SUPER-LUBE STARTING UP A QUICK-LUBE COMPANY might seem like an odd side gig for three esteemed Florida State University professors. But in the late 1970s, the business plan for Super-Lube was revolutionary. “The professors inside FSU got together and were doing a marketing plan,” said Tom Chambasian, the current president of SuperLube and the company’s managing partner, “and they ended up liking the quick-lube industry. They started their first store right around 1980.” Cornering the market in Tallahassee was priority No. 1. The trio saturated Florida’s capital city with 24 locations, later adding another 50 in neighboring towns and states. By 2006, John Lewis, the last original investor to maintain his hold on the company, sold the remaining storefronts and trademark to Chambasian and his partners. “We own a lot of locations in Tallahassee, Florida. And that is only because the founders overbuilt the city to keep all the competition out, which was a great thing,” Chambasian said. “We own more locations than Capital City Bank, and more than McDonalds or Taco Bell. We’re the largest little independent retail business in Tallahassee for multi-units.” Soon after Chambasian became CEO, he began franchising Super-Lube. Though the brand has grown the company’s footprint more than anything else, potential franchisees in new territories have been invited to invest. Eight franchise locations have been opened to date. “Super-Lube has been established and running for 30-something years,” Chambasian said. “It has a good plan and a good name behind it, plus longevity. That definitely shows the strength of the operation.”
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DECEMBER 2015 – JANUARY 2016
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» INDUSTRY: AUTOMOTIVE » ESTABLISHED: 1980 » HEADQUARTERS: TALLAHASSEE » FIRST LOCATION: ROCHELLE, ILLINOIS » STORES TO DATE: 60 » TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 400
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