Category: Pilot Flying J

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Pilot Company, the leading supplier of fuel and the largest operator of travel centers in North America, announced today that CEO Jimmy Haslam will become chairman of the board on January 1, 2021, and has named Shameek Konar, the company’s chief strategy officer, as CEO at that time.

As a family operated company for 62 years, Founder James (Jim) Haslam and Jimmy Haslam will remain involved in the business as chairman emeritus and chairman, respectively. The transition of Konar to the role of CEO will continue over the next six months.

“Since day one with Pilot in 2017, Shameek has shown his dedication to advancing our company and the industry,” said Jimmy Haslam, current CEO of Pilot Company. “Shameek has successfully launched and grown our Pilot Energy business and become a key member of our leadership team. His knowledge of the energy sector, including expertise in the acquisition, development and operations of infrastructure assets and resources, and his deep appreciation of Pilot’s culture and values are a few of the reasons why we chose him to be our next CEO. We have full confidence that Shameek will continue to grow the legacy of our family’s business.”

Konar has had a strong track record throughout his career with more than 20 years of experience in the energy and commodity market focusing on acquiring, integrating and optimizing assets. He has a degree in Economics and Mathematics from St. Stephens College in India and a PhD in Economics and Finance from Vanderbilt University.

“Thanks to Jimmy and Ken Parent’s leadership, we are well positioned for what’s ahead and have an incredible team to get us there,” said Konar, chief strategy officer at Pilot. “When joining the Pilot family, I was immediately drawn to the strong culture that Jimmy and the entire Haslam family created. As CEO, I will be deeply committed to keeping those values in place and investing in our team, while also working to better serve our guests, advance our goals and continue to strategically grow the business.”

Effective immediately, Konar will take on additional responsibilities, including the management of technology, HR, finance and legal. The real estate team will continue to report to Jimmy Haslam and the store operations and development teams will continue to report to Ken Parent, president. As CEO, store operations and development will be added to Konar’s role in 2021.

In January, Parent will become senior advisor to the CEO and the chairman, providing guidance on strategy and key priorities for the company. Parent has helped the company achieve significant growth through the development of successful systems and processes, as well as building an outstanding leadership team. The rest of Pilot’s management team will stay in place.

In 2021 and beyond, the Haslam family will continue to be involved. In addition to Jim and Jimmy, Whitney Haslam Johnson will continue to serve as chief experience officer and member of the board, and Bill Haslam will serve on the board.

Berkshire Hathaway and Pilot

In 2017, Berkshire Hathaway made a $2.76 billion investment in Pilot Travel Centers, and Berkshire will become the majority owner in 2022.

© 2020 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Pilot Flying J, the 14th largest private company in America, will change its corporate name to Pilot Company, according to the Haslam family.

Pilot Company will now be the umbrella name for the company’s over all business.

The change will include a new logo that that is inspired by the first Pilot gas station founded by chairman Jim Haslam.

Pilot will still operate its various brands under their current names, such as Pilot, Flying J, Mr. Fuel, PJ Fresh, Pilot Coffee, and its PFJ Energy brands, including BunkerHill, Tartan Oil, Saratoga, Pro Petroleum, and Pilot Water Solutions.

“If you pull up to a Pilot, it’s going to be a Pilot,” Haslam Johnson said on Knox News. “If you pull up to a Flying J, it’s going to be a Flying J. Same thing on the energy side of the business. So I think it’s less about that side of it and more about grounding us under one company with all of these different brands.”

Berkshire Hathaway and Pilot

In 2017, Berkshire Hathaway made a $2.76 billion investment in Pilot Travel Centers. Under the terms of the agreement, the Haslam family will continue to own a majority of Pilot Flying J and Jimmy Haslam will remain as chief executive officer. Pilot Flying J President Ken Parent and the Company’s management team will also remain in place. The Company will continue to be headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Berkshire will become the majority owner in two more years.

© 2020 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Pilot Flying J, the 14th largest private company in America, has added fee-based, reserved parking for truckers.

Noting that professional drivers deserve the comfort and convenience of knowing when and where they are able to park, Pilot Flying J is helping to ease the stress and concern of parking by offering Prime Parking at more than 390 locations nationwide, allowing their guests to reserve one of a limited number of parking spaces.

The cost for Prime Parking ranges from $12-$18 depending on the location.

In 2017, Berkshire Hathaway made a $2.76 billion investment in Pilot Travel Centers.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Haslam family will continue to own a majority of Pilot Flying J and Jimmy Haslam will remain as chief executive officer. Pilot Flying J President Ken Parent and the Company’s management team will also remain in place. The Company will continue to be headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Berkshire will become the majority owner in two more years.

© 2020 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Pilot Flying J, the 14th largest private company in America, with more than 28,000 team members, is adding paid, gender-neutral parental leave to its benefit package.

The benefit provides 100% paid parental leave for six weeks to all team members, both full- and part-time, who have at least one year of service and have worked at least 1,250 hours in the past 12 months.

“As a family-owned business that is one of the country’s largest private companies, it is critical that we support our team members with growing families,” said Ken Parent, president of Pilot Flying J. “We recognize the importance of focusing on your family’s well-being and that welcoming a new family member can be an exciting and stressful time. We strongly believe that paid parental leave for both mothers and fathers is a much-needed benefit, especially for hourly workers in the retail and convenience store industries and we are proud to provide this benefit to our team members.”

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, as of March 2018, only 17% of all civilian workers had access to paid family leave.

In the retail industry, where many employees are part-time and hourly, this number is even lower at 7%. In addition, 7 in 10 fathers in the U.S. that took parental leave only used 10 days of leave or less.

Pilot Flying J’s workforce is comprised of a wide variety of full and part-time roles across its locations, including the headquarters in Knoxville, offices in Texas, and the more than 650 travel centers across the U.S.

In 2017, Berkshire Hathaway made a $2.76 billion investment in Pilot Travel Centers. Under the terms of the agreement, the Haslam family will continue to own a majority of Pilot Flying J and Jimmy Haslam will remain as chief executive officer. Pilot Flying J President Ken Parent and the Company’s management team will also remain in place. The Company will continue to be headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Berkshire will become the majority owner in three more years.

© 2019 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Pilot Flying J continues to grow its presence in the Permian Basin, announcing the opening of six new travel centers in West Texas this year.

The new travel centers will provide more than 250 truck parking spaces to meet the needs of industry traffic and offer full amenities to the local communities along these routes. Pilot Flying J’s network of stores in Texas will grow to 92 locations, with more than 20 in the Permian Basin.

“We’re committed to making a better day for people living, working and traveling through Texas and across the nation,” said Ken Parent, president of Pilot Flying J. “We continue to invest in new stores located strategically across the country to bring convenience, quality, great food and amenities to those who are traveling the roadways. By expanding our network in the Permian Basin, we hope to better serve the exponential growth and rising traffic in the region.”

In June, the company is celebrating the grand openings of a Flying J Travel Center in Kermit, Texas and two Pilot Travel Centers located in Monahans and Midland, Texas. The new locations will add approximately 150 jobs and contribute more than $6.4 million in state and local tax revenue as a result of its increased presence in the state. Later this year, Pilot Flying J will open three more locations in Odessa, Midland and Andrews, Texas.

“Pilot Flying J is honored to be a part of the West Texas community and to contribute to the local school districts,” said Matt Testa, vice president of operations for Pilot Flying J. “We invite residents and those traveling through the West Texas region to visit our new locations. Our friendly team members look forward to serving our guests and providing a clean, all-in-one fuel stop with a variety of food, drinks, supplies and amenities.”

Berkshire Hathaway and Pilot Flying J

In October 2017, Berkshire Hathaway made a $2.76 billion investment in Pilot Travel Centers. Under the terms of the agreement, Berkshire will become the majority owner in five years.

© 2019 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Pilot Flying J, the largest travel center network in North America, has announced its first-ever National Hiring Day on May 2 – the largest in-person and virtual hiring event in the company’s history.

Gearing up for the influx of travelers this summer, the company aims to hire more than 5,000 new team members across its network of more than 750 travel centers in the U.S. and Canada. Pilot Flying J invites job seekers to experience and explore what it means to be part of the Pilot Flying J team with on-the-spot in-person and virtual interviews.

“Making the decision to start a career at Pilot Flying J provides the opportunity to work hard, have fun and live up to one’s full potential, while also advancing professionally,” said Paul Shore, chief people officer of Pilot Flying J. “Hiring 5,000 enthusiastic team members to join our company in a wide array of positions across North America is an exciting challenge, especially during a time of low unemployment. To help candidates get a feel for our values and culture, learn about the great benefits we offer and find the right job opportunity, we can’t rely on standard outreach. That’s why we’re inviting everyone to join us on National Hiring Day.”

Berkshire Hathaway and Pilot Flying J

In October 2017, Berkshire Hathaway made a $2.76 billion investment in Pilot Travel Centers. Under the terms of the agreement, Berkshire will become the majority owner in five years.

© 2019 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Pilot Flying J, the largest travel center network in North America, has announced the launch of its new virtual maintenance system, Fleet Center, as part of the company’s Truck Care service platform.

Available in April, Pilot Flying J’s Fleet Center allows Truck Care technicians to focus on providing the best and fastest service to get drivers back on the road. The portal provides fleets 24/7, real-time visibility and flexibility to manage their equipment – reducing downtime, increasing speed of service and improving account management for fleets and professional drivers.

“With the launch of Fleet Center, we are eager to dramatically change how fleets do business with our truck care service,” said Dave Latimer, vice president of shop strategies and operations for Pilot Flying J Truck Care. “By providing a centralized portal, Fleet Center will make it easier and faster for fleets to manage the service of their trucks. Our goal is to remove the stress and complexity of managing fleet service and get drivers back on the road as quickly as possible by providing our customers a window into their Truck Care account at the touch of a button.”

The virtual maintenance system will provide fleets with access to time-saving features such as:

• Service management: no phone calls, just easy business when it comes to scheduling services, generating and authorizing work orders, and receiving detailed cost of repair estimates.
• Real-time notifications: receive immediate status updates for en-route, on-site and roll times
• Live chat: users can live chat with Truck Care representatives for quick customer service needs
• Service records: fleets will benefit from reduced paperwork and improved accuracy of records with full access to service history and transaction details

Rolled out in 2017, Pilot Flying J Truck Care continues to grow with 24 service centers and more than 135 roadside assistance vehicles in 36 states to provide professional drivers with maintenance needs on and off the interstate. With state-of-the-art facilities and certified technicians available 24-hours-a-day, Pilot Flying J Truck Care is dedicated to getting drivers back on the road quickly and safely.

As part of its commitment to quality service, the company is now offering a simplified, competitive pricing structure for preventative maintenance services. Backed by a nationwide limited warranty, the new flat price for a full preventative maintenance service with conventional oil is $299.99 for all engine types.

Berkshire Hathaway and Pilot Flying J

In October 2017, Berkshire Hathaway made a $2.76 billion investment in Pilot Travel Centers. Under the terms of the agreement, Berkshire will become the majority owner in five years.

© 2019 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Pilot Flying J reopened the Flying J Travel Center in Matthews, Missouri in mid-January, following the completion of a ground-up rebuild.

The travel center features an elevated guest experience and full amenities for area residents and the traveling public, while bringing approximately 30 local jobs and other economic benefits back to the community.

“We’re thrilled to return to serve the Matthews community and contribute to the local economy with our newly rebuilt travel center,” said Ken Parent, president of Pilot Flying J. “Our goal at Pilot Flying J is to connect people and places with comfort, care and a smile at every stop. Both Matthews residents and those traveling through the New Madrid County area will again be able to enjoy the convenience and amenities of this Flying J Travel Center.”

This Flying J Travel Center offers many amenities, including:

• 12 gasoline fueling positions, 3 RV lanes and 12 diesel lanes with high-speed pumps for quicker refueling
• PJ Fresh pizza and grab-and-go food offerings prepared on site daily, including salads, sandwiches, burgers, fruit cups and an array of hot and cold snacks
• Pilot’s Best Gourmet Coffees, including bean-to-cup selections and cold brew
• Driver’s lounge
• Public Laundry
• Western Union
• CAT Scale
• Upgraded amenities and layout
• Modern interior finishes and exterior lighting
• Everyday products for quick shopping needs

The newly built facility at 703 State Highway 80 is one of Pilot Flying J’s 22 locations in Missouri, including travel centers and dealers and it is expected to contribute $2.9 million annually in state and local tax revenues.

Berkshire Hathaway and Pilot Flying J

In October 2017, Berkshire Hathaway made a $2.76 billion investment in Pilot Travel Centers. Under the terms of the agreement, Berkshire will become the majority owner in five years.

© 2019 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Pilot Flying J has opened new a Pilot Travel Center in Arlington, Washington.

The travel center features full amenities for area residents and the traveling public, while adding approximately 70 local jobs and other economic benefits to the community.

“We’re thrilled to serve the Arlington community and contribute to the local economy with our new travel center,” said Ken Parent, president of Pilot Flying J. “Our goal at Pilot Flying J is to connect people and places with comfort, care and a smile at every stop. Both Arlington residents and those traveling through the Snohomish County area will soon be able to enjoy the convenience and amenities of this Pilot Travel Center.”

This Pilot Travel Center offers many amenities, including:

• 12 gasoline fueling positions and seven diesel lanes with high-speed pumps for quicker refueling
• PJ Fresh pizza and grab-and-go food offerings prepared on site daily, including salads, sandwiches, burgers, fruit cups and an array of hot and cold snacks
• Pilot’s Best Gourmet Coffees, including bean-to-cup selections and cold brew
• Arby’s with a drive-thru
• Cinnabon
• Western Union
• CAT Scale
• Outdoor seating
• Everyday products for quick shopping needs

The new facility at 2430 State Route 530 NE will be Pilot Flying J’s 8th location in Washington, including travel centers, Pilot Express and dealers and it is expected to contribute $5.1 million annually in state and local tax revenues.

In October 2017, Berkshire Hathaway made a $2.76 billion investment in Pilot Travel Centers. Under the terms of the agreement, Berkshire will become the majority owner in five years.

© 2019 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.