The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Wacker celebrates 75 years in village
Family fuel company gaining momentum through bio-diesel sales
By Daniel Lai, Editor
PUBLISHED: June 21, 2007
When Arthur Wacker started a small business in Manchester over a half century ago, he probably didn't expect it to grow into the booming enterprise it has become.
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After 75 years and three generations, the Wacker family and G.E. Wacker, Inc., is going strong.
"We're doing extremely well right now," Kim Mahrle, corporate secretary, said. "Our claim to fame right now is bio-diesel fuel."
Mahrle said the company has come along way since her grandfather, Arthur, started the business in July 1923 as a commission agent from the Standard Oil Company.
"When it started, it was just my grandparents," she said. "He would load up the tanks and deliver them to wherever they needed to go."
In 1957, Mahrle said her father joined the family business as a full time employee before taking over after her grandfather passed away in 1960.
"In 1975, the business became an Amoco Oil Commission Jobber, and added to their service areas by the addition of Chelsea and Dexter," she said.
After building an updated bulk plant, the family moved the business to its current location on M-52.
"The old railroad-located bulk plant had one loading dock, 90,000 gallon aboveground storage capacity and a small warehouse," she said. "The office and trucks were kept at the house on Main Street."
She said the current location has two loading docks, 170,000 gallon underground storage capacity and a large warehouse for storage and truck parking.
In 1981, a self-service gas and diesel island and convenient store were added to the business and in 1984, an L.P. Gas pumping station was installed, enabling the company to fill all sizes of portable cylinders up to 100 lbs.
Mahrle said in 2002, G.E. Wacker began supplying bio-diesel to areas and businesses throughout the area.
"We were the first in Michigan to do it and the fifth in the country," she said."
G.E. Wacker currently imports bio-diesel from producers in Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois. However, that will change once a new bio-diesel plant, which is under construction in Adrian, opens up.
"We are going to be the main marketers for the fuel they produce," she said.
The company currently supplies fuels to several end users including school districts, villages, the City of Ann Arbor, residential areas and construction companies, among others.
Over the years, Mahrle said various aspects of the business have gotten a lot more complicated and detailed, which has been a challenge for her, her parents and her brother Tim, who also works for the company.
"The price of fuel and fuel taxes are just crazy," she said. "Sometimes it's like we're a glorified tax collector."
Lack of sufficient fuel supply is another major concern, she said.
"Fuel supply is a big issue," she said. "That's not something everyone always sees. There hasn't been any new refineries built in the United States since the 1970s and there's only so much you can import into the country.
"Facilities that can produce renewable fuels are going up as they can, but they are not meeting the demand right now."
Although both of her parents are semi-retired from the family business, Mahrle said they still help out when they can.
"They aren't here every day like they used to be," she said. "Most of the stuff me and my brother take care of. My parents haven't totally stepped away because it's hard to let go of something you put your whole life into."
The family is planning an open house to celebrate their 75th anniversary on July 21 from noon to 5 p.m.
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