In 1958, Conrad Heinson, who would soon start the company that would be known as Allied Oil & Supply, was working as a sales representative for Interstate Oil, headquartered in Kansas City, Kansas., Based out of Omaha, he covered the eastern half of Nebraska as well as all of Iowa. That year, however, Heinson was forced to make a decision about his future when Interstate Oil discontinued servicing his territory.

   For Heinson, though, the choice was obvious - keep selling oil and start his own company.

   Heinson went into business with C.E. "Ole" Olson, an employee of Ford Storage, to form Allied Oil & Supply, Inc. The first facility was located at 1024 Dodge St. in downtown Omaha. Heinson was responsible for sales and market­ing; Olson was in charge of administrative operations. Products were stored in a public warehouse and delivered by common carrier.

   Allied did well that first year. The company had sales of approximately $140,000. Allied's target markets were transportation, construction, automotive and manufacturing. Allied distributed products for Union Oil of California (Royal triton), Fiske brothers (Lubriplate), a private brand of oil - "Allied" and Wix Filters.

   Despite the rudimentary order and delivery Systems, the young company grew fairly rapidly in its first few years. Within two years, Allied Oil & Supply had added a sales representative and facility in Des Moines. Within four years Allied had set up shop in the Kansas City market and added two new sales representatives. From early on, Allied Oil & Supply has had a notable presence in the Midwest.

   For roughly the first seven years of the company's existence - coinciding approximately with its years at the 1024 Dodge St. location - the Allied crew focused on the sale of lubricants and filters. The growth necessitated the move to a new facility in Omaha, 404 Pierce St.

   The company was certainly keeping busy with this approach, but Heinson saw more opportunity through diversification.

   It was at this time that Allied made its first significant busi­ness venture into new product lines. Considering that the company was already serving the transportation industry with lubricants and filters, Heinson felt that tires would be a nat­ural fit. A new division was created Allied Tire Co. The company also saw an opportunity in the industry and created its third division - Allied Construction Specialties.

   Allied Tire Co. distributed Dunlop truck and passenger tires to the wholesale and commercial trade. Allied Construction Specialties provided concrete accessories and other supplies to building contractors in a 100-mile radius of the Omaha area.

   By establishing these as separate divisions, Heinson insured that these segments of Allied's business would receive the same level of attention as the lubricant division. Indeed, the success the firm had been able to achieve on the other side of the business proved to be an omen of what it would achieve with these new ventures.

   These moves would prove to be just steps along the way in the considerable growth of Allied Oil & Supply, Inc. - steps that would make the company the leader it is today.

   In 1968, Olson retired and Heinson became sole owner. Heinson continued on his growth node and began developing a network of retail tire outlets including locations in Denver, Cob. Scottsbluff and McCook, Neb., Rapid City and Madison, S.D., Devil's Lake, N. D ., and San Diego, Cal. The widespread nature of these out­lets gave Conrad the opportunity to use his hobby of flying his own plane. It was during this time that Allied added another tire line: Michelin. This relationship would continue for many years to come.

   In 1975, Allied Oil & Supply moved to its pre­sent corporate headquarters at 2209 S. 24th St. in Omaha. At the same time, Allied Oil & Supply made another move that would be even more critical to the company's long-term success - the move to bulk oils.

   Prior to this time, the company was distributing its oil prod­ucts in packaged containers from the manufacturer. By making this change, Allied Oil would alter substantially its distribution process. At the time Allied Oil & Supply was one of the very first lubricant suppliers in the Midwest to provide this type of distribution, now considered a standard for the industry.

   "We delivered bulk oil from 500-gallon tanks on the back of a flatbed truck," explained Heinson. "That was new to the industry. We did a lot of that."    By providing bulk oil distribution, Allied Oil & Supply was meeting the demands of the market. And by doing that, the company grew.

   "It enabled us to grow fast," Heinson stated fur­ther. "The first vendor Allied distributed for in this manner was Shell Lubricants." Consequently, Heinson added, "Shell took off at the same time. By the mid-1980s we were selling over one mil­lion gallons of Shell Oil and by 1988 we were Shell's first two-million-gallon jobber."

   To deliver its oil in this fashion, Allied developed a tank wagon with three to five compartments, meters and pumps. The truck was able to carry a total of 2800 bulk gallons. The tank wagon was also able to carry drums and packaged products for customers who preferred this type of packaging. Painted in the company colors of yellow and black, it became known as the "bumblebee."

   By opting to provide oil in bulk, Allied exhibited its lead­ership in the industry and its ability to earn the trust of its customers.

   "Oils all look the same," explained Heinson. "So, if you're delivering bulk oil, you have to have credibility." Strict storage, repackaging and dis­pensing guidelines are always followed at Allied.

   The growth provided by distri­bution of bulk oil prompted Allied to open two new loca­tions in the late 1980s Joplin, Mo., and Sioux Falls, S.D. Both locations are heavily involved in oil and tire sales.

   In the late 1970s, Conrad was joined in the business by his two daughters, Debra Heinson Thiesfeld and Tamara Heinson Fowler, keeping it a 'family- owned' business. Other members of the corporate management team include: A.J. "Tony" Mudd (VP of operations); Carol Nelson (controller); Greg Kennedy (VP of lubricant sales division); and Mark St.Aubin (VP of tire sales division).

   Allied services its customers out of eight locations - Omaha, Lincoln, Kansas City, MO, Kansas City, KS, Des Moines, Sioux Falls, Sioux City and Joplin. Corporate headquarters remain in Omaha. The company employs a total of 225 people.

   Together, these eight locations cover all or a portion of eight states Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, South Dakota, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

   The Allied Oil division major vendors are: Shell, Chevron, Texaco, Fiske (Lubriplate), Caterpillar Fluids, Valvoline (Cummins Premium Blue), Metalworking Lubricants, D.A. Stuart, Baldwin Filters, Moltan, National Spencer, Oil Analysis Inc., and CTC Analytical Service Inc. In addition to rep­resenting these majors, it also offers a private branded line of lubricants under the name "Allied Premium Lubricants."

   The Allied Tire division major vendors are: Michelin, bridgestone/Firestone, Dayton, BFGoodrich and MRT. In addition, it also offers tire service, alignments, wheel reconditioning, and a mounted wheel program.

   In 2003, Allied Oil & Supply, Inc. received certification at all lubricant locations (Omaha, Kansas City, Joplin, Des Moines, and Sioux Falls) by Shell's Distributor Product Quality Assurance (DPQA) Program.  Allied In Kansas City was initially certified in 2001.  This quality approval is the lubricant industry's most stringent national inspection program for bulk lubricant handling and packaging.

   The DPQA program addresses 121 key items regarding bulk lubricant handling and packaging.  It covers procedures, sampling, cleanliness, piping, tanks, valves, loading, unloading, labeling, safety, flushing, logs, regulations, environmental procedures and many other aspects of proper lubricant handling.  DPQA is a 50 state quality program that is the best in the industry.

   Also in 2003, a new division of Allied was started - ALLIED INDUSTRIAL SERVICES - This division is to provide our customers assistance in designing and implementing "best practices" lubrication and maintenance programs.  See more information on the Allied Lubricant Services site.

   Allied's mission statement for­malizes what has always been of the greatest importance at Allied Oil & Supply, even dating back 45 years.

   Those aims, reflected in the mission statement, are: "To pro­vide our customers with a level of service and added value that is the best in the industry, and continually strive to make it even better;... to continually be the most ethical customer to our vendors, and the most ethical vendor to our customers." These two segments of the company's mission statement speak volumes about the com­mitment to service everyone at Allied Oil & Supply feels today - and has always felt.

   "We attribute our success to the product lines we carry, which represent a "full deck," our employees' dedication and the personal service we give our customers," Heinson stated. "Then, of course, there's our integrity, too. You just don't stay in business for 45 years without integrity. Basically, we try to accommodate our customer in every possible way."

   In addition to Allied's innovative transition to bulk oil distribution, the company has exhibited its com­mitment to providing the service in the industry in several other ways. The company loans its qualifying customers storage and dispens­ing equipment. Company offi­cials estimate this has required an investment by Allied of about $2.5 million. It established rela­tionships with Caterpillar and Cummins in order to provide it's customers with these engine manufacturers' recommended lubricants.

   Considering the type of business the company is in, it's vitally important that Allied Oil & Supply continued taking an aggressive approach to being an industry leader in servicing the customer.

   "We're in a consumable busi­ness," explained Heinson, "so you have to get repeat business. Today's customers are more demanding than they were in the past. The customer expects more participation, other than just delivering the products."

   Personnel at Allied feel they need to be the experts the cus­tomers can turn to regarding their lubricants and tire needs. Providing the best service possible is the key to securing the business today.

   Allied Oil & Supply's own inter­nal team of employees is more than capable of keeping the company up-to-date as a service leader and stands ready to maintain its status as a market leader.