IRONWOOD, Wis. -- The sale of Chief Oil Distributing of Ironwood, Wis., to an unnamed Milwaukee entrepreneur was finalized in late February, according to The Ironwood Daily Globe, citing Bob Paquin, who ran the company for nearly 45 years. The new owner, who Paquin did not identify, owns numerous BP/Amoco gas stations around the Milwaukee area and elsewhere, the report said.
As sole owner of the business, Paquin served as president of Chief Oil. His daughter, Robin Kafczynski, now takes over as president of Chief Oil under the new owner, who is more than doubling the size of the company [image-nocss] through acquisitions.
Kafczynski has worked at Chief Oil for 27 years; and her brother, Chris, who handles fuel deliveries, has been employed for about 25 years, said the report. There are nine employees in the company.
Throughout the years, Chief Oil had been a supplier of fuel to as many as 21 gas stations from Houghton to Bayfield, Wis. It now handles only nine stations, but the amount of business, dollar-wise, continues to increase. Paquin said there are only three major fuel distributors left on the Gogebic Range.
In addition, 2,000 customers receive heating fuel from the company. Chief Oil took over fuel oil distributing from Midland Services of Hurley last year, Paquin told the newspaper.
Paquin's role in the petroleum bulk retail fuel oil company started in 1964, the report said, when he bought the business from Tony Krzmanich and Arnie Mattson, who operated it from 1938 to 1964.Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.