Last month, Renville Farmers Co-op made its way into the area by purchasing several local FillMeUp convenience stores, including those in New Auburn, Arlington, Gaylord, and Green Isle.
Renville Farmers Co-op Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and General Manager Todd Busche said that with the acquisition of these stations, the co-op hopes to provide great service to the residents and account holders in the area.
Aside from the aforementioned stores, the co-op also purchased the FillMeUps in Gibbon, Lafayette, Winthrop, New Germany, and Mayer.
Before these recent acquisitions, the co-op was already in possession of six Cenex-branded gas stations in Renville, Danube, Lamberton, Olivia, Redwood Falls, and Wabasso. It also runs two Cardtrol gas-only locations in Wabasso and Walnut Grove.
Busche said that the decision to purchase new stores was fueled by a desire for growth. He added that the FillMeUp stores are exactly what the co-op was looking for as each is located in smaller communities. The ownership change officially took place Jan. 13.
“As a co-op, our board of directors was always looking for different opportunities to grow; this opportunity came about and seemed to be a good fit for us alongside what we already have,” he said.
Busche added that the co-op looks forward to serving new areas.
“We are really big on being involved in our communities, helping out where we are needed, and just being there to provide service,” he said.
With the move, the co-op is likely done expanding for the time being.
“We will probably take a little break now; when you add 10 sites there’s a lot of logistics to consider and a lot more people to manage,” Busche said. “In the future, as we get all of this stuff behind us, we will probably start looking again at some other opportunities.”
Busch also said that the co-op is thrilled to have retained all of the employees who were already working at the newly acquired locations.
“Everybody has been a great addition to our company, and we are happy to have them,” he said.
It is also accepting applications at all its locations; so far, it has hired around 10 new employees since taking over its new gas stations. The co-op has also been able to promote its own employees through the move.
“We are always looking for good help, and as we grow that is just going to create more opportunities for people,” he said. “Within our company, a lot of people have already been promoted and been put in different positions, and we will just see more of that as we grow.”
“We really want to give opportunities to people that are working for us already; we want to see the people that come in and work hard for us get an opportunity to grow themselves and do different things, so this move is definitely exciting in that regard,” he said. “It’s nice to see people move up and keep doing better – I really like to see that.”
Those interested in applying can find applications at each location or online at fcoc.us.
Over the coming weeks, each of the new locations will be rebranded; rather than the FillMeUp logo, each store will display the Renville Farmers Co-op Oil Company logo.
Services
The co-op’s services include bulk fuel and oil delivery as well as propane delivery. It also offers fuel charge accounts for members and a free rewards program for anyone interested in joining.
“One big thing is we have a rewards program where people can save on gas, and then there are different clubs through which customers can get free products,” Busche said. “We also do a super sneaky deal with people who are members where anywhere from five to 10 times a month there’s an extra gas discount, and that has been a big thing.”
“We are also going to be doing different enhancements and offering a lot more with that rewards program as we move into the summer, so there will be a lot of new things coming,” he added.
Anyone can sign up for a rewards card for free at any of the co-op’s locations or online at fcoc.us/benefits.
Local charge accounts and local credit cards are also available to anyone interested in them.
“We have a lot of different options; whether you’re a farmer or somebody who just needs gas or food or whatever, you just have to fill out a credit application,” Busche said.
Aside from enhancing its rewards program, the co-op also plans on revamping the food service at several of its locations over the next three to six months. It will also look to offer new products on top of those it already offers.
“You will still be able to get the stuff that you usually go in there to get, and hopefully you’ll see some new things in the coming months,” Busche said.
The co-op’s Mayer location features a car wash, and it will be offering monthly unlimited car wash programs at that store. The co-op’s purchase of this location includes the liquor store portion of the building.
Impacting communities
While the co-op is ultimately a business, Busche said that its main focus is helping to improve the communities it calls home.
“We just want to make sure everybody knows that our goal is to be a part of the communities that we are in and to do a lot of different things within them such as partnering with local organizations,” he said. “We are really big on those things with us being a co-op; we really put people first, and we want to make sure that all of our communities have gas, food, and different things.”
“For some of these communities, we are kind of the only store in town, so we want to make sure that we have the things that people need and that we are there during the hours that they need them,” Busche continued. “We really want to be good stewards of our communities and help out wherever we can. We are really excited about this opportunity.”
Anyone interested in becoming a co-op member can do so by calling the co-op’s headquarters at 320-329-8351.