| The Company | |
|
|
| Locations | |
|
|
| Career Opportunities | |
|
|
| Lubricants | |
|
|
| Dealer Opportunities | |
|
|
| News | |
|
|
| Contact Us | |
|
|
| Pre-Application | |
|
|
| Related Links | |
|
|
| Forgot Login | |
|
|
 |
|
 |
The History Walters-Dimmick
Petroleum, Inc., was formed in September of 1982, by the merger of
two Shell branded petroleum marketers-Walters Distributing Company
of Marshall, Michigan, and Dimmick Petroleum Enterprises, Inc., of
Three Rivers, Michigan. Both companies were experienced, family owned
businesses that were well respected by their communities and peers
and had enjoyed a professional relationship many years prior to the
merger. As a result of this relationship and the ability to work together
as a team, WDP has grown to be one of Shell's largest wholesale marketers,
with a mindset focused on quality, superior image, good customer service,
and continued growth and innovation. The experience and motivation that formed WDP date back into the first half of the Twentieth Century. In 1947, Dick Walters, Jr., took over his father's tire shop and Sun Oil filling station located in Marshall, which his father, R.C. Walters, Sr., had operated for twenty-seven years. In 1971, Dick Walters and his son, John, signed a standard Shell jobber contract and created Walters Distributing Company. Over the course of the next eleven years, the company experienced rapid growth, including the purchase of several petroleum jobberships, Shell direct conversions, and half interest in three Pioneer truck stops. The Walters Distributing team showed they were innovators in 1974, when they changed a service station in Adrian, Michigan, into the area's first self-serve gasoline station. "Everyone told me it wouldn't work," Dick Walters recalls, "but we were putting some last-minute touches on the canopy, and the cars were already lined up before we could even open for business." The most dramatic impact on the overall growth of the core business came in 1982, when Walters Distributing merged with the nearby Shell jobber, Dimmick Petroleum Enterprises, Inc., which was founded by partner John Dimmick and his father, Robert L. Dimmick. As with Walters Distributing, Dimmick Petroleum was built on a foundation of many years of experience. In 1934, Robert L. Dimmick started out in the petroleum business as a commission fuel distributor, operating the first bulk truck with an onboard pump in St. Joseph County. Later, in 1960, his son, John, joined the company, and in 1961, they became a Shell jobber. During the twenty years that followed, Dimmick Petroleum also experienced much growth through jobber buy-outs and the purchase of Shell Oil assets. The merger of Walters Distributing Company and Dimmick Petroleum Enterprises, Inc., brought together an excellent management team, doubled gasoline volume, and greatly broadened operating territory, setting the framework for future development. "During the next fifteen years, Walters-Dimmick Petroleum sustained an ambitious growth program through our association with a great group of entrepreneurial dealers, the construction of many new-to-industry locations, and the acquisition of competitive units," Dick Walters explains. In 1986, the company made a move outside of Michigan by purchasing seven Shell stations in northern Indiana and two in northwestern Ohio. Next, the company acquired a Hastings, Michigan, Shell jobber, which included nine stations and a bulk plant. As a result, in 1989, Walters-Dimmick Petroleum had become Shell's largest U.S. jobber. Several years later, the Walters-Dimmick team was given a great opportunity-to form a joint venture with Shell Oil Products U.S. to expand the scope of their retail business and gain market penetration in the rapidly growing Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, Michigan, markets. WDS Ventures, L.L.C., began operations on February 1, 1997, with WDP acting as the operating member. Over the course of the next few years, a large amount of time and resources were poured into the two market areas to make improvements and to expand, and to create the type of modern facilities with a quality image for which WDP had become known. Over the years, in addition to its offering of high quality, brand name products, WDP has given much effort to insure that a high level of service is provided to its customers. It was one of the first gasoline retailers to install credit card readers and cash acceptors at the fuel pumps to make getting gasoline quicker and easier, and it is still one of the few retailers to stay open 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. A leader in brand image, Walters-Dimmick Petroleum is devoted to providing clean and attractive sites for its customers, in addition to the quality products and services they desire. Branded food services, car washes, ATMs and other new products and services, are some of the things that have been added to its network of facilities over the years to increase the level of service and convenience for its customers, along with many aesthetic renovations to keep the sites looking fresh and modern. WDP has come a long way since its formation in 1982, having to react and move forward with the many evolutionary changes in the industry. "Sometimes it was a matter of being in the right place at the right time, but more often than not it was the result of hard work," says Dick Walters, "A quality image, quality Shell products, and good, honest business dealings with our customers are the foundation ingredients on which we built this company." As through the past, it can be assured that WDP will continue to evolve in its pursuit of excellence as the world progresses into the new millennium, building upon the same solid foundation that has brought the company to where it is today. |
|