KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Pilot Travel Centers President James A. Haslam III said recently that the company has opened its first international location. It is in Tilbury, Ontario, Canada.
This is Pilot's 271st travel center, and it is located about 45 miles east of Detroit on Canada's Highway 401 at Exit 56.
Pilot acquired the travel center from an individual operating the center as 56 Travel Center. Pilot will renovate the interior; relocate three gasoline and seven diesel fuel islands; and add approximately 60 parking spaces.
The new location includes a Subway restaurant, an ATM, gourmet coffees featuring Kenya King and a deli. Western Union and audio book rentals will be added in a few months.
Steve Schultz, manager of Pilot's Region 24, which now includes Tilbury, said, Our new fountain drink bar features a variety of flavor splashes, a wide selection of Pilot's best-anywhere gourmet coffees, Oscar Mayer hot dogs, and other fresh food items.
The travel center's general manager is Jay Shoffer. The Subway manager is Jon Mitchell.
Doug Switzer, manager of government relations for the Ontario Trucking Association, told The Knoxville News that Pilot should benefit from the travel center's proximity to the bustling Detroit-Windsor, Ontario, border, which more than 10 million vehicles cross each year. It's one of the busiest truck trade corridors in North America, if not in the world, he said. Clearly, a lot of the trade they're going to be catching is those trucks going across the border.
We look at Canada as a natural extension of the U.S., Haslam told the newspaper. It made sense to extend our network into Canada.
As for Mexico, Haslam said the country's heavily government-controlled economy makes it unlikely Pilot would open locations there, but the company would never say never.
At least two of Pilot's competitors have opened up shop in Canada in recent years, the paper said, Flying J, Ogden, Utah, which last month announced a joint venture with Shell Canada. The company operates seven travel centers and 39 total locations in Canada. And TravelCenters of America, Westlake, Ohio, operates a travel center in Woodstock, Ontario, about 100 miles northwest of Pilot's new location.
Haslam said Pilot has arranged to buy another property in Cardinal, Ontario, a city 60 miles south of Ottawa. In the next four years, Pilot could open as many as 20 stores in Canada, he told the Knoxville News. We think there's a substantial opportunity for us up in Canada, he said.
Knoxville, Tenn.-based Pilot operates 271 travel centers nationwide and 39 convenience stores in Tennessee. Pilot Travel Centers is a 50-50 joint venture between Pilot Corp. and Marathon Ashland Petroleum, Findlay, Ohio, a subsidiary of Marathon Oil Corp., Houston.
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