23733 Scottsdale Road
"We at Giant Industries, Inc. are committed to six core values: unmatched excellence in customer service; responsive and supportive leadership; flexible, innovative and dedicated employees; honest and ethical behavior; wise and productive use of all resources; safety in all we do."
Giant Industries, Inc. is one of the fastest growing independent petroleum companies located in the southwestern portion of the United States. Operating in the Four Corners area, where Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona converge, the company is involved in a wide range of refining and marketing activities, including two oil refineries at Gallup, New Mexico and Bloomfield, New Mexico; a crude oil gathering operation with approximately 340 miles of pipeline; a transportation company with 90 trucks that carry crude and finished petroleum products to its own service stations in the Four Corners area; 56 retail convenience stores/service stations in Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico; and one of the most impressive, state-of-the-art Travel Centers located near Gallup, New Mexico. Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, the company prides itself on being one of the leading minority employers in the Southwest, with more than 400 Native Americans working in various capacities throughout its facilities in the Four Corners region.
Early History
The founder of Giant Industries, Inc. has become one of the living legends in the Southwest. James E. Acridge started his rise to prominence in 1961 when, at the tender age of 21, he leased a small gasoline station in Glendale, Arizona from Richfield Oil (later to change its name to Atlantic Richfield). Four years later, the ambitious young man leased another station in the southern part of Phoenix, Arizona. This time he operated it under his own sign, Giant, while still holding onto his first station in Glendale. The new station was a much larger, three-island, nine-pump gas station, supplied by Shell Oil Company. Within one year, Acridge had his new Giant gas station pumping more than 60,000 gallons per month. When the owner of the property on which his Giant station was situated demanded 1.5 cents per gallon instead of a flat rent fee, Acridge moved into another station where he put up his Giant shingle and was soon pumping 50,000 gallons per month.
It was not until 1968, however, that Acridge jumped into the big league of gas station operators. He purchased a small two-island station, an old Signal Oil gas station in Phoenix, and put up the first self-serve sign in the region. Almost overnight the volume jumped to 150,000 gallons per month. The next step was a natural one. Acridge purchased a plot of land near Mesa, Arizona, borrowed $30,000 from a bank to begin operations, leased all the necessary equipment, and built his own multipump gas station. This station was pumping 150,000 gallons of gas by its third month in operation. Acridge incorporated his company in 1969, and from that time on he was the undisputed king of self-serve gas stations in Arizona.
Expansion and Growth in the 1970s
Fully aware that he was 15 years ahead of the market, Acridge built his second self-serve unit in 1970. The design of this unit was the forerunner of all subsequent self-serve gas stations. Under the world's largest gas station canopy up to that time, Acridge wanted to make it a pleasant experience for his customers to pump gas, so he piped in soft, soothing music under the canopies, constructed high retaining walls so that people would not be embarrassed if their friends saw them at a self-service station, and provided ample space between all the gas pumps for customers to pump their own gas without any significant delay. Within a short time, the two self-serve stations were pumping between 250,000 and 300,000 gallons of gas per month. By 1973, Giant Industries had expanded to include 12 self-serve gas stations and was pumping more than one million gallons of gasoline per month.
Acridge was confident that the full service gas stations were not able to compete with his innovative units. Soon major oil companies began to court the rapidly growing company, and Acridge decided to switch from his traditional independent supply sources to Phillips Petroleum. But almost as soon as the ink had dried on the contract, Phillips informed Acridge that the company was pulling out of the Phoenix market and cutting off Giant's supply of gasoline. When Acridge discovered that most independents like Giant had been cut off by the larger oil companies, he went into federal court and procured an injunction requiring Phillips to continue supplying his company. After a meeting of more than 60 independents in Phoenix, the group devised a strategy to lobby Washington and the Federal Energy Office to enact new rules that would allow for a more equitable sharing of oil supplies. Before the regulation went into effect, however, Giant was forced to close all but four of its gas stations.
When the oil embargo by OPEC exacerbated an already existing supply crisis, Acridge decided to enter into the refinery business to ensure a steady supply for his own stations. He purchased a small gas processing facility located in Carthage, Texas, had it completely dismantled, and transported the entire plant to Farmington, New Mexico, where it was reassembled and put in working order. As the worry about supply subsided, Acridge focused on reopening his closed units and constructing new ones. As his operation grew, he also decided to develop tie-in businesses that augmented his self-serve stations. His first idea involved what he called a "C-Store," a huge store situated in back of his gas stations that sold a large line of groceries, including such items as sporting goods and automotive parts, and included an on-site dry cleaners. The customers did not come, sales were almost nonexistent, and Acridge was forced to close the stores within a few months. Other misguided tie-in developments included a tire business and a fast food restaurant called "Fast Eddie's."
One of the tie-in businesses that did work was a scaled-down version of the C-Store concept, which Acridge named Giant's "Goodies C-Store." Designed as a small kiosk of approximately 1,000 square feet, situated in the middle of a gas station between the pump islands, it allowed customers to pay at a window for their gas or to enter the store and purchase an item. The stores carried about 400 to 450 products, mostly such things as cigarettes, beer, soft drinks, pre-made sandwiches, snacks, candies, and picnic-type supplies. The per-store average sales figure quickly climbed to $10,000 per month, and some were even averaging sales as high as $25,000 per month. With this income, Acridge was able to reopen most of his stores that were forced to close during the early 1970s. By the end of 1979, Giant was operating 23 gas stations and pumping more than four million gallons of gasoline per month.
Consolidation and Profitability During the 1980s
The 1980s were years of dramatic change for the company. In 1981, the major oil companies initiated a strategic campaign to squeeze out the independent gas station entrepreneurs like Acridge and re-establish themselves in markets from which they had long been absent. During the middle and late 1970s, independents had captured 55 percent of the gas station market in Phoenix. But after companies like Shell and Texaco increased their presence, most independents were soon pushed out of the market. Giant, however, was one of the few that remained, and at some cost. Acridge was forced to scale back his operations dramatically, and he closed all of his stations in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Branching out into smaller towns, Giant found a more stable, and lucrative, market.
In 1982, Giant acquired the Ciniza refinery from Shell, a more sophisticated and modern facility, and closed down the refinery it had built in Farmington, New Mexico. Acridge decided to close the New Mexico refining operation since the regional demand for residual fuel began to subside. At Ciniza, Giant added a $12 million, state-of-the-art 5,000 b/d isomerization unit to enhance the facility's ability to produce unleaded gasoline. By the mid-1980s, Ciniza was producing approximately 25,000 barrels per day and supplying motor fuels to more than 100 different customers throughout Arizona and New Mexico. Almost 25 percent of the company's annual production was sold through its own retail outlets, service stations, and two super retail centers.
Heartened by the success of his Goodies C-Stores during the early and mid-1980s, Acridge decided to open what has become known as a "highway extravaganza," an enormous combination truck stop/gas station/retail store close to the Ciniza refinery, about 20 miles west of Gallup, New Mexico. Opened in 1988 and covering about 35 acres of property, the Travel Center complex included a Truck Center; a fueling center for truckers with its own C-Store; a travelers' fueling center for passenger cars and recreational vehicles, separate from the Truck Center; and a 29,000-square-foot shopping mall with six retail stores, a restaurant, and a movie theatre.
The first and, many truckers say, still the only one of its kind, the Travel Center went against one of the principles upon which Acridge built his independent business. The Truck Center itself had 18 fully attended pumping islands that provided diesel fuel--at self-serve prices, of course. The decision to have attendants was based on the fact that Giant had to get certain information from truckers who paid their fuel bills with credit cards or vouchers. The Truck Center also included a service center, where truckers could have repairs done by a staff of certified mechanics and service technicians. Oil changes, grease jobs, and tire replacements were the most common types of maintenance required by truckers, and Giant began to garner a reputation for its efficiency and competence. In addition, the service center had the only truck wash between Barstow, California and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and, as word of the facilities at the Travel Center spread, truckers would sometimes drive 350 miles out of their way just to get their rig washed.
Although tourists and local customers were always welcomed at the Travel Center, it was the intention of Acridge to cater to and treat the truckers as if they were royalty. Truckers were spending an average of between $100 to $150 on fuel alone, not to mention all the other purchases they made at the retail stores and restaurant. So Acridge arranged for a van to carry truckers back and forth from their rigs in the vast parking lot of the Travel Center, built 26 shower stalls of hotel-like quality for truckers who wanted to clean up between rides, installed laundry facilities, and a shoe shine. Perhaps most important of all, a trucker could order a 16-ounce t-bone steak for $10.95, have it cooked to order, and call home from the telephone situated on his table. As business boomed and more truckers began to arrive at the Travel Center, Acridge expanded his operation to include more retail stores and a new restaurant whose staff included a head chef trained at the highly respected Culinary Institute of America.
The 1990s and Beyond
During the early 1990s, Giant Industries continued its rapid growth. In 1993, the Travel Center alone reported that it pumped more than 20 million gallons of fuel. Over the years, the company had built up its transportation operation to include a fleet of 90 trucks that carried crude and finished petroleum products not only to its own facilities but a growing number of customers in the Four Corners region. At the same time, Acridge made an investment in acquiring a crude oil gathering operation located in San Juan County that included approximately 340 miles of pipeline.
By 1996, Giant Industries was one of the most successful petroleum products companies in the southwestern part of the United States. Having found its niche in the Four Corners area, the company increased its revenues from $301 million in 1992 to $499 million by the end of fiscal 1996. Giant Industries purchased its second refinery in 1996, located in Bloomfield, New Mexico, from the Gary-Williams Energy Corporation. This acquisition helped the company to consolidate some of its refining operations, lower transportation costs, and improve production. With the Ciniza and Bloomfield refineries working at full capacity, the company increased the number of barrels sold per day from 27,000 to 39,000 in less than one year. Because of the growing demand for more of its products, Giant has decided to initiate a capital project that will increase the number of barrels produced per day at both the Ciniza and Bloomfield refineries.
Also during 1996, Giant made a major purchase involving Diamond Shamrock, Inc. For $5.4 million the company acquired seven gasoline stations operated by Shamrock in northwestern New Mexico. This acquisition brought the total number of Giant-run gas stations to 56, largest of all the independents in the Four Corners region. The company also built two new combination service stations/convenience stores in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Sedona, Arizona and initiated a major campaign to remodel 28 of its existing service stations/convenient stores.
Having built an extensive network of service stations and convenience stores from one small gas station, Jim Acridge succeeded in an area of the United States where most independents have failed. Not intimidated by the major oil companies, Acridge's confidence and determination have resulted in a firm that provides high-quality products and enviable customer service to travelers in the southwestern United States. Of all the compliments Acridge has received about his company, none is more satisfying than to hear truckers advising other truckers to go to a Giant station.
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