HOLTZMAN OIL CORP. — SINCE 1972.
Holtzman Oil is a product of Virginia. Our founder, Bill Holtzman, got his start working in the apple industry after graduating from Virginia Tech and continuing on to Cornell for his Masters in Pomology. Bill returned to Virginia and spent the 1960’s working in apple production for T.B. Byrd and Senator Harry Byrd, at Turkey Knob Orchards in Mount Jackson, VA. He worked for the Byrds for 11 years before he decided to start his own company.
In July 1972, Bill bought Gulf distributor Nelson Oil Company from Nelson’s trustee. He had $5,000 in cash and borrowed $37,000 from First Virginia Bank with his Thunderbird as collateral. He continued working with Turkey Knob Orchards through the end of the year while getting Holtzman Oil off the ground in the evenings and on weekends. In December of 1972, he hired a local teenager named Rick Koontz to help out part time after school. Today, Rick has been with the company for over 45 years and is now the Vice President of Holtzman Oil. At the end of the first calendar year, the company made $18.00 in profit. The full time staff was made up of 1 secretary, 3 drivers, and 1 warehouse manager. The company had 3 oil trucks and one pickup. That year they moved less than 1 million gallons of product.
The years went by and Holtzman Corp. continued to grow. In 1997, Bill started the propane side of the business with his son, Todd. Todd is now the General Manager of Holtzman Propane and also runs an ice manufacturing and distribution business called Valley Ice. Today, the Holtzman businesses provide Propane, Heating Oil, Gas/Diesel, Lubricants, HVAC, Valley Ice, Auto Service Center, in-house construction company and many other services.
Today, Holtzman Oil is the largest oil company in the region, providing products to over 150 gas stations, serving tens of thousands of residential, commercial and agricultural customers with oil and propane products and employing over 300 people. Growing to become the largest regional Oil Company has required lots of hard work, and here at Holtzman Corp. we value the community and the employees which have made it their mission to see the business to where it is today.
Since Bill bought that first Gulf distributor, Holtzman Corp. has remained a homegrown company. For more than 50 years we have worked hard and kept each other accountable, and we’ve seen many employees start at the bottom and work their way up through the ranks. We strive to provide quality products and great service to our many customers, maintain an enjoyable and rewarding business for our employees and give back to the communities we live and work in. Everything we do is rooted in our heritage, history, and love for this area and the people in it.