Reladyne Acquires Western Marketing Inc.
Empire Petroleum Expands Into West
ExxonMobil Wholesalers Raise Money for Harvey Relief
Farmer Bros. To Purchase Boyd Coffee
NORA Offers Oilheat Tech Manual for Free

RELADYNE ACQUIRES WESTERN MARKETING INC.

CINCINNATI, OH. — RelaDyne, based here, has closed the deal to acquire Western Marketing, Inc., the petroleum products distributor based in Abilene, TX. The purchase price was not disclosed.

WMI had supplied bulk and packaged lubricants to customers in Colorado and New Mexico as well as Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

"The closing of the Western Marketing, Inc. acquisition signifies a substantial growth in our size and capabilities in the South Region for RelaDyne," stated Larry Stoddard, RelaDyne President and CEO, announcing the deal. "I have personally been very impressed by the associates of Western Marketing. We are truly pleased to welcome this great team of industry leaders to the RelaDyne family. We certainly share in the excitement about the future with this addition to our business."

"This partnership with RelaDyne is the right next step for Western Marketing," stated Robert Sullivan, Western Marketing CEO. "RelaDyne will offer our two greatest assets — our associates and customers— many great rewards. Our Western Marketing associates will have great career opportunities and benefit programs. Our Western Marketing customers will have industry leading reliability services and expanded product programs to enhance their profitability. Our entire team is excited about the future."

EMPIRE PETROLEUM EXPANDS INTO WEST

DALLAS, TX. — Empire Petroleum Partners, based here, has acquired 70 Corner Store gasoline and convenience stores. The price for the acquisition was not disclosed.

With the acquisition, Empire has added retail locations in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona in the West as well as new locations in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.

"Empire is excited to grow its current retail network in Colorado and Texas, while also entering into new markets in Arizona and Florida," stated Jeff Goodwin, Chief Operating Officer at Empire.

Goodwin said that Empire plans to hire the existing Corner Store employees to continue operations at the c-stores. "The dedication and tenure of the CST staff at these stores is one of the most important benefits we received in this acquisition, and we welcome each of our new employees to the Empire family," he stated.

The locations were acquired from Alimentation Couche-Tard, who had been directed by the Federal Trade Commission to sell them to avoid anti-trust issues. The agreement to sell the 70 sites were part of the terms which allowed Alimentation Couche-Tard to acquire CST Brands Inc., and its Corner Store locations in June.

Empire Petroleum was launched in 1998 as a fuel distributor for Getty Oil in the mid-Atlantic territory. The privately-held company has stated their plans to expand to a national fuel distribution network and currently has operations in 29 states.

EXXONMOBIL WHOLESALERS RAISE MONEY FOR HARVEY RELIEF

SPRING, TX. — ExxonMobil's U.S. Branded Wholesale Network has launched a relief fund to help the millions of Gulf Coast residents impacted by Hurricane Harvey.

The fund was established in the beginning of September after "several branded wholesalers reached out asking how they can help," said Craig Hoppen, chair of the ExxonMobil U.S. Branded Wholesale National Council. "With more than 300 branded wholesalers in the U.S., we have a real opportunity to come together and make a positive difference for those in need."

The Branded Wholesale Network set up a fundraising page through the American Red Cross to accept contributions for Harvey relief and over $350,000 has been donated through the branded wholesale community. The fundraising page may be found at: https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/team/em-bw-community-for-harvey-relief1

ExxonMobil officials noted that they are working with their wholesale network and have given its branded wholesalers in impacted areas the flexibility to deliver Exxon- or Mobil-branded fuel to stations of other brands that may be out of product, and vice versa, to maximize the number of service stations that have gasoline during the natural disaster recovery period.

"On behalf of the branded wholesale community, we are proud to join ExxonMobil in this effort and help our communities rebuild and heal," added Hoppen.

FARMER BROS. TO PURCHASE BOYD COFFEE

NORTHLAKE, TX. — In a move that will continue the consolidation of convenience store beverage suppliers, Farmer Bros. Company has announced they will acquire Boyd Coffee Company of Portland, OR.

The purchase price for the deal was not disclosed although Farmer Bros. officials said they would pay for the acquisition with a combination of cash and stock.

Boyd Coffee operated for more than 100 years as a privately-held company with revenues of approximately $95 million over the past 12 months from coffee, beverages, and accessories. In that same time frame, Boyd's processed and sold about 16 million pounds of green coffee.

"We are confident Farmer Brothers is the right company to take the Boyd's brand to the next level," said Jeffrey Newman, CEO of Boyd's, announcing the deal. "We look forward to a smooth transition and providing the same high quality customer service that has been a hallmark of the Boyd Coffee Company for over 100 years."

Farmer Bros. officials say they will move Boyd's operations into their existing facilities over the next 12 to 18 months.

Farmer Bros. recently acquired both the China Mist and West Coast Coffee brands.

NORA OFFERS OILHEAT TECH MANUAL FOR FREE

ALEXANDRIA, VA. — The National Oilheat Research Alliance has made its Oilheat Technicians Manual available for free for interested technicians and students.

The manual may be found at https://noraweb.org/silver-certified-technicians-manual/ and contains more than 360 pages of detailed descriptions, procedures and trouble shooting on all topics relating to oil heating. It is also used as the textbook for the NORA Silver Certification program.

The document is also available to purchase in printed form for $52 per copy.

NORA President John Huber said the organization decided to make the manual available free of charge to "get as much good information into as many hands as possible; as easily as possible."

Originally published in the October 2017 issue of O&A Marketing News.
Copyright 2017 by KAL Publications Inc.