Westmore Fuel is a forward-looking, third-generation family-owned heating oil company that serves customers in New York and Connecticut. Here’s how it all began:
In 1938, Patsy Bologna, an industrious 21-year-old from Port Chester, NY, formed Patsy’s Ice and Coal, what would later become Westmore Fuel. The company grew steadily based on a philosophy of strong customer relationships and the promise of keeping one’s word.
Throughout the early 1940’s, despite the energy scarcities of the war effort, Patsy always kept his customers warm, delivering coal to local families.
In 1947, Patsy’s brother, Dom, returned home from the war and led the company’s transition toward oil heat. Dom’s leadership and strong community ties laid the foundation that became the hallmark of Westmore Fuel—the belief that “customers are the best salespeople.”
Patsy’s son, Dick, joined the company in 1957 after serving in the Air National Guard. As the demand for installation and repair of oil-fired heating equipment grew, Dick learned the burner service trade and built what is today our skilled service department.
Under the combined leadership of Patsy, Dom and Dick, the 1970’s and 1980’s would turn out to be a time of great growth for Westmore Fuel. While many companies failed during the tumultuous oil embargo of 1974, Westmore’s consistent supply and strong base of loyal customers allowed the trio not only to succeed, but also acquire and rebuild several failed companies.
Having witnessed the effects of the oil embargo, Patsy, Dom and Dick put a plan in place to guarantee fuel supply to its customers — even under the most extreme conditions. As part of that plan, in 1982, Westmore purchased its first storage terminal, followed shortly thereafter with the purchase of an additional 1.2-million-gallon marine storage terminal in Port Chester. The terminals, along with strategic supplier alliances, guaranteed Westmore customers with an uninterrupted supply of fuel.
By the early 1980’s, Dick’s teenage son, Rick, entered the family business, performing maintenance at the terminal. After graduating college in 1991, Rick joined Westmore Fuel full time. Over the years, Rick has worked in every aspect of the business, guiding Westmore’s transformation into a high-tech energy company. He was also instrumental in upgrading our online systems to allow account access for customers.
Today, the world and the energy industry are very different from the one Patsy knew in 1938. But one thing has never changed: Westmore Fuel’s commitment to always being there to meet their customer’s energy needs.
Moving ahead, Westmore Fuel remains well-positioned, continually changing to meet the anticipated needs of customers. Offering full online customer access, remote wireless dispatch for fuel delivery and service, a fleet of vehicles equipped with GPS, and coordination with home security companies to be a first responder to low temperature settings at homes are just some of the innovations that have taken place in recent times.
