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Company History
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Saneholtz-McKarns Experiences
30 years of Strengths, Growth By Leila Kheiry Associate Editor Leader Enterprise Wilber Saneholtz and Ora McKarns were in the
petroleum business long before they thought about going into business
together. As salesmen and distributors of gasoline for Mobile and Shell, the
two met often and developed a friend- ship. Then, on July 1, 1968, thirty years ago, they bought
the county contracts in Williams County for 'Mobile Oil, and started their
own business: Saneholtz-McKarns. Mr. McKarns was interested mainly in building equity,
and sold his share of the business to Mr. Saneholtz after a few years. Mr.
Saneholtz ran the company for many years, and now Saneholtz-McKarns is owned
by Wilber's son, Jim Saneholtz. When Saneholtz-McKarns first opened, there were only
two gas stations: one in Montpelier and one in West Unity. "At that
time. the majority of the business was farm delivery," explained Jim
Saneholtz. Today, Saneholtz-McKarns still distributes petroleum products to
farmers for their machinery. The gasoline business has evolved over time. Until
the time of unleaded gasoline, Mr. Saneholtz said, the lead in gas caused a
lot of damage to engines, necessitating the existence of many small
full-service stations. After unleaded gas became widespread, cars ran better,
and longer, without as much demand for repairs. "During this time, the small gas station lost a
lot of business," said Mr. Saneholtz. “I saw a chance to grow the
business." As a separate venture from Saneholtz-McKarns (before he
bought the business), he approached various convenience stores to see if they
were interested in expanding their own businesses. "I went and offered
these locations the opportunity to sell gas. It was kind of an offshoot of
Saneholtz-McKarns. In fact, there were two companies." He was able to grow his own business through these
ventures, and when his father decided to retire, he purchased
Saneholtz-McKarns and merged the two businesses into one. Saneholtz-McKarns now owns nine gas and convenience
stores in the area and supplies petroleum products to about 30 more stores in
northwest Ohio. Mr. Saneholtz said the company plans to continue its
growth, building on its strengths. "The challenge in this business has
been trying to grow with the burden the government has put on us," he
said, referring to the Environmental Protection Agency and various clean air
laws. "It's not a complaint,” he
added. “It’s just the way it is. In
the scheme of things, the government and private sector are working well
together." Mr. Saneholtz has quick praise for some of his
long-time employees. He mentioned Richard Chapin, head of operations; Jeff
Erb, retail operations manager; Deb Allman, bookkeeping; Bob Rose, Jamie
Clingaman and Cindy Porath; David Farber, transport driver; and Nelson
Schaffer, head of maintenance. He also mentioned the nine store managers and
many store employees. "I would like to thank them all personally,"
he said. Active in the Montpelier community, Mr. Saneholtz
said Saneholtz-McKarns sponsors about ten youth leagues, including little
league and softball; and a bowling league. They hold a yearly fundraiser for
United Way and sponsor Jerry's Kids as well. "We try our best to support
the various communities," he said. "That's not a decision on a
business venture, it's just a personal thing. It feels good.” The above was taken
from the Leader Enterprise, Montpelier’s Hometown newspaper. |
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