The PURE Oil Jobbers Cooperative
We have a little over 340 members. Our members pull in excess of 50 million gallons of product each month. The majority of our members are located within the 10 Southeastern states of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The Co-op membership is working to expand beyond this 10-state region.
Co-Op Formation
The PURE Co-op was formed under Chapter 54, Subchapter 4, of the laws of North Carolina to operate as a Cooperative Association for the purpose of marketing petroleum and petroleum-related products to its members.
Suppliers
The Co-op has contracted with one or more suppliers to provide its members with petroleum products that meet or exceed the specifications for products to be sold under the PURE trademark.
Branding
In instances where members do not desire product, they may have the right to use the PURE trademark in connection with the marketing of other unbranded products, through a branded licensing agreement with the Co-op.
Marketing
The Co-op and its members desire to adopt and apply consistent and superior marketing and imaging standards for all activities involving the PURE brand and Firebird trademark to benefit from the substantial name recognition and customer loyalty stemming from the brand equity of “PURE.”
Benefits of Membership
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 can Co-op members, knowing that they are a part of the best collection of independent petroleum marketers in the U.S.
Membership is Ownership
Members of the PURE Oil Jobbers Cooperative, Inc. purchase one share of stock, pay a flat initiation fee and pay a Co-op fee of 1/10 of 1 cent per gallon purchased.
This investment entitles a member to equal ownership in the Co-op. Each member can only own one share of stock, ensuring that each member has a similar influence.
All members of the PURE Co-op have a voice in its operation and a vested interest in its success.
Strength in Numbers
Membership in the PURE Oil Jobbers Cooperative allows you to face the challenges of business decisions together.
Decisions on obtaining supply, branding products, determining image for retail operations, and more are made as a group.
Through involvement in the Co-op, members obtain more purchasing and operating leverage in marketing and management decisions. There is strength in numbers.
Guaranteed Direct, Secured Supply
Even as market conditions change, the PURE Oil Jobbers Cooperative will provide consistent, competitive petroleum products for its members from contractually secured suppliers.
This security reduces the uncertainty concerning one of the most critical objectives for a petroleum marketer – obtaining a guaranteed supply of competitive petroleum products for retail distribution.
Contract volumes can be increased once per month and decreased once per year with approval. This allowance gives flexibility for each member regarding their operation. Suppliers invoice them directly when members enter into contract volumes through the Co-op.
Flexibility with Branding
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, as the PURE label has a history that dates back almost 100 years.
It’s a brand that offers flexibility for Co-op members, who can make their own decisions regarding imaging and marketing of retail sites, yet do so with a brand name that has the equity and history like that of a major oil company.
Growth and Profitability
The primary goals of the PURE Co-op are
- to grow its membership,
- to increase its market presence,
- and to provide an increasingly profitable and positive return on each member’s investment.
Co-op Members can earn rebates if they pull 85 percent of their contract volumes. In addition, members in good standing earn annual dividends at the end of each calendar year.
The Co-op has been providing annual dividends to its members since 1996.
Learn More about PURE Membership
Speak directly to someone in our organization to find out how your business can benefit from PURE Co-op membership.
The Co-op Committees
The PURE Oil Jobbers Cooperative, Inc. has eight standing committees. A committee chair, who serves on the Co-op Board, and committee members who may come from the Board or general membership, make up each committee. Committee assignments also try to reflect representation from each of the Co-op’s five regional districts.
The following committees have formed to serve the interests of the Co-op members through these various capacities:
Executive Committee
The primary duties of the Executive Committee are to resolve any decisions that must be made between the quarterly Board meetings, as well as to provide any assistance necessary to the Cooperative’s General Manager.
Marketing Committee
The function of the Marketing Committee is to submit any proposals to the Co-op Board of Directors concerning marketing the “Pure” brand, the “Firebird” logo, or other marketing or communications initiatives on behalf of the membership. The main functions of the Marketing Committee are:
- Propose a budget for the marketing committee to the finance committee by the 3rd quarter of each year.
- Develop incentive plans for new business and submit them to the Board by the 3rd quarter.
- Review membership rules with staff and make recommendations of changes to the Board.
- Promote membership in the Co-op.
- Work in conjunction with the staff to establish a system to monitor membership compliance and provide reports of such to the Board of Directors each meeting.
- Review the current sign inventory and future Co-op needs with the staff.
- Negotiate the purchase of “Pure” signage and make recommendations to the Board as needed.
- Work in conjunction with the Co-op staff to resolve problems that might occur with sign companies. (Currently, the Co-op is utilizing Sign Plant as our sign company. Dualite also builds signs for the Co-op and has them stored at Sign Plant. )
- Negotiate and submit credit card proposals to the Board for approval.
- Establish monitoring arrangements with the staff, members of the Co-op, and credit card companies, as to how well credit card programs are functioning.
- Review with credit card processing companies the future equipment needs and possible changes in equipment. Currently, the Co-op accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Voyager, and Wright Express. These cards are processed through the Co-op’s approved credit card processing vendors at RBS Lynk and Petroleum Card Services (PCS).
- Pursue any additional directives that may come from the Co-op Board of Directors.
Personnel Committee
The functions of the Personnel Committee are as follows:
- The Chairperson of the Personnel Committee shall be present at all staff meetings.
- Perform interviews with potential new employees and make recommendations to the Board.
- Review job descriptions and make reports to the Board by the 2nd quarter meeting. Review employee’s pay, benefits, and incentives, while improving them as necessary and reporting to the Board such committee recommendations by the 2nd quarter meeting.
- Work in conjunction with the Planning Committee and the Finance Committee on future needs, while providing the costs of hiring any additional personnel.
- Review each employee’s performance and report to the Board such evaluations by the 3rd quarter meeting. Recommend employee bonus amounts. The President and Personnel Committee Chairman decide on individual bonuses.
- Follow any directives that may come from the Co-op Board of Directors.
Supply Committee
The functions of the Supply Committee are as follows:
- Maintain dialogue with TransMontaigne, the Co-op‘s primary supplier currently, about future contracts. Have recommendations completed and submitted to the Board by the annual shareholders meeting in the 4th quarter.
- Establish procedures whereby committees can assist the Co-op staff with credit applications pending with suppliers.
- Study all supply proposals, negotiate when necessary, and make recommendations to the Board at the appropriate time.
- Follow any directives that may come from the Board of Directors.
Finance Committee
The functions of the Finance Committee are as follows:
- Approve all major expenditures of the PURE Co-op, i.e. funding of other committees’ projects.
- Monitor the current budget and report to the board at each board meeting.
- Review budget line items with the Co-op staff and make recommended changes to the Board as needed.
- Work with the Co-op staff and board to breakdown any information needed from the financial statements.
- Submit a dividend proposal to the Board for approval. This proposal should be submitted by the 3rd quarter board meeting.
- Submit an audit and tax return [proposal(s)] to the board for approval. The recommended proposal(s) should be submitted for board approval by the 4th quarter board meeting.
- Recommend auditor and tax preparer for the next year.
- Present completed audit report to the Board.
- Carry out directives that may come from the Board of Directors.
Nominating Committee
The function of the Nominating Committee is to report nominees to the Board of Directors and slate of officers for the succeeding fiscal year. These slates must be presented to the Board for approval by the 3rd quarter Board meeting.
The committee selects nominees to serve rotating terms. There is a 15 -member Board of Directors, with each director serving a three-year term. Five directors rotate off the Board each year, with new selections taking their place. At least two directors must be nominated from each district. The nominated directors are confirmed and voted on by members in their respective district. The nomination process is scheduled and directed at the committee’s discretion. To protect the integrity of the election process, the Co-op’s CPA firm tallies the votes and reports those results to the Board, through the chairman of the Nominating Committee. The terms of the new Board of Directors begin immediately after election.
The slate of officers should be presented for Board approval at the 4th quarter Board meeting that immediately follows the annual shareholders meeting. The Co-op officer positions include: President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The officers’ terms begin January 1. All nominees should be in good standing as a Co-op Member.
The districts of the PURE Oil Jobbers Cooperative are as follows:
- District 1 – Mississippi, Louisiana & Arkansas
- District 2 – North Carolina, South Carolina & Virginia
- District 3 – Georgia
- District 4 – Florida
- District 5 – Alabama & Tennessee
Planning Committee
The functions of the Planning Committee are as follows:
- Prepare and present to the Board a five-year, updated master plan by the 3rd quarter meeting, including the proposed future development and expansion of the Co-op, estimating future growth, goals and personnel needs. The committee should work closely with the staff in preparation of these plans.
- Develop a plan to assure equal representation of membership on the Co-op Board of Directors. The committee should explore ways to make representation equal within the bylaws of the Cooperative.
- Submit recommended proposed bylaw changes to the Board for approval. The Board would submit the resolutions to the Cooperative membership for approval.
- Become familiar with the current bylaws in order to provide accurate reference to such as needed.
- Provide council to the Board when bylaws are not being followed.
- Interview the staff as to bylaws that need to be changed and make recommendations for changes to the Board by the 3rd quarter meeting.
- Follow any directives that may come from the Co-op Board of Directors.