Flyers Energy of Auburn ramps up southwestern presence with purchase

Flyers Energy of Auburn announced the acquisition, from a subsidiary of Marathon Petroleum Corporation, of 47 unattended fueling card-lock stations and 52 additional CFN card-acceptance locations in four southwestern states. Those locations – in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Arizona – comprised the Firebird Fuel brand, already part of the Commercial Fueling Network. Flyers Energy, based at the Auburn Municipal Airport, is approaching 400 CFN locations in 21 states. As promised by Tom Di Mercurio, who took over as CEO and general manager in October, Flyers is actively acquiring commercial fueling companies that fit with their plan to grow nationwide. "Firebird Fuel presented an excellent opportunity for us to add three contiguous states to our western U.S. geography," Di Mercurio said in a news release. This string of locations connects the West Coast-based Flyers brand, which goes as far as Arizona, to existing Quick Fuel sites in east Texas. Quick Fuel locations are primarily found in the eastern and midwest markets. In addition to CFN acceptance, Flyers locations accept all major fleet cards. "The fueling experience won't change at all for Firebird customers. The two companies already use the same fuel network," said Kris Kanak, director of sales and marketing for Flyers Energy. "A seamless transition is our goal." Di Mercurio sees change benefitting customers. "There's real value in having scale," he said. "Flyers customers have access to the largest commercial fueling network in the United States and advanced security and reporting tools developed by our technology team. It's a comprehensive fueling program from a company focused on fleet fueling."