Sinclair has big plans as it turns 100

Salt Lake City-based Sinclair Oil turned 100 years old on May 1, but the company whose iconic dinosaur mascot is seen hanging out at area gas stations, is not content to rest on its laurels. One of America’s — and the oil industry’s — oldest brands, Sinclair is focused as intently on the future with ambitious plans to grow by more than 100 percent, making Sinclair, and its famous dinosaur, common sights across the nation once again.

Salt Lake City-based Sinclair Oil turned 100 years old on May 1, but the company whose iconic dinosaur mascot is seen hanging out at area gas stations, is not content to rest on its laurels. One of America’s — and the oil industry’s — oldest brands, Sinclair is focused as intently on the future with ambitious plans to grow by more than 100 percent, making Sinclair, and its famous dinosaur, common sights across the nation once again.

Gasoline and other Sinclair fuel and lubricant products are sold today at more than 1,300 franchised stations, mostly in the central plains and Rocky Mountain regions. By 2024, Sinclair will increase the number of Sinclair stations and be operating in most regions of the country. Most growth is expected to take place east of the Mississippi River.

As it gears towards the next century, the company has already started rebranding and revitalizing its 1,300 gas stations and incorporated new technology together with the launching of newly redesigned SinclairOil.com website, according to a company release.

“Many of our major competitors were talking a lot about [gasoline] quality. That was their primary marketing focus. We decided that in order to have parity with the other major brands, we needed to be top-tier as well, so we embarked on that journey about a year and a half ago and have reached that goal throughout our network,” said Jack Barger, Sinclair Oil Corp.’s vice president of marketing and supply.

The company has more than 1,200 employees nationwide and is set to expand its network by opening more than 2,700 gas stations in eight years, according to the statement. It plans to invest in new locations through a recently launched licensing program while strengthening its core markets, according to a Tulsa World report.

Sinclair owns and operates two refineries in Wyoming along with a network of both crude oil and finished-product pipelines and terminals in the Rocky Mountain and midcontinent regions. The company currently markets fuel in 24 states. Sinclair Oil and Gas Co. manages its exploration and production portfolios by participating only in major oil and gas development projects in the United States. Sinclair also owns and operates the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City, the Little America hotel chain, the Westgate Hotel in San Diego, Sun Valley Resort in Idaho and Snowbasin Resort in Utah. 

Sinclair Oil and Refining Corp., as it was originally known, was founded by Harry Sinclair. The native West Virginian had gained enough wealth buying and selling small oil leases to finance his startup. With the success of oil wells in Oklahoma, Sinclair was a millionaire by the time he was 30. He opened the first Sinclair gas station in 1926.

The ability to buy failing competitors during the Great Depression led to huge growth for the company. Sinclair retired in 1949 and the company was acquired in 1969 by the Atlantic Richfield Co., which sold out to PASCO Inc. in 1953. PASCO in turn sold Sinclair to Earl Holding in 1976. Holding was the owner of the Little America hotel chain. Today, the Holding family continues to own and run the business with son-in-law Ross Matthews as chairman and CEO.