History

1914

Ohio Cities Gas Company

The foundation of PURE Oil began with the Ohio Cities Gas Company, which was founded in 1914.

1920

Name Change

The Ohio Cities Gas Company changed its name to Pure Oil.

1926

Move to Chicago

The company moved to Chicago to establish its headquarters. They operated refineries located in Ohio, West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Texas.

1950

New Research Lab

The company opened a new research lab in 1950. As a result of this and other factors, the PURE band saw major growth in the 50s into the 60s. This growth coincided with the popularity of stock car racing.

1960-65

Growth

Annual sales had grown to $700 million, as PURE Oil ranked among the 100 largest industrial corporations in the United States, with more than 1,000 employees in the Chicago area alone.

1965

Unocal Purchase

The Union Oil Company of California (Unocal) purchased PURE Oil, converting PURE branded sites to the Union 76 brand.

1992

Unocal Leaves

Unocal announced it was pulling out of the Southeast 

1993

SOJC Founded

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.” Members founded the Co-op 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 site locations.

2008

Name Change

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 a petroleum brand – PURE – that has come full circle, with tremendous brand equity garnered through nearly a century’s worth of business history.