Hodges Oil Company201 West Reinken Avenue , Belen, New Mexico, United States

Hodges Oil Company, Inc., is a Belen-based, family-owned and operated petroleum distributorship. The Company has been a part of the Valencia, Socorro, Bernalillo, and Torrance County’s business and farming communities for 90 years.  It was proudly established in 1923. 

Hodges Oil Company, Inc. is a New Mexico chartered, Sub-Chapter S corporation, that has it’s administrative office located at 201 West Reinken Avenue (a new location), as well as a Bulk Storage facility at 407 South 1st Street in Belen, NM.  Additionally, it owns and operates a Bulk Storage facility at 716 Bagley Street in Socorro, NM.  It is a third generation owned, petroleum business that specializes in wholesale fuel deliveries to a variety of customers that include:  agricultural accounts (farm, dairy & ranch), various governmental entities, contractor, industrial and commercial accounts, retail locations, convenience stores and individual consumers.  Aside from gasoline and diesel fuel, we handle a wide variety of oils and greases, for almost any application.  We have a fleet of trucks and excellent employees that are all focused on providing the greatest and timeliest services possible.   Because we are locally owned, we are a great supporter of the respective communities in which we operate, particularly where our youth is concerned.  We firmly believe that locals businesses are the "lifeblood" of our communities and should be supported whenever possible.     Our mantra and business model is that we believe in providing quality and competitively priced  petroleum products, with an enhanced emphasis on customer service.   We invite you to give us the opportunity to take care of all of your petroleum requirements.  We think that you will be pleasantly surprised and pleased!

History

In the Beginning:   The history of Hodges Oil Company began in Belen, NM and dates back to 1923, when the current owner’s (Benny Hodges) maternal grandfather, D.F. (Frank) Trainer, was appointed as a consignee for Continental Oil Company (Conoco).  He served as a commissioned agent until 1946.  “My grandfather was also a ‘big’ equipment operator, and later became the foreman for the State of New Mexico, State Highway Department here in Belen, until his retirement”.  He was in the petroleum business for 23 years, and even after his retirement continued to assist periodically.  The ‘bulk plant / warehouse’ was located initially on West Chavez Avenue, along the railroad tracks directly across from the current Rail-runner location, and remained there until 2008, when it relocated to 407 South 1st Street.

In 1946 Benny L. Hodges joined the Company, at the conclusion of WWII, where he served honorably in the ‘Pacific Theater’, in a Navy ‘Seabees’ regiment.  The elder Hodges assumed the duties as Conoco’s commissioned agent until his untimely death in December 1969.  His son says, “my father grew up on a farm (cotton & produce) in Oklahoma, and always had a very strong work and moral ethic.  He believed that honesty and hard work were ideals to be honored and valued.”  Those are character traits that we still try to emulate and aspire too in today’s business environment.  We strongly value, long-lasting and mutually beneficial business relationships with our customers.   The current CEO Benny Hodges (son), was serving in the ’Central Highlands’, Republic of Vietnam as an ‘infantry officer’, when he was notified of his father’s illness.  Upon his return, he found that his Benny Hodges CEO and Presidentfather was gravely ill, and that his brain tumor, was for all intensive purposes, incurable.  Upon the death of his father he became the 3rd generation involved in the business, and became the youngest ‘commissioned agent’ in the country for Continental Oil Company.

Where were going: 

 “The regulatory community has evolved and grown, and now pretty much regulates every aspect of this business; the banking/financial community has greatly changed; and so have the oil companies themselves, and the way that they do business.  The one portion of the business that has not changed, however, is the customer…they are the one steady, bright aspect to this business.  We still have a number of customers (or at least their survivors), that we have done business with, for as far back as I can remember.  I view them not only as customers, but also as friends.  They deserve both my friendship and respect, and to be treated fairly and equitably with quality products that are competitively priced and delivered in a timely and safe manner.  I believe, as did my father and grandfather before him, that what sets us apart from our competition, and the one thing that we really have to sell is customer service, and caring.

NOW:  Hodges Oil Company still operates primarily in the middle Rio Grande corridor, but have expanded our area of service and trade in Socorro, Bernalillo and Torrance counties.  While our customer base is varied, it is still heavily weighted towards the agricultural community.  We handle & deliver a number of offerings of ‘light oils’ (gasoline’s and diesel’s), as well as a complete line of lube oils and greases.  “We still pride ourselves on, and take great pride and pains to provide quality products, that are competitively priced, with a special emphasis on customer service.  If the customer requires it….we want to ‘go that extra mile’ to satisfy our customer’s needs.”