Shell station changes names

By Erica Bush
For the Post

Just more than two weeks ago, the Shell gasoline station on the corner of Stimson Avenue and Elliot Street changed parent companies, becoming a BP gas station.

All three BP gas stations in Athens are independently owned. In the process of switching the name of the gas station, most of the Stimson Avenue station has remained the same, said Mark Weidner, the owner of the BP gas station on Stimson Avenue.

The only changes made were the station's name, the outside appearance and the brand of gasoline products being sold, Weidner said.

Not only has the logo of the gas station changed from Shell to BP, but also the BP logo itself is new to the BP Company.

With BP taking new business steps, such as the transformation of Shell stations into BP, BP has adopted a new logo to go along with the merges, said Linda McCrey, director of the Cleveland Office of Media Relations for the BP Company.

The alterations to the building's appearance are the most significant changes made to the station, Weidner said.

The reason Weidner changed from Shell to BP was because BP gasoline and gasoline products have stronger sales in Southeast Ohio, including Athens, he said. Weidner said he changed to meet consumers' needs. The only Shell gas station left in Southeast Ohio is in Lancaster, Weidner said.

BP and Shell are basically the same middlemen between gas companies and gasoline dealers, and as a result, it was easy for his station to be transformed from a Shell station to a BP station, Weidner said.