Wenatchee Petroleum Company

Wenatchee Petroleum is the parent company to A-1 Petroleum in Ellensburg, BJ’s Shell Convenience stores in Dryden, Cashmere, East Wenatchee, Lincoln Rock, Entiat, the BJ’s Truck & Auto Plaza Rock Island, the Island Restaurant in Rock Island, Big Wally’s in Coulee City, and Rusty’s Drive in Cashmere. Inland Oil & Propane Company, in Ephrata, and its convenience stores located throughout central Washington became a part of Wenatchee Petroleum in 2008.  Wenatchee Petroleum was founded in 1924 by Red Ogan. His son, Mike, joined the company in the 1960’s, and led the company through its growth with acquisitions of Zbinden Oil in Ellensburg, WA and A-1 Petroleum was formed. Mike’s sons joined the company with Bob running the Wenatchee operation and Greg running the Ellensburg operation. Greg’s son Ross joined the operation when the Inland Oil operation was acquired, bringing the company into its fourth generation of ownership.

Cardlock

Fleet Managers nationwide are realizing the cost of fueling a vehicle goes far beyond the price per gallon. It has long been considered the best policy to pursue the lowest priced fuel. But are you really saving any money?  Fleet managers surveyed have a clear and concise answer, “Not really”, particularly if the driver spends more than a few minutes fueling. The reason is that labor must be a factor when analyzing a fleet’s aggregate cost of fuel.  For example: Assume a driver is paid $20.00 per hour loaded (including benefits), and they waste only 15 minutes during the fueling process on such things as waiting in retail lines, browsing a C-Store/Truck Stop, or chatting with clerks. This represents an aggregate fuel cost of $5.00 at the filling attributed to lost productivity. Most fleet managers agree this is not far fetched.  So, what is the impact on the price per gallon of fuel paid? On an average fill of 30 gallons, it increases the price per gallon by .167 cents! ($5.00 / 30 gallons = .167) The aggregate fuel cost increase is even higher if you are paying your drivers overtime.  So how does a fleet manager lower the aggregate fuel cost related to the fueling process itself? The best way is to select and implement a fuel management system that offers strictly commercial fueling locations. Also known as unattended fueling, these locations are free from the congestion and distractions common in retail type fueling environments.  Not only are there fewer distractions that can consume the driver’s time, they are more conveniently located in commercial related locations and on the Interstate highway system. Drivers spend less time searching for their next fuel stop. Once on site, the drivers are most often provided with high speed dispensers which helps get the driver back on the road and productive more quickly.

Lubricants

Wenatchee Petroleum, A-1 Petroleum in Ellensburg, and Inland Oil & Propane Company in Ephrata  offer quality Chevron lubricants in the North Central Washington area. Our experienced staff includes a certified lubricant engineer and chemical engineer.