LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Valvoline Instant Oil Change network in the U.S. has grown by 27 locations in 17 states in the first half of 2018, including 17 opened by franchisees.
The network now comprises more than 1,140 locations nationwide, including roughly 450 company-owned sites, Valvoline said.
New Valvoline stores opened by franchisees include:
- Harrisburg, Ill. — New franchisee Joe Binder opened a Valvoline Express Care location in Harrisburg, where Valvoline has a pair of corporate stores as well;
- Wheaton, Ill. — Franchisee Ivy Lane Corp. opened a Valvoline Instant Oil Change (VIOC) service center in Wheaton, its third VIOC in the greater Chicago area;
- Evansville, Ind. — Franchisee Big River Quality Auto Inc. acquired a SpeedLube quick lube location in Evansville and converted it to a VIOC, its fourth in the Evansville area;
- Louisville, Ky. — New franchisee Apollo Lubricants L.L.C. opened three Valvoline Express Care centers in the Louisville area (Floyds Knob and Sellersburg, Ind., and Louisville);
- Kaysville, Utah — Franchisee Superior Lube acquired Main Street Lube & Oil, a quick lube location in Kaysville and converted it to a VIOC to go with one it already operates in the Salt Lake City area;
- San Francisco — Franchisee Henley Pacific SF L.L.C. acquired four 10 Minute Oil Change locations in the San Francisco Bay area (San Francisco, Novato, San Rafael and Santa Rosa) and converted them to VIOC service centers;
- Fort Myers, Fla. — Franchisee Sunshine Lubes opened a VOIC in Fort Myers, its sixth Valvoline location in the greater Fort Myers area;
- Salem and Swansea, Mass. — Franchisee Henley Enterprises Inc. opened VIOCs in Salem and Swansea, its seventh and eighth Valvoline locations in the greater Providence, R.I., area. Henley also operates 45 VIOCs in the greater Boston area and more than 200 nationwide;
- Maumelle, Ark. — Franchisee Rick Murphy opened a Valvoline Express Care center in Maumelle, his fifth Valvoline location in the greater Little Rock, Ark., area;
- Grapevine, Texas — AWC Premium Automotive Services Ltd. opened a VIOC in Grapevine, its 14th in the greater Dallas/Forth Worth metro area; and
- Hereford, Texas — Franchisee Earl Erdmann opened an Express Care facility in Hereford, his 25th Valvoline store in Texas.
New corporate-owned centers opened in Peoria, Ariz.; Fresno, Calif.; Lawrenceville, Ga.; Garden City, Mich.; Cincinnati and Grove City, Ohio; Portland, Ore.; Greeneville, Tenn.; Spring, Texas; and Richmond, Va.
Valvoline Express Care locations differ from VIOCs in that they offer a broader range of services, including: air-conditioning; batteries; tire rotations; heating/cooling system; transmissions; belts/hoses; shocks/structs; etc.
In addition, Valvoline Inc. recently completed the previously announced acquisition of the business assets of Great Canadian Oil Change Franchising Ltd., the third-largest quick-lube system in Canada with 73 locations.