Patrons of the longstanding Jn Marie and Sons Limited service station at the corner of Lanse Road and the John Compton Highway can now breathe a sigh of relief as it reopened on Wednesday afternoon as a newly rebranded Rubis outlet.
On this occasion managing director Everistus Jn Marie couldn’t help but reminisce about the patriarch of his family who started the enduring business nearly four decades ago.
“Today is a watershed moment in the life of this 37-year-old company Jn Marie and Sons Limited. It is the first major decision we have made as a company with the absence of its founder, my father Raphael Jn Marie. If he were here today I believe he would be pleased with what we have done with this site. Thanks to his dedication and steadfastness and the desire to succeed, we have been in this business longer than most, if not all, of our competitors. And we will be here for many more generations as long as there are vehicles. As a company we are always seeking ways to do things differently and better to keep ahead in this business. Our recent change is part of that philosophy. In our quest to be better we have found a forward thinking partner in Rubis. This new partnership has offered us the opportunity to remodel and streamline our operations so that we can improve the services we offer our customers.”
Rubis is a company which prides itself on innovation and it was that aspect which drew the family to their philosophy.
Said Jn Marie, “Rubis is a technologically driven company and very environmentally conscious; a fact borne out in the quality of the infrastructure of this site. We could not have asked for more. Gone are the days of using dipsticks to ascertain stock levels in underground fuel tanks. Instead inventory levels can now be read by the touch of a screen and remotely. The possibility of soil contamination as a consequence of a fuel leak is near impossible with storage tanks encased in concrete walls with sensors to signal any product outside the tanks. With the station complete it is now up to management and staff to match the high quality infrastructure with excellent service. I have every confidence we will do just that.”
A topic of interest to many which was touched on is the discontinuation of the popular and convenient Ourgas cooking gas brand.
“With mixed feelings I would like to formally inform our many Ourgas customers that, in remodeling our operations, we have given up the Ourgas brand from LPG to Rubis.”
He thanked the loyal consumers for their dedication to the brand and stated that former Ourgas customers can now exchange their cylinders for the green Rubis cylinders at any outlet and at the previous Ourgas depot at Balata.
At the ceremony, CEO of Rubis, Mauricio Nichols added, “We are extremely proud of our new Rubis branded service station and very pleased with the relationship we have built with its owner, Everistus Jn Marie. For those consumers in St Lucia who have been loyal customers to this service station for many years, we hope they will eagerly embrace the Rubis brand, the high quality of our Ultra Tec Fuels, the protection and performance of our Total lubricants, and the clean, safe and reliable qualities of our Rubigas LPG.”
Other attendees included Minister for Commerce, Business Development, Investment and Consumer Affairs, Emma Hippolyte, business partners, staff and the Camille Henry Memorial School pan group.