Standard Oil Company (Ohio)

Template:Short description Template:For Template:Infobox company The Standard Oil Company (Ohio) was an American petroleum company that existed from 1870 to 1987. The company, known commonly as Sohio, was founded by John D. Rockefeller.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=ohc/> It was established as one of the separate entities created after the 1911 breakup.

In the 1960s, the Standard Oil Company partnered with BP, in the development of the Prudhoe Bay, Alaska petroleum reserves and the construction of the Trans Alaska pipeline. The complex partnership called for a gradual stock acquisition until BP would eventually gain controlling interest culminating in total acquisition of the American company. The company ceased operations in 1987, although BP continued to sell gasoline under the 'Sohio' brand until 1991.<ref name=ohc/>

History

Under the name "The Standard Oil Company (Ohio)", the company was established as a separate business after the antitrust breakup the oil conglomerate's monopoly in 1911. It operated service stations under the 'Sohio' brand name in Ohio but was prohibited in using the 'Standard' name in other states. In nearby states, it used the Boron brand name (introduced in 1954)<ref name=dan/> instead, but with an otherwise-similar logo. Wallace Trevor Holliday was President of the company from 1928 to 1949 and Chairman of the Board from 1949 until his death on November 7, 1950.

In 1968, Sohio's CEO, Charles E. (Charlie) Spahr, arranged a merger with BP. It was announced as Standard's acquisition of BP's North American interests in exchange for BP receiving 25% of Sohio's stock.<ref name="lat-1969jun03">Template:Cite news</ref> However, the contract included a stipulation that BP would assume majority interest when Standard's share of production from the Prudhoe Bay oilfield in Alaska reached Template:Convert. That occurred in 1978, and BP then took control of Standard Oil.<ref name="wp-1978oct19">Template:Cite news</ref> The U.S. operations were unified under the BP America corporate name.Template:When

By 1991, BP had rebranded all Sohio and Boron retail stations as 'BP',<ref>Template:Cite AV mediaTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref name="upi-1991apr25">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="upi-1991apr12">Template:Cite news</ref> except for some marine fuel outlets.Template:Citation needed

In 2011, a BP station in Steubenville, Ohio, that had originally opened as a Sohio station in 1946 ended fuel sales and was restored to 1970s vintage Sohio colors as a museum for Sohio. The site has vintage (non-working) Sohio pumps and other Sohio memorabilia. The garage itself remains active.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Stations

By 1980, Sohio and Boron had 3,400 gas stations in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia.Template:Citation needed Sohio acquired 5,660 former Gulf stations as a result of FTC anti-trust limitations in Chevron's 1985 takeover of Gulf. These stations, bought for $1 billion, were in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina.<ref name="nyt-1984sep28">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="wp-1984sep28">Template:Cite news</ref> Sohio was allowed to use the "Gulf" name for five years after the acquisition.Template:Citation needed

File:Sohio anderson ferry marina.jpg

BP continuesTemplate:Update inline to sell marine fuel under the Sohio brand at various marinas on Ohio waterways and in Ohio state parks in order to protect its rights in the Sohio and Standard Oil names. The Anderson Ferry Marina near Cincinnati, Ohio as of 2005

By the end of 1985, all other Standard Oil descendants had minimized use of the name Standard, following Standard Oil of Indiana renaming itself Amoco earlier in the year as well as Chevron's aforementioned merger with Gulf that same year that led to its official corporate name to change from Standard Oil of California to Chevron Corporation. As a result, The Standard Oil Company (Ohio) corporately rebrand itself in 1986 under the Standard name, while continuing to use the Sohio brand in Ohio.<ref name="ap-1986feb25">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt-1986feb25">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1987, BP bought the 45% of Sohio it did not already own for $7.82 Billion and assumed control.<ref name="nyt-1987apr29">Template:Cite news</ref> Among the first changes was the rebranding of all Sohio, Boron, & Gulf stations that it owned to 'BP' in 1991.<ref name="upi-1991apr12" /> Among the conversions included former Mobil stations in Western Pennsylvania (including Pittsburgh) that Standard of Ohio acquired in 1987 when Mobil left that market, most of which had just rebranded as Boron when they were converted to BP.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> From 1989 to 1991, many Sohio, Boron and Gulf stations used BP's color scheme of green and yellow during the transitional rebranding to BP.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Boron name was used outside of Ohio in neighboring states, like Michigan, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and West Virginia. Boron was also the branding of its premium grade gasoline along with its regular grade fuel "Extron" (formerly "Ex-tane" later "Octron") and its unleaded version "Cetron" introduced in 1970.Template:Citation needed

Standard Oil's motor oil brands included Boron, Sohio, Cetron, CHD, Duron, Multron, Nitrex, Nitron, Octron, Premex, and Qvo.

Sohio's credit cards, like other oil company cards at the time, could be used at competitors' stations outside the issuing company's competitive territory, which in Sohio's case was Ohio.Template:Original research inline The benefit died with the Sohio brand. Exxon had a similar arrangement as well.Template:Original research inline In 1916, Sohio introduced a prefabricated canopy prototype for its stations.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> Although Sohio gas stations have ceased to exist, a few marina gas stations on Lake Erie and the Ohio River stillTemplate:When bear the Sohio name.Template:Citation needed

When BP merged with Amoco in 1998, its American headquarters moved from the former BP America Building on Public Square in Cleveland to Chicago.<ref name="ct-1998aug16">Template:Cite news</ref> Its American headquarters have since moved to the Houston Energy Corridor in Houston, Texas, in line with the corporate offices of Shell and fellow Standard spinoffs ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil.

Subsidiaries

Hospitality Motor Inns

Hospitality Motor Inns, a wholly owned Sohio subsidiary, operated 11 motor inns in Ohio and surrounding states<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The company was formed in 1963 as a Sohio subsidiary. Hospitality became a publicly held company when Sohio sold off 51% of the company to the public. Sohio sold its remaining interest of the chain to Hosmin, Inc., in 1978.<ref>Template:Cite court</ref>

ProCare

In the 1980s, as many gas stations began converting their vehicle service bays into convenience stores, Sohio wished to continue performing auto maintenance by launching a specialty auto repair shop. Called Sohio ProCare, these shops were often located near Sohio stations that now had convenience stores instead of auto service and were more specialized compared to traditional auto garages located at gas stations. The locations were mostly in Ohio, but Sohio did expand the concept into Pennsylvania and North Carolina, where they were known as "Boron ProCare". Also, unlike many Sohio stations, the ProCare locations were owned and operated directly by Sohio. Commercials for ProCare often featured M*A*S*H actor Gary Burghoff as "That Sohio Guy", as part of a larger Sohio advertising campaign featuring Burghoff.<ref>[1]Template:Dead link</ref> Burghoff himself would stay with BP for a time as a spokesperson after BP converted Sohio and its other brands to BP.

BP retained ProCare following its absorption of Sohio, rebranding it as "BP ProCare" and changing the colors in its logo to match BP. BP continued to operate it until selling off the chain to a private investment group in 1999, at which point the shops were simply called ProCare without an oil company prefix and its logo was reverted to its Sohio-era colors.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Following a bankruptcy under the private investment group's ownership, ProCare would ultimately be acquired by Monro Muffler Brake in 2006, and converted the locations to its own brands.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Leadership

President

1. John Davison Rockefeller, 1870–1900
2. Ambrose Morrison McGregor, 1900–1901
3. Frank Quarles Barstow, 1901–1908
4. Henry Morgan Tilford, 1908–1911
5. Walter Clark Teagle, 1911
6. Andrew Palmer Coombe, 1911–1928
7. Wallace Trevor Holliday, 1928–1949
8. Clyde Tanner Foster, 1949–1957
9. Charles Eugene Spahr, 1957–1969
10. Alton Winslow Whitehouse Jr., 1970–1977
11. Joseph Durham Harnett, 1977–1980
12. John Robert Miller, 1980–19??

Chairman of the Board

1. Wallace Trevor Holliday, 1949–1950
2. Armstrong Alexander Stambaugh, 1950–1955
3. Clyde Tanner Foster, 1956–1961
4. Charles Eugene Spahr, 1970–1977
5. Alton Winslow Whitehouse Jr., 1978–1986
6. Sir Robert Baynes Horton, 1986–1987

Gallery

• Sohio service station in Cleveland, Ohio (ca. 1936)
  Sohio service station in Cleveland, Ohio (ca. 1936)
• Sohio sign circa 1989. Sohio's logo. A similar logo was also used at Boron stations outside the state of Ohio
  Sohio sign circa 1989. Sohio's logo. A similar logo was also used at Boron stations outside the state of Ohio
• Sohio Boron gasoline station (1972). Sohio marketed gasoline under various brand names in other states, including Boron, BP, Gas & Go, Gulf, Gibbs and William Penn
  Sohio Boron gasoline station (1972). Sohio marketed gasoline under various brand names in other states, including Boron, BP, Gas & Go, Gulf, Gibbs and William Penn
• Vintage Sohio pump in storage at Cuyahoga Valley National Park near Richfield, Ohio
  Vintage Sohio pump in storage at Cuyahoga Valley National Park near Richfield, Ohio
• Columbus-area highway marker designating Interstate 71 and Ohio Route 1 (1965)
  Columbus-area highway marker designating Interstate 71 and Ohio Route 1 (1965)

External links

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