eleven has competed a test program utilizing drones to deliver goods to customers in Reno, NV.
The test, conducted by 7-Eleven and drone company Flirtey, made 77 drone deliveries to homes in northern Nevada. Orders were placed and paid for using a custom app and included items such as hot and cold food and over-the-counter medicines. The drones were loaded by 7-Eleven employees and the app notified the customers that their items had been loaded as well as notifying them when the drones departed from the store and when they arrived at their homes.
The drones themselves used GPS navigation to find customer addresses. After arriving, the drones would hover in place and lower the package for the customers to receive their products.
7-Eleven officials said the average time elapsed between placing an order and arrival at the destination was less than 10 minutes.
Flirtey and 7-Eleven have said they plan to expand their drone delivery operations in 2017.
WINSTON-SALEM, NC — British American Tobacco (BAT) has signed a deal to acquire Reynolds American Inc. in a deal valued at $49 billion and bringing together global brands including Dunhill, Kent, Lucky Strike, Newport, Pall Mall and Rothmans brands in the same company.
Under the terms of the agreement, BAT will acquire the 57.8 percent of RAI common stock that it does not currently own for $29.44 per share in cash. Reynolds American will continue to operate as a subsidiary of BAT.
"The acquisition of Reynolds American that we agreed to not only represents a significant premium for our shareholders, but also includes the potential for continued future growth through ownership in the combined company," said Susan Cameron, executive chair of the RAI board of trustees, announcing the deal.
She noted that the combined company "will have a world-class pipeline of next generation products" including growth categories such as moist snuff, innovative vapor, and tobacco heating products.
Originally published in the
April 2017 issue of O&A Marketing
News.
Copyright 2017 by KAL Publications Inc.
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