By MEGGIE I. FOSTER
Assistant Editor

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. — Last week, a well-known Hoosier-owned business unveiled a new logo, look and a reenergized vision for leading the country in the distribution of home-grown American biofuels.

On June 14, CountryMark, a 77 year-old company and one of Indiana’s only American-owned oil refining companies, announced a new statewide campaign to help communicate the company’s status as an American oil company and a leader in ethanol and biodiesel distribution.

“We have a great story to tell and a great platform to tell it through our local co-ops,” said Charlie Smith, chief executive officer for CountryMark. “This project reflects the best of our long history and the best of our future. This is truly a way of creating a new, refreshed image for our company and our customers.”

For many years, CountryMark has been recognized using a familiar “co-op circle” logo, but with strong growth in the company,
CountryMark has evolved into being a major energy products provider, catering to customers across the state of Indiana, into Ohio, Illinois and Michigan, according to Smith.

“We estimate that our products fuel 65-70 percent of Indiana farmers and power about half the buses that deliver Indiana children to school each day,” said Jon Lantz, CountryMark’s vice president of marketing. “We’re proud to provide the highest quality fuels to local cooperatives who, in turn, deliver products to their customers with exceptional service.”

The new company logo and look, unveiled at the Hamilton County Co-op in Noblesville, Ind., reflects the same red and black circle with the CountryMark “C” placed in the middle. The new brand is designed to re-emphasize the company’s focus as a fuel-based business. Hoosier customers will notice a change in Countrymark’s look, as every petroleum tank wagon delivery trucks and all 90 EnergyPlus 24 locations are painted with the new company logo and brand, “Get more per gallon.”

Get more per gallon

The “Get more per gallon,” campaign evolved from a marketing campaign enlisted by CountryMark to challenge its customers to get more at the gas pump and ask questions about the true origin of the fuel splashing into the gas tanks of their cars and trucks.

“We are renewing our commitment to fueling Indiana with high quality energy products that help support our country’s energy independence now and into the future,” said Smith. “Our new logo better reflects who we are today as a company.”

But, according to Smith, this campaign is more than just a fresh, new logo, the company is also renewing its commitment to explore alternative fuels such as cellulosic ethanol; and the company also plans to expand and update CountryMark’s existing facilities.

“We’re doing a $20 million expansion of the refinery that will add $45 million to the marketplace; that will come online in 2008, it’s a major project and takes a long time to do,” added Smith. “Once we get that done, there will be more American oil converted into American gasoline and diesel fuel for us to use.”

The CountryMark refinery is located in Mount Vernon, Ind., and sources all its crude oil from the Illinois Basin, refining 100 percent of American diesel fuel and gasoline. The Illinois Basin includes southern Indiana, southern Illinois and western Kentucky.

As the supplier of CountryMark’s B-100 blend, Charles “Shorty” Whittington, owner and president of Integrity Biofuels in Morristown, Ind., believes the state has a great leader in the distribution of biofuels for “the good of Indiana and Hoosier agriculture.” Integrity Biofuels supplies CountryMark’s Jolietville, Ind. location, shipping nearly 10-12 trucks or 70,000-80,000 gallons of biodiesel weekly.

“CountryMark has been a true champion in the field of distribution,” said Whittington. “They need a pat on the back for being such an innovator, when all the others shied away from opportunity.”

With its corporate headquarters in downtown Indianapolis and nearly 21 co-ops, operating 90 fuel stations across the state of Indiana, as well as Ohio, Illinois and Michigan, CountryMark distributes a complete line of biofuels. CountryMark products include Premium Diesel-R road diesel, Super Dieselex-4 off-road diesel and Ninety Plus high-performance gasoline. The CountryMark refinery processes approximately 23,500 barrels of crude oil each day. In addition to fuels, CountryMark also offers a line of lubricants.

For more on CountryMark, visit their website at www.countrymark.com