From humble beginnings, APCO grows

The Anderson family has been providing Victorians with an alternative to the petroleum and convenience giants since 1980.

Ron Anderson in partnership with his wife became an independent distributor after opening their first Anderson Petroleum Company (APCO) retail store in Warrnambool 37 years ago.

Mr Anderson joined the Vacuum Oil Company in 1962 and began working as a regional sales representative, servicing accounts from Seymour to Shepparton.

He worked hard and was soon promoted to the position of retail representative servicing the Moonee Ponds metropolitan area.

As an ambitious and dedicated employee, Ron continued to climb the ranks. He was promoted to head office and assigned the responsibility of opening the Mobil Representative and Distribution training centre in Camperdown.

In 1968, after six years of loyalty, Rob purchased the Mobil Distributorship in Warrnambool and following several years of success as a distributor went into partnership with wife Margaret to launch APCO. The husband-and-wife duo expanded the wholesale and retail business and set up in Geelong in the early 80s joined by their son Peter Anderson.

Continued growth saw more retail sites appear throughout Geelong and regional Victoria with Albury the first and still the only APCO outside of Victoria.

Nearly three decades later, the fiercely independent, family-owned APCO Service Station chain of stores is still thriving today; proudly celebrating the opening of their 25th store, on Torquay Road, Grovedale.

The APCO Service Station business specialises in the supply of quality, competitively priced fuels and top-up grocery lines as well as freshly ground barista style coffee and convenient on-the-go food from their Café 24-7.