Kasich notes Marathon's long history in Findlay

Governor attends spin-off ceremony

Gov. John Kasich, front left, greets Marathon Petroleum workers before speaking at the spinoff ceremony Thursday in Findlay, Ohio.

FINDLAY — Ohio Gov. John Kasich said this Hancock County city's identity was tied to the major oil and gas company on its Main Street.

“Without Marathon, Findlay’s not Findlay,” Mr. Kasich said. “They’ve always wanted to be here. All we’re doing is helping them.”

The governor was here Thursday for a ceremony marking the spin-off of Marathon Petroleum Corp. from Houston-based Marathon Oil Corp.

That help came in the form of state incentives, one of the three factors that Gary Heminger, Marathon Petroleum’s chief executive officer, cited as reasons the company decided stay in northwest Ohio.

The other two reasons was the existing infrastructure of the company, which includes an imposing headquarters complex on South Main Street in downtown Findlay, and the flood remidation project that is being undertaken by the city of Findlay.

Mr. Heminger said job retention and job creation was also important to the company’s decision to stay in Findlay. The split from Marathon Oil will make Marathon Petroleum the the largest company in metro Toledo and the fifth largest oil refiner in the country, with $62.5 billion in sales last year.

The Findlay business, whose stock will trade under the ticker symbol “MPC” starting Friday, has more than 1,600 employees in its three-building headquarters and a separate leased facility.

It has nearly 26,000 employees nationwide, more than 18,000 of whom are at its Speedway gas stations.

It owns six refineries in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Illinois, Louisiana, and Texas, including ones in Canton and Detroit. In all, they can refine more than 1.1 million barrels of crude oil daily.