DALLAS - A company with deep roots in Texarkana that stretch back 45 years is set to expand its reach as one of the largest national wholesale fuel suppliers in the country.
TACenergy, a division of The Arnold Companies just acquired the U.S. wholesale petroleum distribution business of IPC. TAC officials now project annual sales in excess of 2.7 billion gallons and well over $5 billion in revenue.
Historically known as Truman Arnold Companies, TAC started in 1964 as a Texarkana, Texas-based Conoco Distributor. Today, TAC - rebranded The Arnold Companies and now headquartered in Dallas - is among the largest independent fuel wholesalers and aviation service providers in the country.
The acquisition, announced Friday, gives TAC a significant West Coast foothold.
IPC - a subsidiary of Japan-based ITOCHU Corp. - is a wholesale distributor of diesel, gasoline and other petroleum products based out of Santa Ana, California. According to a report in Convenience Store News, it markets and distributes more than 1 billion gallons of petroleum products annually to customers in approximately 30 states.
The move expands the TACenergy supply network and will increase operational efficiencies, company officials say.
TACenergy officials say existing offices in Santa Ana, Sacramento and Seattle will be maintained.
"We are very excited to bring on an experienced west coast sales force," said TAC Chairman and CEO Greg Arnold "The combined team will have a stronger supply footprint, a more efficient administrative machine and the same strong level of service the customer base has experienced."
Said Fred Sloan, chief operating officer of TACenergy, "The acquisition builds upon the existing relationships of unbranded and branded fuel products which include Sinclair gasoline and Neste MY renewable diesel, allowing TACenergy to expand into the renewable diesel category and provide new alternatives for existing customers."
Former IPC customers will continue working with the people they know, officials say.
Many of the key operational and sales management team members will be joining TACenergy, including Randy Jones, who joins TACenergy as vice president of Sales and Operations, covering the combined national footprint of the organization; Mitch Lewis, general manager of Sales, leading Southern California sales; and Jim Harper, general manager of Sales, managing Northern California and Pacific Northwest sales.
TACenergy customers include diesel retailers, industrial users, transportation, trucking, government, utilities, mining, construction, plus other commercial users or resellers of fuel. It maintains a terminal supply network with 14 regional sales offices spanning North America.
One of those, of course, is in Texarkana, where it all started.
(For more information go online to tacenergy.com or thearnoldcos.com)