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Quaker State is an American brand of
motor oil Motor oil, engine oil, or engine lubricant is any one of various substances used for the lubrication of internal combustion engines. They typically consist of base oils enhanced with various additives, particularly antiwear additives, deterg ...
produced by
Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...
, the US-based division of
Shell plc Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...
since 2002,Pennzoil Company
on the Encyclopedia Britannica
when Shell Oil Co. acquired Pennzoil-Quaker State Co. for $1.8 billion in cash and $1.1 billion in debt. The former Quaker State Oil Refining Company had been constituted in 1924 after the Eastern Refining Co. acquired rights to the ''Quaker State'' brand name to the Phinny Brothers Oil Company, which had been producing the Quaker lubricants since 1912, gaining reputation in the U.S. after a deal signed with automotive manufacturer
Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...
in 1914. In 1931, it became the "Quaker State Corporation" after merging with another 18 oil companies. The ''Quaker State'' name is derived from the nickname for
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, the state founded by
William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...
, a man of the
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
religion.


History


Brand background

Quaker State's origins may be traced to the founding of Oil City in
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, in the 19th century. The
petroleum industry The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The larges ...
of the city brought prosperity, increasing its population from 12 families in 1860 to 6,000 five years later. The name "Quaker State" was adopted in 1912 when T.G. Phinny (owner of the Phinny Brothers Oil Company) used it to distinguish his products from competitors. One of the first goals of the company was to provide lubricants for Franklin Automotive Company of Syrcause, NY., signing a contract to become exclusive oil provider for the company."History of the Quaker State Corp." on Reference for Business website By 1915, Quaker State advertised in ''
The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...
'' becoming a known brand in the U.S.


Company formation

In 1924, the Eastern Refining Company" purchased the ''Quaker State'' brand name to rename itself "Quaker State Oil Refining Company". On July 1, 1931, the "Quaker State Corporation" was formed when Charles Pape, stockbroker from Chicago, brought 19 regional oil companies, offering them 55,000 shares in the new corporation that resulted after they merge their business. Some of the companies involved were the Eastern Refining Company, Sterling Oil Company of West Virginia, Ohio Valley Refining Company, Enterprise Oil Company Inc., Independent Refining Company, Lake Erie Lubricants Inc., Iron City Oil Company, Gallagher Bros. Inc., and Appaline Oil Company. Herry Crawford (former president of the 'President Oil Company') become president of the recently formed Quaker State. During its first year, the company ran up $6,8 million in sales. In 1936, the company signed an agreement with the Standard Oil Company becoming its exclusive sales agent for its oil products in 13 Midwestern states. Standard would later put all Quaker State products in its
filling station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasoli ...
s. Until 1944, Quaker State did not drill oil but it bought crude from other producers, nevertheless the increasing demand for energy during wartime led the company to buy drilling facilities from the Forest Oil Company in Bradford to produce its own crude oil.


Expansion

By 1960, company's sales surpassed the $50 million. In 1964 Quaker State purchased the Truck-Lite Company of
Falconer, New York Falconer is a village in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 2,284 at the 2020 census. Falconer is within the town of Ellicott and is on the eastern edge of the city of Jamestown. History The area now known as Fa ...
, to diversify its business. The top sales for the company came in the 1970s, when it had profits of $10.7 million. Quaker State opened a new refinery in
Newell, West Virginia Newell is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in northern Hancock County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Ohio River. The population was 1,203 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the Weirton–Steubenville me ...
, that allowed the company to reach sales of $300 million in 1975. During the following years, Quaker State acquired the Valley Camp Coal Co (1976) and new headquarters on Elm Street in Oil City, also buying car parts suppliers, Corn Brothers of Smyrna, Georgia; National Oil Company of Newark, New Jersey; and Texstar Automotive Corporation, based in St. Louis, Missouri. In the 1980s, Quaker State continued its expansion with the acquisitions of the Heritage Insurance Group (an insurance company), Helen Mining Company (coal producer), and shares to Minit-Lube Inc. to offer car maintenance services.


Acquisition and bankruptcy

In 1989, the company reorganized itself into five divisions, including the refining corporation, car maintenance, insurance, trucks, and energy. This operation brought a decrease in sales and profits. In January 1990, the Quaker State Corporation's petroleum business split from the parent company, giving the name "Quaker State Oil Refining Corporation". Months later, Quaker State sold some of its facilities. By 1991, the motor oil business produced 92% of profits for the company, while all other sectors were losing money or barely profitable. By 1992, sales had dropped to $724 million (more than 25%). In 1994, Quaker State sold its insurance business and purchased Speciality Oil Corp. for $90 million. In 1995, the company announced that it would move to
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
and sell its natural gas business to focus on lubricants. In 1998, Quaker State was acquired by rival company
Pennzoil Pennzoil is an American motor oil brand currently owned by Shell plc. The former Pennzoil Company had been established in 1913 in Pennsylvania, being active in business as an independent firm until it was acquired by Shell in 2002, becoming a bra ...
, becoming "Pennzoil-Quaker State Company". In 2002,
Shell Oil Company Shell USA, Inc. (formerly Shell Oil Company, Inc.) is the United States-based wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc, a UK-based transnational corporation " oil major" which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 18,000 ...
(the US-based
subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...
of
Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...
) acquired Pennzoil-Quaker State. At the moment of the purchase, Pennzoil-Quaker was the largest motor oil manufacturer in the United States. On the other side, Shell expected to become leader in the U.S. and global lubricants markets.Shell Acquires Pennzoil-Quaker Statev
on CBS News, 25 Mr 2002


Sponsorship

The former Pennzoil-Quaker State Company sponsored the
IndyCar INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...
race, Quaker State 500 (now known as the
ABC Supply 500 The ABC Supply 500 was an IndyCar Series race held at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, located in the Pocono Mountains. The first Indy car race at Pocono was held in 1971. It was the first major event held at the track, shortly after ...
) in 1988, and is a current sponsor of the
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
Monster Energy Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. ...
race
Quaker State 400 The Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart, commonly known as simply the Quaker State 400, was a annual NASCAR Cup Series race held at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky. The inaugural event was held on July 9, 2011 and was won by Kyle Bus ...
at
Kentucky Speedway Kentucky Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, which has hosted ARCA, NASCAR and Indy Racing League racing annually since it opened in 2000. The track is currently owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. Before 2008 J ...
. Quaker State was also the sponsor of
Hendrick Motorsports Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 291 Cup Seri ...
from 1996 to 2013 (
Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...
,
Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, ...
,
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, team owner, author, and an analyst for ''NASCAR on NBC''. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving t ...
,
Kasey Kahne Kasey Kenneth Kahne (; born April 10, 1980) is an American dirt track racing driver and former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2018, driving the No. 95 Dumont Jets/ Procore Technolo ...
) and
Paul Menard John Paul Christian Menard (born August 21, 1980) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver who last competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 66 Toyota Tundra for ThorSport Racing. Men ...
; the company was also formerly the sponsor of
Morgan Shepherd Clay Morgan Shepherd (born October 12, 1941) is an American retired professional stock car racing driver and current team owner. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 89 Chevrolet Camaro for Shepherd Racing Ven ...
. Quaker State was also official lubricants partner of Italo-
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
-works team
Risi Competizione Risi Competizione is an Italo-American auto racing Ferrari factory-backed team formed by Giuseppe Risi in 1997. Initially, the team had a partnership with Doyle Racing using the name Doyle-Risi Racing, but soon Giuseppe Risi took full control of t ...
in 2004 until 2008. Quaker State was sponsoring the
Force India Force India Formula One Team Limited, commonly known as Force India and later Sahara Force India, was a Formula One racing team and constructor based in Silverstone, United Kingdom, with an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 20 ...
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
team for 2015 until 2018 and Allen "Quaker" Ellis for the 2016 US National Olympic Team. The restaurant chain
Quaker Steak & Lube Quaker Steak & Lube is a casual dining restaurant chain based in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1974, in Sharon, Pennsylvania. The original restaurant was built by George "Jig" Warren and Gary "Mo" Massaro's in an abandoned gas stati ...
is a spoof on the brand name.


See also

*
Windmill Quaker State Windmill Quaker State is a historic service station located at Parkersburg, Wood County, West Virginia. It was built in 1928 by the Quaker State Corporation, and is an example of an architectural folly. It is a roughcast stucco building with a ...


References


External links

* {{Shell plc American brands American companies established in 1924 American companies disestablished in 1998 Automotive fuel retailers Defunct oil companies of the United States Motor oils Shell plc brands 1998 mergers and acquisitions