CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio -- Circleville Oil Co., founded in 1924, is getting out of the retail business and putting more emphasis on bulk and commercial sales, reported The Circleville Herald. The Circleville, Ohio, company recently closed its Shamrock gas station and sold stations in Ashville and Chillicothe, Ohio. It's also trying to sell its Lancaster Pike Expresslane station and Subway shop, along with the Subway in the Circleville Wal-Mart and two Subways in Washington Court House, Ohio.
"We're on a program of getting back to basics," Circleville Oil president Gary Scherer told the newspaper. "[image-nocss] High fuel prices are putting a financial strain on the company and this sale is a cash generating mechanism. We want to focus on the future."
Scherer said the company was not making a profit on retail gasoline sales, earning an average of about three cents a gallon.
No jobs are expected to be lost because of the move, according to the report, and Scherer said the company hopes to get rid of its retail locations within the next six months.
In "getting back to basics," Scherer said the company wants to focus on farm and residential propane sales and bulk fuel sales to farms and commercial customers while moving away from retail sales. "Biodiesel is becoming a very strong market for us," Scherer said, noting that Circleville Oil has one of only two biodiesel blending facilities in Ohio. The company has several large biodiesel supply contracts, including supplying fuel for buses at several local school districts including Circleville, Westfall, Amanda and Canal Winchester, and The Ohio State University, as well as vehicles with the cities of Circleville and Columbus, said the report.
It also distributes gasoline to eight stations, including the two it recently sold, the Herald said.
[For more coverage of other station and store openings and closings, see the "Open & Shut" feature in today's issue of CSP Daily News.]Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.