Trucking

would be impractical. Since this bridge is nearly 100 years old, it no longer meets the needs of the communities and local businesses because of it's width and load capacity. It would cost more to upgrade the current bridge than to build a new one.

In May of 2018, the Madawaska/Edmundston International Bridge and Border Crossing Feasibility Study was finalized by MaineDOT, the New Brunswick Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (NBDTI), and the US General Services Administration (GSA). The study recommended that a new bridge connect the existing border station in Edmundston, NB to a fully-modernized station in Madawaska. This bridge will be built approximately 1,300 feet upriver on the St. John. The purpose of the proposed project is to provide for the long-term, safe and efficient flow of current and projected traffic volumes, including the movement of goods and people, between Madawaska and Edmundston. The project is necessary because: and began retailing home heating fuel there. As time went on the company grew slowly. More gas stations and home heating branches followed as Fabian began investing in other product lines. The company built some of these new locations from the ground up, in other cases Fabian acquired existing businesses, and the growth continued.

▪ The existing International Bridge is nearing the end of its useful life and is posted at a 5-ton weight limit.

▪ The size and conditions of the existing building and overall site of the Madawaska border station are substandard, preventing customs and inspection agencies from adequately fulfilling their respective missions.

The project is set to advertise in Q4 of 2020, but physical construction may not begin until 2021, depending on contract, award, and mobilization timing.

OAKLAND - Fabian Oil Inc. has a lot in common with Maine loggers. A family owned and operated business like most of the state’s logging contractors, Fabian is always busy, but its operations reach a peak in the winter months during heating season.

And for Fabian Oil, just as it is for loggers, a long cold winter is good for business.

This winter was not a long or a cold one, but as in all recent winters, red and white Fabian Oil delivery trucks have been a familiar sight on the roads of Maine and - increasinglythroughout the New England. It wasn’t always like this. Fabian Oil Inc., founded in 1988 by Edward J. “EJ” Fabian in Oakland, Maine, started out small.

In 2012 Fabian Oil built a fabrication shop behind the original Fabian gas station in Oakland - now a full-service fuel station with a convenience storeand began building oil and propane delivery trucks for its own fleet as well as other businesses and even competitors. This was a great move for the company, Ted said.

“Today we have nearly 200 employees, 10 home heating branches throughout Maine, and a large network of Fabian branded and unbranded gas stations throughout New England. The Fabian brand is in five states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.”

“It started as a full-service gas station right across the street and soon after began retailing home heating products,” Ted Fabian, EJ’s son, and vice president of the company, said recently at Fabian’s main office on Oak Street in Oakland. “He was basically right out of college.”

Not long after that modest beginning Fabian Oil jumped into the Jay area market with one delivery truck

“That’s how we keep our fleet in mint condition and minimize a lot of the maintenance issues,” Ted said.

In 2015, another game changing move occurred when Fabian acquired the Kenoco gasoline brand and dealer network, launching the company on a path to rapid expansion.

“That was a large acquisition. They had some customers out of state, in New Hampshire, and that’s really what made us decide that we needed to branch out on the wholesale distribution side. We started in New

Hampshire and then soon after Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont,” Ted said.

After revitalizing the Kenoco network Fabian decided to phase out the Kenoco brand and rebrand most locations as Fabian Oil. That process is still underway but nearing completion and with it and many new acquisitions in the last few years, Fabian has emerged as a major marketer of petroleum products and a full company offering all types of heating and motor fuels as well as a full department for oil, propane and natural gas.

“

So today we have nearly 200 employees, 10 home heating branches throughout Maine, and a large network of Fabian branded and unbranded gas stations throughout New England. The Fabian brand is in five states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island,” Ted said.

While growth for Fabian geographically across states has been dramatic, the growth in services and locations in Maine itself has been equally impressive.

Fabian’s growth is continuing in 2020, with the latest acquisition being the former TD Bank branch in Oakland where the company plans to open a new office with drive through service as an added bonus for customers who want to make payments or perform other tasks without getting out of their cars. This move comes as the company’s headquarters building on Oak Street has become a humming command center filled with employees manning computers and phones and handling operations, sales and service across its entire distribution area. re constantly challenging ourselves to stay ahead of the game, there are lot of very capable people in different departments here to keep us sharp and moving forward within the industry,” Ted said.

Fabian Oil remains very much a family business. EJ continues to run the company; Ted is Vice President; Ted’s uncle, Mike, runs the fabrication shop and dispatches wholesale deliveries at night; and his cousin, Max, is operations manager. The Fabians believe what sets the company apart is the quality of service the company offers and its ability to react quickly, as well as constant efforts wide to improve.

His father agreed, and said he never expected the company he founded way back in 1988 to turn into the major company it is today.

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We’ve got a lot of great people that work for us, and that certainly helps,” EJ said.

From the very beginning, Fabian Oil has served Maine’s logging industry and continues to do so today. The company joined the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine as a Preferred Supporting Member in January 2019 and is proud to support the logging industry.

“It’s a great industry,” Ted said. “It’s a pleasure for us to work with Maine family owned and operated businesses, we’ve formed long lasting relationships and hopefully we’re providing them with a service that helps them continue to move forward and prosper.”

There are certainly challenges every day in the business. Mild winters like the most recent one are not as profitable for the company as cold ones, and the current COVID-19 pandemic crisis is creating hurdles for the company just as it is for every other business.

Yet with a quality workforce and reputation, and a forward-looking leadership team, more growth appears likely and the future for Fabian looks bright.

“We have a really strong operations team and they’re constantly pushing the envelope to bring new ideas to the table and put us in a good spot,” Ted said. “As the industry changes and evolves there are opportunities that arise and if it makes sense for us we’ll definitely take a look at those, and also focus on current operations and organic growth as well.”