“It really is a dream come true.”
Those were the words Cole Candler, founder of Gas Station Supply, used on April 1st of this year when his company began moving into their newly completed Office and Warehouse complex. “When Brian Travis came to work for me 15 years ago, we really thought we were on to something – but for it to come to this – we never would have believed it.”
Back in 2007, Cole and Brian saw that Central Virginia’s gas station owners, branded wholesalers and distributors, and owners of bulk petroleum facilities were not being properly served by ‘the big boys’ in Roanoke and Richmond. Says Cole, “Brian came to me from the Petroleum Equipment industry with customers who loved his commitment to hands-on service and we really just ran with it.” Brian noted it took a while for other equipment companies and manufacturer’s representatives to believe in Gas Station Supply, but they soon caught on to the unique opportunity of GSS’s special brand of service. “We were lucky that we had a couple of vendors early on who saw that we took this seriously. Setting up our Trade Show booth in Myrtle Beach for the first time was a big step for us. But it paid off.”
At first, growth at Gas Station Supply was slow, but as Cole says, “we literally grew every quarter of every year and opportunities just kept presenting themselves and we grabbed as much as we could.” Brian and Cole both agree that a key to where they are today was the January 2017 acquisition of Wayne Henderson’s company Petroleum Specialties. “Once we had Wayne onboard we knew that we were going to go places,” said Brian.
In late 2019 it was becoming apparent that the current facility for Gas Station Supply was not going to work long term. Brian and Cole met with Daryl Glass of Glass & Associates and began planning on the next big step for their company. Both men feel that “Daryl and the whole crew at Glass & Associates along with their subcontractors did a great job of bringing our vision to reality. And we can’t not mention all the help we got from Hurt & Proffitt and Best Grading as well.”
After almost 3 years of planning, construction, and hard work, the vision has paid off. Gas Station Supply is now in a 3400 square foot beautifully appointed office along with a 10,000 square foot warehouse. The office section features three private executive offices, a spacious ‘open office’ concept, a break room, an inviting reception area, a dedicated space for Service Technicians, and a conference room. “Of all the things I’m excited about, that conference room is near the top of the list,” Cole gushed. “We think it’ll be a fantastic place to meet customers, vendors, plan projects and have training sessions. Several vendors have already asked us if they could use our conference room as a Regional Training Center, so we’re all excited.”
With its high ceiling, the warehouse feels even bigger than its advertised 10,000 square feet. The building has a dedicated Custom Hose making shop, a test bench for Service Techs to pre-program and/or troubleshoot electronic pumps and control systems, and plenty of space for all the parts you would expect a powerhouse regional Petroleum Equipment supply facility to have.
“We are all just proud of what we have built here” said Brian, summing it up and looking forward to an even brighter future.
To find out how Gas Station Supply can best help you with your petroleum equipment and services needs, reach out to us at 434-845-3648 or you can email us at info@gasstationsupply.net. We’ll always respond to you within one business day or less.
