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oices “We got into the entertainment business to sell oil ... and nothing is more entertaining than fast cars, trucks, planes and boats.” alk to Forrest Lucas for ? ve minutes and it owner-operator in the ? eet. is easy to see that his claims to be a ‘regu- By the age of 40 he was done driving and was

Tlar guy’ – placing honesty and integrity at managing his small ? eet. “I had about 14 trucks the forefront of all dealings – is earnest. Rising at that time, and I was brokering freight on the from modest means, early on Lucas combined an side. I was the ? rst guy in the country to get full entrepreneurial spirit, a hard work ethic and an 48-state authority, to haul anything, anywhere inventive mind. He readily admits that his path and I never looked back.” But his ? eet increas- has been neither straight nor easy, insisting that ingly encountered maintenance problems, mainly lessons learned during the tough times are in part due the extreme high temperatures of the Arizona, responsible for catapulting his business fortunes Nevada and California deserts. Through adversity forward faster. a solution, and eventually an empire, were born.

Forrest Lucas on:

He had a tough early life, but collected great selling experience along the way. Importantly, he Founding Lucas Oil Products, Inc.

discovered early on that he had a talent for mar- Forrest Lucas’ formal education ended with keting, speci? cally appealing to the ‘every man.’ high school, but an inventive mind and curious

Promoting from within:

Lucas Oil Products, Inc., is a privately held lu- spirit led him to teach himself how to make better “A lot of people have the talent and the brains; they just bricant and additive company with factories in oils than he could buy off the shelf. He converted haven’t had the chance.”

California and Indiana, producing and marketing part of his small warehouse and parking lot in 270 unique lubricants and additive formulations Chino, Calif., and set himself up as a home chem- in more than 40 countries. And while the Lucas ist. In his spare-time he hunted through chemical

His company & change:

Oil nameplate is the main feature of the Forrest junk yards taking a little of this and a little of that “I have not changed, my wife has not changed, my son

Lucas story, it is but one chapter in the cumula- and began mixing and matching his own lubricant has not changed. I’m still a regular guy. I live in a fancy tive business portfolio, as he and his company formulas. house, but I don’t ‘put on the dog.’ I’m honest with have launched or revived major series of grass- Forrest says that on one of his expeditions, the everyone, and I expect all of my employees to be hon- roots motorsports series, built a state-of-the art proprietor of one of these junk yards called his est too.” race track and drag boat lake, bought and ex- attention to a particular rusted up barrel, which he panded a television network, rescued a railroad, found to be a very pure form of synthetic oil. He bought a corporate retreat, put his name on the took the barrel home and began mixing the con-

His greatest business challenge”

NFL stadium which is home to the Indianapolis tents and trying differing formulas in his trucks. “I think getting started was the hardest part. We were

Colts, as well as returned to his roots breeding It would be easy to say that success was assured, winging everything! We had to do without. It was a cattle, masterminded an agricultural initiative and but what actually happened was that within a few struggle, and we had to look everywhere for business.” launched a web app that revolutionizes motors- months his wife and business partner Charlotte, ports television. who also acted as the company’s bookkeeper, re-

And he’s far from done. ported that maintenance costs were down. Way

What makes him most proud: down.

“The naming rights to the stadium (a reported $121.5m

From the Beginning With that the Lucas’s began to market their over 20 years) was a pretty big deal, but I’m most “You can’t build something like this without ‘Heavy Duty Oil Stabilizer’ for engines and gear- proud of my employees. Our employees don’t look at putting in a lot of hard work and making a lot of boxes, initially by supplying it to their trucking

Lucas Oil as a job, they look at it as a career.” sacri? ces,” said Lucas in a recent interview with friends. Word of mouth coupled with a mini-re-

Maritime Reporter & Engineering News. “Hon- cession in the trucking industry drove Forrest to esty and integrity are a huge part of my success.” the conclusion that his family’s future was in oil,

His management philosophy:

Born in 1941, Lucas had a modest and common so Lucas Oil Products, Inc. was born.

“I run the company as a team: everyone has an open goal: get a good job to make enough money to “I think getting started was the hardest part. We door, I give everyone the opportunity to learn, and I support a family. Fueled by a boyhood dream of were winging everything! We had to do without. encourage emerging leaders to train their lieutenant. I being a truck driver, at the age of 18 Lucas had It was a struggle, and we had to look everywhere try to promote people from the ranks, coming up from saved enough money to buy a 1948 Ford dump for business.” the bottom. Instead of hiring someone who walks in the truck powered by a ’55 Thunderbird engine to front door with a suit and tie on, I try to ? nd talent in haul dirt and gravel. Three years later he bought Turning the Page our ranks. It’s hard to come in from the top and really a new 1963 Chevrolet, C-60 series with a 327-cu- Once Lucas Oil Products passed a critical mark know a business.” bic-inch gas engine and signed on with May? ow- of pro? tability, the rest, as they say, is history. er Moving and Storage, serving as the youngest Lucas took a shine to promoting his burgeoning 26 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • NOVEMBER 2016

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