COMPANY PROFILE
time, these were two-bay stations with one
or two full-service fueling islands. There
was a gradual expansion during the next
20 years with the number of sites peaking
at near 70.
The Second Generation
Takes Over
the first convenience store with what we
describe up in this market as a mini-serv,"
said Don. "We took old two-bays gas stations, closed the bays down and had kids
there to pump the gas with a very competitive pricing system. Of course, that is totally
obsolete today, but it helped launch our
convenience store business, which Jim and
Mike have taken to a completely new level,
particularly with what they have done in the
past few years."
As with many companies moving in the
convenience from a fuel focus, the early
efforts posed some difficulty. "To be honest,
we struggled a great deal with the transition," said Don. "We were very petroleum
In 1971 Don and his brother Reg assumed
control of the company. "My dad decided—
when my brother and myself were coming
along—that when you are in a family business and the heirs are capable of running it,
you get the heck out of the way when you
turn 65," said Don. "He did that for us, and
I elected to do that for my two boys, Jim and
Mike. I felt you can't have a business where
Pop and uncle go to Florida for half a year
and then want to slip back into the seat and
take over again. It doesn't work."
This period marks notable expansion
both in the scale and breadth of its operations.
At the height of the oil crisis, in 1973,
Reg and Don had the opportunity to take
advantage of an industrial development
bond and buy the 33-million gallon Gulf Oil
terminal in Buffalo, N.Y. In 1982, NOCO
Home Heat was formed with the acquisition of Ashland Oil's home heat business
and Akron Oil Corp., which was expanded
in 1985 with the purchase of a 10-million
gallon storage facility from Ashland Oil
that was adjacent to its existing terminal
operations.
It was during this period, in 1983, that
the company changed its name to NOCO
Energy Corp. It also, through a longrunning relationship with Mobil, became
involved with bulk lubricants sales and has
grown its footprint to not only include the
Northeast and Canada, but as far inland as
Ohio and Kentucky.
Geographical expansion was also in the
works. In 1986 Reginald worked to develop
a business relationship with a former Petro
Canada executive, Jeremy Hinchcliffe, to
create NOCO Canada that involved both
fuel distribution and lubricants.
In 1984 NOCO opened its first convenience store in what was the growing trend
at the time of converting service stations into
small convenience operations. "I opened
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