Be Sure With Pure
PURE Oil Jobbers Cooperative, Inc. :: 2025 Ebenezer Road, Suite G :: Rock Hill, SC 29732 :: 803.328.5284
www.besurewithpure.com
Welcome to a Cooperative
of marketers, founded by marketers, to work for marketers.
PURE branded licensing
A PURE History – from PURE Oil to the PURE Co-op
The PURE branded licensing agreement gives the Co-op a way to grow the PURE
brand in areas that are not currently served by a supplier arrangement. The licensing
agreement allows licensees to use the PURE brand name and Firebird trademark -- as
well as signage, graphics, pump decals, credit card processing, etc. -- for marketing
their retail sites, after obtaining their own product supply from other sources.
The origin of PURE dates back to 1914, with the founding of the Ohio Cities Gas
Company. Six years later, the company name changed to PURE Oil, and by 1926, it
had moved to Chicago to establish its headquarters.
Images, Signage, Decals, etc.
The PURE Oil Jobbers Cooperative, Inc. provides its members with an approved vendor
that can assist with all of the PURE signs, images, decals, etc., necessary to successfully
brand their retail sites. Specifications for all PURE signs, images, and decals are offered
as well, letting members convey consistency and uniformity in the visibility of respective
sites, if they so choose. However, members always have the flexibility to control their
own imaging standards. Thus, members enjoy the benefit of obtaining a brand name
with tremendous brand equity, yet free of the rigid and strict imaging and marketing
standards like those of major oil companies.
Member Apparel and Employee Uniforms
PURE Co-op members have access to a complete line of work apparel. PURE apparel
includes everything from uniforms for those attendants working at PURE sites to
sportswear for use in any business casual setting. The PURE line of apparel includes
twill and denim shirts, long and short sleeve polos, work shirts, smocks, aprons, pants,
shorts, jeans, caps, jackets, and more.
Credit Card Assistance
The PURE Oil Jobbers Cooperative, Inc. has very competitive credit card processing
programs available for its members for use at their retail sites.
Insurance and Payroll Assistance
Through hard work and continual negotiations by the staff and board leadership, the
PURE Co-op offers its members high quality coverage for workman’s compensation, longterm care, and life insurance, as well as a vendor that can provide payroll assistance.
Software Innovations
As a benefit of membership, PURE Co-op members can gain access to
some of the industry’s most innovative and updated software applications
for use in business operations or retail outlets.
Be Sure with PURE
The tagline of the PURE petroleum brand is also representative of the
mission of the PURE Oil Jobbers Cooperative, Inc. “Be Sure with PURE”
reflects the guarantee to members that this Cooperative, owned by the
petroleum marketers it serves, will provide the highest quality petroleum
products, with member services, support, and business infrastructure,
designed to enhance opportunities for success. While retail customers can
“Be Sure with PURE”, so too can Co-op members, knowing that they are a
part of the best collection of independent petroleum marketers in the U.S.
PURE Oil Jobbers Co-op, Inc. :: 2025 Ebenezer Road, Suite G :: Rock Hill, SC 29732 :: 803.328.5284
In 1950, PURE Oil opened its research laboratory, and by the 1960’s, annual sales
had grown to $700 million, as PURE Oil ranked among the 100 largest industrial
corporations in the United States. The growth of the PURE brand during the 50’s
and 60’s, especially in the Southeast, also coincided with the growth in popularity of
stockcar racing, as PURE was one of the more visible petroleum brands for the sport
during this era.
It was 1965 when the Union Oil Company of California (Unocal) purchased PURE
Oil, converting PURE branded sites to the Union 76 brand. But when Unocal
announced it was pulling out of the Southeast in 1992, this created an ideal
opportunity for a group of independent petroleum marketers to purchase and resurrect
the PURE brand and Firebird trademark, which Unocal had no longer marketed.
The Founding of the SOJC
In 1993, following the negotiations between Unocal and the oil jobbers it left behind
in this region, the Southeastern Oil Jobbers Cooperative, Inc. (SOJC) was born. The
SOJC consisted primarily of smaller operators who established a true cooperative “of
marketers, by marketers, for marketers.”
The Co-op was founded on the principle of autonomy for its members, trusting their
judgment and expertise in their respective markets on issues such as purchasing
volumes and imaging for site locations.
Co-op membership requires only an initiation fee, a purchase of one share of stock
(members can only have one share so ownership will be equally divided), and a
Co-op fee of 1/10 of 1 cent per gallon purchased. As a result of this investment,
members can receive a monthly rebate when they pull 85 percent of their contract
volumes, as well as annual dividends at the end of each year. The PURE Co-op has
paid back annual dividends to its membership every year since 1996.
By 2008, the SOJC had changed its name to the PURE Oil Jobbers Cooperative,
Inc. in celebration of its 15th anniversary as a group of highly principled
petroleum marketers. Their talents now oversee the marketing of a PURE
brand that has come full circle, with tremendous brand equity garnered
through nearly a century’s worth of business history.
Growing into the PURE Co-op
When the Co-op changed its name to PURE, it did so to reflect a desire to attain
members outside of the original 10-state Southeastern region. In addition, the
regional name of the Co-op didn’t take advantage of one of the strongest national
petroleum brand names in the industry. Thus, the “PURE” brand became the focal
point of the organization’s corporate identity as well.
At the time of negotiations between the Co-op and Unocal over ownership of
the PURE brand name, Unocal commissioned a study to measure the public’s
awareness and opinion of the PURE name. The results revealed that 54 percent
of respondents were familiar with PURE, proving the brand had remarkable equity,
even though it had been dormant for decades.
Today, the PURE Oil Jobbers Cooperative, Inc. has approximately 340 members
operating within its 10 original Southeastern states, with future growth of the Co-op
membership -- and the PURE brand -- anticipated within this region and beyond.
Sources include the Encyclopedia of Chicago and The Journal of Petroleum Marketing.
The PURE Co-op
For more information on the
Pure Oil Jobbers Cooperative,
The Co-op Members
The PURE Oil Jobbers Cooperative, Inc. has approximately 340 members, pulling in excess of
50 million gallons of product each month. Currently, the members are located primarily within
the 10 Southeastern states of: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. By obtaining the rights to the
PURE trademark in all 50 states, through an agreement with Unocal, the Co-op membership is
expanding beyond the original 10-state region.
Check us out online at
www.besurewithpure.com,
or by calling 803.328.5284.
The Co-op Leadership
The leadership of the PURE Oil
Jobbers Cooperative is determined
by the equally vested voting interest
of each member. The members
elect a board of directors to
manage and determine policies for
the Cooperative. There are five
districts within the Co-op, and the
The Co-op Benefits
members of each district select
Membership is Ownership
three board members. The 15
Members of the PURE Oil Jobbers Cooperative, Inc. join the petroleum marketers group by
purchasing one share of stock, and by paying a flat initiation fee and a Co-op fee of 1/10 of
1 cent per gallon purchased. A member can only own one share, so influence in the Co-op is
divided equally among all members.
members of the governing Board
Strength in Numbers
officers will move up in their respective roles each year.
Rather than face the challenges of business decisions alone, members of the PURE Oil Jobbers
Cooperative, Inc. obtain strength in numbers when obtaining supply, branding products,
determining image for retail operations, and more. Through involvement in the Co-op,
individual members obtain more purchasing and operating leverage in virtually all of their
marketing and management decisions.
The PURE Co-op Sales Team, Staff
of Directors of the PURE Co-op serve staggering,
three-year terms. The PURE Co-op Board then selects an annual slate of officers to serve
in the roles of President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer, with the intent that these
The sales team and staff of the PURE Oil Jobbers Cooperative work out of the home office in
Rock Hill, South Carolina, as well as on the road in their respective districts.
The General Manager provides communication between the Co-op and its membership,
Direct, Secured Supply
As market conditions change, the PURE Oil Jobbers Cooperative continues to provide consistent,
competitive petroleum products for its members from contractually secured suppliers. This security
provided to Co-op members helps to reduce uncertainty concerning one of the most critical
objectives for a petroleum marketer – obtaining a guaranteed supply of competitively priced
petroleum products for retail distribution.
while assisting District Sales Managers and the President with correspondence to individual
members as well. In addition, the General Manager is responsible for submitting available
figures to the District Sales Managers of member purchases. Finally, the General Manager
reports non-compliance information to the Co-op President and Board of Directors, so they
may intervene if necessary.
Independent Brands
District Sales Managers respond to the needs of the growing number of members in their
One of the greatest benefits of the PURE Oil Jobbers Cooperative, Inc. is the strength of its
PURE petroleum brand. The brand equity in PURE is unmatched, at least among independent
petroleum marketers. It’s a brand that offers flexibility for Co-op members, who can make their
own decisions regarding imaging and marketing retail sites, yet do so with a brand name that
has the equity and history of a major oil company.
respective territories. They also monitor each member’s month to month purchases, to help
ensure the member is in compliance with the member agreement, which includes a specific
fuel purchase arrangement. District Sales Managers are responsible for growing the Coop by calling on prospective members, though they are always available to assist existing
members with whatever they need.
Growth and Profitability
One of the primary goals of the PURE
Co-op is to grow its membership,
increase its market presence, and
provide an increasingly profitable
and positive return on each member’s
investment. As a result of investing in
the Co-op, members receive a monthly
rebate if they pull 85 percent of their
contract volumes, as well as annual
dividends at the end of each
calendar year.
PURE Marketing
The PURE Brand and Firebird Trademark
The “PURE” petroleum brand name has been on the American landscape since 1920.
Today, the PURE Oil Jobbers Cooperative, Inc. has the exclusive right to use the “PURE”
brand and the “Firebird” trademark among its membership, while marketing PURE petroleum
products at retail sites and during business operations. The Co-op has obtained the rights
to the PURE brand and Firebird trademark in all 50 states, with an intent to market them
accordingly, all across the country.