Pilot Travel Centers LLC, in a second-quarter update, said it added six new locations, remodeled 11 more of its stores, expanded its electric-vehicle (EV) charging network to 36 more sites, installed the country’s first two B99 biodiesel retail offerings for commercial drivers and is hiring 7,500 team members.
Expanding
The Knoxville, Tennessee-based company continues to grow and enhance its travel center network with new stores and remodeled locations.
It recently opened six new locations:
- Port Allen, Louisiana (Pilot)
- Hudson, Colorado (Pilot)
- Vinton, Texas (Xpress Fuel)
- Monte Creek, British Columbia (Shell Flying J)
- Perris, California (Pilot dealer)
- Cedar Grove, Wisconsin (Pilot dealer)
Renovating
Pilot completed renovations to 11 travel centers in the second quarter:
- Fort Pierce, Florida (Pilot)
- Benton, Arkansas (Pilot)
- Klamath Falls, Oregon (Pilot)
- Madera, California (Pilot)
- Chemult, Oregon (Pilot)
- Paducah, Kentucky (Pilot)
- Plymouth, Indiana (Pilot)
- Erie, Pennsylvania (Pilot)
- Pearl, Mississippi (Flying J)
- Ogden, Utah (Flying J)
- Clint, Texas (Xpress Fuels)
Fueling
Since March, the company also added new EV fast-charging stations to 36 new Pilot locations, growing its coast-to-coast EV network with locations on major routes across 35 states.
Pilot is also expanding access to alternative fuels to meet the needs of its trucking customers and recently installed the country’s first two B99 biodiesel retail offerings for commercial drivers at its travel centers in Decatur, Illinois, and Des Moines, Iowa. Pilot is the nation’s top biodiesel blender and provider, it said, and this new B99 offering is part of its continued efforts to partner with the industry to provide cleaner alternative fueling solutions.
Hiring
Pilot in May announced that it is planning to hire more than 7,500 new employees for a variety of roles across its owned and operated travel center brands, onsite restaurants and tanker fleet. Opportunities include hourly positions, leadership roles, facility maintenance technicians and fuel tanker drivers, the company said.
Doing good
Pilot also said it is committed to investing in its team members and the communities it serves through its new corporate giving initiative, Miles of Good. The company has donated $14.9 million to charities since 2020. And with each store opening and major renovation, Pilot donates to local school districts, now totaling $1.6 million since 2020.
Other recent philanthropic efforts through Miles of Good include military appreciation, donating more than $100,000 in May to Folds of Honor in celebration of Military Appreciation Month. And for the American Heart Association, it raised more than $1.1 million through in-store round-ups, including $650,000 in the month of May in recognition of American Stroke Month.
In addition, Pilot launched Pilot Cares, a team member assistance fund that offers financial support to those facing unexpected hardships.
“We are going the extra mile this summer to ensure we continue to create exceptional experiences for the over 1.2 million guests we serve every day,” said Brad Anderson, newly appointed president of retail at Pilot. “Our purpose is showing people they matter at every turn, and that starts with our team members working across our network and continues with our investments in retail, to grow and update our industry-leading network of stores to meet the needs of our guests and the communities we serve.”
- Pilot Co. is No. 16on CSP’s 2025 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count.
Founded in 1958, Pilot is a wholly owned subsidiary of Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and employs approximately 30,000 team members. It has more than 900 locations in 44 states and five Canadian provinces, serving an average of 1.2 million customers per day. In addition to travel center services, Pilot and its partners offer trucking fleets a variety of solutions for fuel, credit, factoring, maintenance and rewards. The company operates North America's third largest fuel tanker fleet and supplies approximately 12 billion gallons of fuel per year. Pilot is one of the largest providers of biodiesel and renewable fuels and developer of low-carbon fueling alternatives.
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