Opinion ID: 747558
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The United States Market for Retail Petroleum Dispensers

Text: 65 A few firms manufacture the vast majority of the retail petroleum fuel dispensers sold in the United States. These firms are Gilbarco, Dresser-Wayne, Tokheim, and Schlumberger. Gilbarco has 55% of the market, Dresser-Wayne has 18%, Tokheim has 16.1%, and Schlumberger has 7.7%. Omega's expert, Professor Leffler, 1 testified that the retail petroleum dispenser industry is an oligopoly dominated by Gilbarco, with Dresser-Wayne and Tokheim being the other two significant manufacturers. In the past, several manufacturers of retail petroleum dispensers attempted and failed to enter the retail petroleum dispenser market in the United States because they could not obtain or create distributors. 66 Five hundred distributors sell and service petroleum fuel dispensers in the United States. These five hundred distributors specialize in parts and pieces specific to the construction of underground fuel systems and the specialized materials used for building gas stations and fleet fueling or airport fueling systems. 67 These distributors offer over one hundred products and services, e.g., commercial gasoline dispensers, 2 POS systems, credit card readers, vapor recovery systems, canopies, and tanks. Of all the products offered by petroleum equipment manufacturers, the most important product is the petroleum dispenser. In the words of Gilbarco's sales manager for North America, [petroleum dispensers] are the core of our business. 68 Gilbarco prohibits its distributors from carrying more than one brand of retail petroleum dispenser. Dresser-Wayne and Tokheim also have a policy of allowing their distributors to carry only one brand of retail petroleum dispenser. Gilbarco's standard contract with its distributors has an initial term of one year and is terminable on sixty days notice.