Rayong Purifier to add petrol stations

Rayong Purifier wants to add 40 petrol stations this year to its current total of 60, at a total cost of 100 million baht (US$2.78 million), The Nation reports. “We set a small budget for the expansion, because our policy is to invest jointly in the stations with landowners,” General Manager Kanokporn Charukulvanich said. Rayong Purifier has reached out to the owners of more than 10,000 independent stations. Without putting up any capital or suffering management headaches, the landowners can enjoy profit sharing of 5-6% of total sales. “This policy has been warmly welcomed by those independent station owners who have experienced risks due to low marketing margins. Meanwhile, most of them don’t want to get out of this business, and the joint investment model is the answer to their problems,” Kanokporn said. (January 15, 2007)