Starting with one man, one truck and one customer, Marshall Oil has grown to currently serve more than 4,000 customers, and operates a fleet of 40 trucks. Stewart Marshall, the company's founder, began with the idea of serving both the local community and providing reliable service to his customers. "My grandfather really built this company from the ground up," said Ed Marshall, Stewart's grandson and current vice president of Marshall Oil.
Starting out wasn't easy for the elder Marshall. During the 1940's, seven large oil companies -- known as the "Seven Sisters" -- began to shape the emerging energy market. Prior to the oil crisis of 1973, these seven companies controlled roughly 85 percent of the world's oil reserves. After the shortage, several of the Seven Sisters merged with one another, creating even more of a monopoly on the oil market.
While these acquisitions proved a financial boom to the multi-national organizations, many customers were left feeling uneasy. As a result, consumers gradually turned towards smaller, family-owned oil companies to avoid becoming just part of a balance sheet. "We've serviced our customers through tough financial times and navigated around big oil," said Marshall. "We have a loyalty that bigger companies have a hard time replicating."
In order to keep their customers happy, Marshall Oil prioritizes customer satisfaction as paramount. "We understand our customers and treat them like family," said Marshall. "This is something my grandfather found out when the business started to take off, and we still serve some of the same families that he worked with over 60 years ago."
For more information about Marshall Oil Company, visit their website.