Sheetz

Infobox Company
company_name = Sheetz, Inc.
company_
company_type = Private
foundation = 1952
founder = Bob Sheetz
location_city = Altoona, Pennsylvania
location_country = USA
key_people = Stan Sheetz, CEO
industry = Convenience stores
Gas stations
products = MTO, Sheetz Bros. Coffee, Gasoline
revenue = profit $3.8 Billion USD (2006)
num_employees = more than 11,000 (2006)
company_slogan = "Fresh food made to order"
homepage = [http://www.sheetz.com Sheetz.com]

Sheetz, Inc. is a chain of gas stations/convenience stores owned by the Sheetz family. Stores are located in Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

History

Sheetz, Inc was founded by Bob Sheetz in 1952 when he purchased one of his father's five dairy stores located in Altoona, Pennsylvania. In 1961, Bob hired his brother Steve to work part-time at the store.

In 1963 the second store was opened under the name "Sheetz Kwik Shopper." Five years later, they opened the third store. In 1969, Steve joined Bob in the business as general manager. The brothers planned to expand at the rate of one store per year with a target of seven stores by 1972. In 1972, the company expanded from seven to fourteen stores. One year later, Sheetz added gasoline pumps and introduced self-serve gasoline to Central Pennsylvania.

By 1983, Bob and Steve had opened 100 stores. The following year, Bob retired and handed over the leadership of the company to his brother Steve.

In 1995, Stan Sheetz, Bob's son, became president and Steve assumed the position of Chairman of the Board. To this day, Sheetz maintains a family business with five family members serving on the Executive Committee.

Sheetz now has 344 locations across six states — Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina — and more than 11,000 employees. It is regarded by many to be the fastest-growing convenience store chain in the United StatesFact|date=June 2008.

In 2003, Sheetz opened a concept store in the food court of Hanes Mall in Winston Salem, NC. This location offered Sheetz' made-to-order foods and fountain beverages in a more traditional fast food layout; it did not function as a convenience store.cite news
title = Sheetz eyes new concept store in Hanes Mall
url = http://triad.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2003/10/06/daily16.html
work = The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area
date = October 7, 2003
accessdate = 2008-10-11 ] The store has since closed.

In early 2004, Sheetz opened the world's first "Convenience Restaurant" in Altoona, PA. In December 2004 they began offering the new Sheetz Mastercard PayPass with RFID technology built into the card, and was one of the first retailers of any sector to accept such technology, ahead of McDonald's, Arby's, CVS, and rival 7-Eleven, all of which rolled it out nationally in 2006.

On July 10, 2006 Sheetz became Pennsylvania's second retail chain to offer E85 ethanol-based fuel alternative at the select stations. [ [http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2006/07/10/daily6.html GM, Sheetz team up on ethanol - Pittsburgh Business Times: ] ] [PA Power Port [http://www.state.pa.us/papower/cwp/view.asp?A=11&Q=452665&pp=3] ]

Food

Sheetz started off with their signature "MTO" name, which stands for "Made To Order." By 1999, Sheetz was selling 10,000 MTO units a day. Sheetz now hires and trains baristas for their newest brand of "Sheetz Bros. Coffeez", which are designed to be higher-grade coffee than typically found in convenience stores. With the introduction of the "Convenience Restaurant" concept, they have expanded their menu vastly. Customers can purchase made-to-order sandwiches and hot dogs, as well as pizza, panini grilled sandwiches, breakfast items, salads and chili. Italian gelato iced cream, and french fries are also offered at certain locations.

During the mid-1990s, Sheetz also sold It! Cola, the chain's own private-label brand of soft drinks available in cans, bottles, and as fountain drinks. Despite a cult following, the drink was discontinued for unknown reasons and the fountains were replaced with Pepsi products. The chain now has both Pepsi and Coca-Cola products in the fountains, though in older stores with fewer fountain spots available it is still predominantly Pepsi products, with Coca-Cola and Diet Coke as the only Coke-related options.

Sheetz has long employed the "Z" that the name ends with in various marketing efforts. These include Sheetz' re-loadable gift card- The "Z" card, the Sheetz breakfast sandwich- known and marketed as "Shmuffinz," and their "Nachoz."

Fuel

All Sheetz stores feature gasoline, most offer kerosene, and many offer diesel. Some Sheetz gas stations in the Pittsburgh area have begun to offer E85.

Awards

In 2001, Sheetz won a Silver Plate Award from the International Food Manufacturers Association. [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_24_35/ai_75620274] ] Forbes ranked Sheetz as the 79th top privately held company in 2006. [ [http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/21/biz_06privates_Sheetz_E3HA.html #79 Sheetz - Forbes.com ] ]

Sheetz was ranked as the 12th best large company to work for in Pennsylvania in the 2007 Best Places to Work in PA survey. In the same survey in 2006, Sheetz was ranked 22nd. In 2005, Sheetz was ranked 12th. [ [http://www.bestplacestoworkinpa.com/ Best Places to Work in PA ] ] In Ohio, Sheetz is ranked in the top 5 places to work. [http://www.csdecisions.com/news/article/66188/sheetz_named_one_of_the_best_large_employers_in_ohio.aspx]

References

External links

* [http://www.sheetz.com Sheetz]