The home heating oil industry has a long and proud history, and Fuel Oil News has been there supporting it since 1935. It is an industry that has faced many challenges during that time. In its 77th year, Fuel Oil News is doing more than just holding
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38 JULY 2015 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com HVAC/ HYDRONICS T here's a sobering stat out there in the business world: just 10% of family businesses make it to the third generation. Henry Oil beat those odds and is near- ing its 70th anniversary. The company's success isn't built on a breakthrough technology or frantic growth; it's built on hard work and smart business. Carmine H. DiSanto, the grandson of the original Carmine "Henry" DiSanto now serves as president. He said their decades of success boil down to a just a couple rules. "We keep it very efficient and try to keep overhead down," said DiSanto. "It's working. We're coming up on 70 years." The beginning of the business goes back to Henry's Tydol gas station. "Back in 1947, my grandfather had a gas station in Providence," said DiSanto. "He got an oil truck and started Henry Oil with his truck. He got out of the gas station business in 1960 and went strictly into the oil business." He said that's when the next generation took over the family business. "In the 60s and early 70s, my father and uncle stepped in until 1998," said DiSanto. He said to keep the business in the family, he and his cousin took over. "They wanted to sell to Petro, so my cousin and I stepped in – we were working here since we were in our teens – and we bought them out. That's where we are right now," said DiSanto. He said through the years, six of the family men worked there and their wives stepped in from time to time to do secretarial work. As the company gradually grew, the DiSantos added more services, but stuck with their core competency. "It's pretty much an oil company. We do plumbing and heating and my cousin and I in the last 20 years have brought in gasoline, diesel in addition to fuel oil," said DiSanto. Now they count five delivery trucks and a small fleet of plumbing and heating service vans. A small team is all they need to keep everything running smooth for their 1,000 cus- tomers. Like many delivery companies on the East Coast, they trim their staff in the summer months, but never have issues getting those great workers back when the season winds up again in the fall. "At our peak, we have about nine people working for us. In the summer we're down to about four or five," said DiSanto, adding that they get the same delivery drivers and service techs coming back winter after winter. "They just stay, they don't disappear. We treat them very well, so I guess they like working here!" The company has carved out a small profit center in and The original Henry Oil truck, the beginning of decades as a successful oil delivery company. ood A pair of oil samples from the second generation of Henry Oil.ood BY NICHOLAS UPTON HENRY OIL: Staying Lean for the Long Haul Responding to our request for readers to participate in FON's 80 th Anniversary, this Rhode Island oil marketer shares what has kept the family business going for nearly 70 years