Tri-State Petroleum Corporation is pleased to announce it is celebrating 40 years of business in 2014. Tri-State Petroleum Corporation is a family-owned convenience store operator and wholesale distributor of motor fuels in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.  The company operates convenience stores, and services branded accounts and commercial and industrial accounts within the three-state area.

History

The company was founded in 1974 by the late Edward J. and Elizabeth J. Coyne.

“The core values of the company have always included a strong family work ethic, which involved all of the family members working in the business from an early age,” said Colleen Coyne McGlinn, chief executive officer. 

The company is currently managed by a strong team of experienced c-store operators, including several family members who have been active in the business for many years.  Edward J. Coyne II, COO, and Erin C. Merrick, CFO, will celebrate their 30th anniversary with Tri-State Petroleum this year.  Colleen C. McGlinn, CEO, and Sheila C. Romanek, director of transportation, sales, property management and environmental compliance, are other family members who are actively engaged in the day-to-day management of the business.

With price and allocation regulation in place in 1974, the first two years for Tri-State was limited to the sale of tires, batteries and accessories until Tri-State was awarded its first unbranded #2 fuel contract.  In 1977, Tri-State purchased its first barge river terminal, which it continues to own and operate in Warwood, W.Va.  In 1979, Tri-State was awarded its first branded fuel supply contract with Gulf Oil.  Tri-State expanded its branded fuel business in 1987 by entering into a branded fuel contract with BP Oil Company.

It was in the 1990s that the company expanded its wholesale fuel distribution business into the convenience and retail gasoline business, including the completion of two major asset acquisitions in 1993 and 1997, and the formation of one of the first co-branded Exxon/Wendy’s in this region of the country in 1994.  In 2002, Tri-State completed another major acquisition of retail assets formerly owned by Exxon Corporation in the Pittsburgh, Pa. market resulting in significant growth of its retail operations.

As of April 1, 2012, Tri-State partnered with Marathon Petroleum Corporation to supply Marathon branded fuel to the majority of Tri-State’s convenience retail locations.  Today, either Marathon’s or BP’s brand names and logos are now seen on the canopies and street signs at all of the branded locations owned and operated or supplied by Tri-State. 

Community Service

From 2002-12, through involvement with the Education Alliance Grant Program sponsored by ExxonMobil Corporation, Tri-State worked to support local schools with contributions in excess of $130,000.  Under the ExxonMobil Education Alliance Grant Program, funds were made available through Tri-State to schools located in the immediate area of our convenience stores/service stations.

Tri-State has also been an active participant and corporate supportor of the Make-A-Wish Foundation through its participation in the WV Omega.  During the last several years, fundraisers sponsored by WV Omega and participated in by Tri-State have raised donations of more than $45,000 for the Make A Wish Foundation.

In 2009-10, Tri-State founded several scholarships for its employees and local schools in the Wheeling community in honor of the founders of the company.  The Edward J. and Elizabeth J. Coyne Foundation Scholarship was created through the Pittsburgh Foundation in 2009 for the purpose of granting scholarships to the company’s employees and their families. Similar scholarships were created at Wheeling Central Catholic High School and Linsly Institute in Wheeling in honor of Edward J. and Elizabeth J. Coyne.

As a way to celebrate its anniversary,Tri-State was a corporate sponsor of the Wheeling Light the Night walk on April 10, 2014.  Tri-State raised more than $16,000 to donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as part of the event, which raised in excess of $68,000 for the cause.

Annual Performance Awards

Throughout its history, Tri-State has been affiliated with numerous refining companies, including: American Refining Group, Apex, Ashland, BP, Citgo, Chevron, Exxon, Gulf Oil, Marathon, Pennzoil, Quaker State, Sun Refining and Marketing, Sunoco, Texaco,  and Uno-Ven. Annual performance recognition awards for excellence have been awarded to Tri-State from numerous oil companies, including Marathon, Exxon, BP and Chevron for each year from 1987 through 2014.

“We are very proud to be celebrating our 40th anniversary, and to be carrying on the legacy of the business our parents founded.  We are grateful for the opportunities that we have been blessed with in life and that we are able to give back to our employees and the communities that have supported our business over the last 40 years.  We will always deeply appreciate all of our employees, business partners and customers who have been loyal to the company over the years.  We look forward to many more years to come,” McGlinn added.

For more information about Tri-State Petroleum Corporation, please visit www.fueledbytristate.com.