KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Pilot Flying J has launched the One9 Fuel Network, a nationwide fueling network aimed at smaller fleets. The new network will give professional drivers and trucking companies access to personalized credit and reward benefits with a variety of travel center brands.
The One9 Fuel Network is named after Channel 19, the primary CB radio channel used by professional drivers in North America. The name was inspired by the connection that this channel offers to drivers across the nation, the company said.
“One9 Fuel Network offers outstanding benefits to the industry and gives us a way to help smaller fleets and owner-operators receive the services they need to successfully run their businesses,” said Jimmy Haslam, CEO of Pilot Flying J. “We are committed to providing fleets and drivers with convenient access to our exceptional credit and rewards programs at a variety of travel center brands to make life on the road easier.”
“The truckstop industry as a whole has focused—I know we have—on larger and midsized companies as we’ve marketed our diesel products and other services, and we feel like these smaller companies and owner-operators have been underserved by the truckstop companies, and so we have come up with a separate network called the One9 network, and it will have a variety of different brands,” Haslam said on a media call.
The growing One9 network includes access to more than 170 locations, including Mr. Fuel, Pride and Stamart travel centers, as well as designated Speedway commercial fueling lanes across the country. The fuel marketing agreement with Speedway is an extension of Pilot Flying J’s longstanding relationship with the company and enables the seamless use of credit and benefit programs at more than 160 of its commercial fueling lanes.
Pilot Flying J has had a long-term relationship with Findlay, Ohio-based Marathon Petroleum, which owns Enon, Ohio-based Speedway, and the companies signed an agreement in October, Haslam said. “We’ll have all of the locations from a point-of-sale standpoint ready to go by Thanksgiving,” he said.
One9 network stores “will be under a variety of different brands, and most of those will be stops that we will buy from an existing truckstop operator or we will partner with an existing truckstop owner—we would run it and market and supply the diesel fuel,” Haslam said. “This is a substantial opportunity for us to grow. It will give us different types of truckstops, in some cases smaller ones. C-stores that have two or three or four diesel lanes will also be a part of this network.”
Some of the locations may be in markets that might not be big enough to build a Pilot or a Flying J, or those brands might not be the right fit for the market, Haslam said.
By the end of 2020, the One9 network will include 250 locations, Haslam said.
The One9 network provides the flexibility that smaller fleets and owner-operators need to fuel at more locations, with credit accepted and myRewards benefits earned across theOne9 and Pilot Flying J networks. For added convenience and faster fueling, professional drivers will be able to use the Pilot Flying J app for mobile fueling and access their myRewards account at One9 locations.
The One9 network offers a line of credit and savings upon approval, no transaction or monthly fees, card and invoice consolidation and personalized attention for carriers with sales and credit representatives.
“This will be a very robust loyalty program,” said Ken Parent, president of Pilot Flying J, on the call.
- Pilot Flying J is No. 12 in CSP’s2019 Top 202 ranking of c-store chains by number of retail outlets.
Based in Knoxville, Tenn., Pilot Flying J has a network of more than 750 retail and fueling locations in 44 states and six Canadian provinces, 900 including the One9 network. It also has 32 Truck Care service centers with roadside assistance, 44 Goodyear Commercial Tire and Service Centers and 34 Boss Shops. The Pilot Flying J network provides drivers with access to more than 72,000 parking spaces for trucks with Prime Parking at more than 400 locations, 5,200 deluxe showers and more than 6,200 diesel lanes with 5,200 offering diesel exhaust fluid at the pump.
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