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Brothers Art and Ray Schmidt bought a fuel oil route in Kimberly, Wisconsin, and formed Schmidt Brothers Oil Company. Art’s wife, Gladys, took phone calls, managed delivery schedules, and kept the books from their home in Kimberly. Across town, Ray’s wife, Carol, did the posting of receivables from their home in Kaukauna. They kept the offices in their homes until 1958.

See “How the Company Started.”

Art and Ray changed the company name to Schmidt Oil Co. when their father, Albert, joined his sons in the family business. The brothers gave up some of their stock to make Albert an equal partner. They purchased land in Combined Locks to build bulk tanks that stored oil, as well as a corporate office and the company’s first service and gas station. They hired their first employee, Gordy Hammen, who worked 41 years at the company before retiring. In later years, younger brother, Bill, purchased Albert’s third of the business.

Art and Ray seized the opportunity to purchase a truck load of Cooper Tires at a great price. With no plan or place to put them, they took a risk and bought the product, but were forced to store tires in friends’ and family members’ garages. Not long after, they created a tires and parts division, led by Ray, and built a warehouse so they could begin distribution. That business division is known today as U.S. AutoForce and is one of the largest independent tire distributors.

Bill Schmidt, who was 10 years younger than Art, joined the business full-time after he returned home from serving in the National Guard. Shortly after his homecoming, Bill started what is known today as U.S. Petroleum Equipment out of his car and went on to manage U.S. Lubricants and the truck garage.

The company’s first terminal was purchased in Two Rivers, Wisconsin.

The company was renamed U.S. Oil.

See the story.

The Bulk Motor Oil division began.  This division is now called U.S. Lubricants.

U.S. Oil moved three terminal tanks in Green Bay, WI to make way for Tower Drive Bridge.

U.S. Oil moved three terminal tanks in Green Bay, WI to make way for Tower Drive Bridge.

As the business continued to thrive, the brothers looked for ways to give back to the community. Art, Ray and Bill Schmidt founded the U.S. Venture/Schmidt Family Foundation to honor the legacy of altruism and benevolence of their parents, Albert and Margaret Schmidt.

In August 1986, Bill Schmidt founded the U.S. Venture Open, a golf outing that, since its inception, has raised millions of dollars to help those in need.

The company was renamed U.S. Venture, Inc.

The U.S. Gain Division established with Gain® Clean Fuel brand.

IGEN, a tax filing, reporting and data reconciliation software company was acquired by U.S. Venture.

Art, Ray and Bill Schmidt were inducted into the Wisconsin Business Hall of Fame.

TIRE’s Warehouse was acquired by U.S. Venture.

U.S. Venture moved to full ownership of Breakthrough, a transportation energy and supply chain management company.

U.S. Oil purchased AOT Energy America’s rack business based out of Houston, expanding operations in Texas. This purchase was part of U.S. Oil’s strategy to continue to grow as a national supplier of petroleum products and renewable fuels.

U.S. Oil purchased the branded wholesale fuel supply businesses of Sasafrasnet, LLC and Esquire Petroleum, LLC to strengthen its fuel marketing footprint in the Chicago market and further support its fuel terminal network. The acquired sites included a mix of 45 Mobil and BP branded locations and joined the nearly 100 Chicago-based dealers currently part of the U.S. Oil family.

U.S. Oil expanded operations on the East Coast with five new locations in South Carolina and Alabama.