Boss Lubricants took its shot, and scored with 30 years of success in Calgary
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When Murray Flegel and his wife, Arlene, launched BOSS Lubricants in 1992 in a small, 5,000-square-foot industrial building on Barlow Trail S.E., they were full of confidence. But he didn’t expect that 30 years later he would be guiding the family firm from a 100,000-square-foot plant boasting 100 massive tanks with a total of 3.5 million litres of storage.
There was no paycheque for the first three years, but today BOSS is one of the largest independent lubricant manufacturers and wholesale suppliers of premium engine and transmission lubricants, natural gas and compressor oils, grease, glycols and a number of other environmentally friendly products, all distributed from the Calgary headquarters and through nine branch locations across Canada.
A fleet of 27 trucks, including tandem and semi-trucks, makes deliveries to branches and distributors.
CEO Flegel earned his expertise in lubricants from two decades of working with major companies, including Turbo Resources and Texaco.
His career really began while a professional hockey player, when he had a part-time job with Texaco while playing for the Regina Pats. He enjoyed 10-plus seasons of high-level hockey and retired after a stint as player-coach with the Kimberley Dynamiters.
BOSS became a real family affair when sons Brad and Jarrett began to work part time while studying for their education degrees.
Jarrett took his small business and entrepreneurship degree at Mount Royal University, followed by an executive MBA from Queen’s University. He first joined the management team to look after the Red Deer branch after BOSS purchased Service Station Supply there in 1996.
Brad earned his bachelor of commerce in accounting and finance at the University of Calgary, and worked as a natural gas trader before joining the firm in 2016.
The move to its current location on 30th Street S.E. in 1996 was into a leased space that the Flegels thought might be too big for their needs. But with impressive growth, they soon needed to acquire the next bay, then the next, and finally purchased the whole building.
Upgrades to the building continue, the latest expansion allowing for new distilled water tanks in the glycol area and a separate section dedicated solely for the blending and delivery of product for Shell customers throughout southern Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Adding more storage tanks, blending capacity and becoming ISO 9001:2015 certified has enabled BOSS to increase sales volume while maintaining its high standard of product quality.
The Calgary plant is where all manufacturing, blending and distribution is handled, while continuing upgrades in equipment and technology has allowed it to double the amount of private labelling over the past five years.
Carefully and technically designed by Murray from end to end, investment into vacuum lifters and electronics allow for the 45 staff working on the plant floor — male and female — to blend and fill drums, totes, pails up to 20 litres and tankers with ease.
They enjoy a safe, state-of-the-art and comfortable working environment that results in a culture of full family friendliness throughout. General manager and controller Steve Jakubec, whom CEO Flegel calls his adopted son, rounds out the family executive team.
In its 30 years in business, BOSS has been a significant contributor not only to the Calgary business community but also a supporter of sports and charity events.
Long involved with cancer foundations and the Heart and Stroke Foundation, as well as being a major contributor to the Gordie Howe Cares Foundation, CEO Flegel has been an active member of Rotary Club of Calgary Stampede Park for the past 22 years and served as its president in 2015-16.
He still has a passion for hockey and has amassed a second-to-none private hockey museum at his office that includes a room dedicated to superstar Gordie Howe, an impressive collection of his good friend’s memorabilia.
Notes:
The Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo is transitioning to a non-smoking/non-vaping facility effective Jan. 1, 2023. We humans also appreciate the decision.
David Parker appears regularly in the Herald. Read online at calgaryherald.com/business. He can be reached at 403-830-4622 or by email at info@davidparker.ca.
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