About Foster Fuels

The Foster Fuels Story

From Local Roots to National Leadership

After the split in 1921, the company became L.H. Foster and Co., Inc. and arranged with the Texas Company to become one of the first consignees of Texaco products in the state of Virginia. Over the years, the company sold fuel products to both individuals and businesses in Brookneal, VA and the surrounding area, which enhanced its customer base and added to the company’s success.

In 1921, L.H. Foster and Co. became a fuel jobber for the Texas Oil Company. Among some of the first products sold by this division were kerosene and gasoline, which were delivered by ox-drawn cart before the company owned a fuel truck. By 1948 the company sold a variety of Texaco products like the Havoline, Sky Chief gasoline, and general-purpose oil.

Mid-Century Grow

While attending Virginia Tech in 1942, L.H. Foster, Jr. enlisted for WWII through the university’s ROTC program. During his service he lost half of one of his legs but ultimately returned home to Virginia where he joined his father and started working for the company. It was at this time in 1945 that the company changed its name to L.H. Foster and Son. In 1958, LH Foster Sr. passes away. A few years later in 1960 the company changed its name once more, this time to L.H. Foster and Sons to include both brothers.

Then in 1966, the company added another product to its inventory, propane. As propane demand grew, propane and related services would become a clearly defined second division. This inventory addition was followed by the company’s decision to cease their consignee status for petroleum products with Texaco around 1980.

New Divisions, New Opportunities

The company underwent a leadership change in 1984 when L.H. Foster Jr. passed away, leaving his son, Watt “Bobby” Foster in charge of the company. It was not until 1987 that the company officially changed its name to Foster Fuels, Inc. Bobby continued running the company with his son, Watt Robert Foster, Jr. Together the two expanded the company, over time creating additional divisions to accompany the Fuel Services division.

The propane services division was expanded with the official addition of Hearth and Home. A showroom was built separately from the main office in 1995 near Lynchburg, VA. This showroom displayed working propane appliances for customers to purchase.

In 2003, Foster Fuels began servicing businesses in emergency situations, which led to the creation of the Emergency Response Division. Today, it is considered to be it’s own division because it entails greater dangers and operates in disaster areas throughout the country, whereas Foster Services does not. This division services government, military, and Fortune 500 companies nationwide.

In 2010 Foster Fuels, Inc. included the Fuel Quality division. Originally arising out of a need to service Emergency Response clients, Foster Fuels began offering fuel quality checks as a precaution to ensure that customers’ fuel was of optimal quality and to confirm that equipment would be in working order if an emergency situation occurred. Today, this division offers a full range of business continuity and risk management services including long-term fuel preservation and restoration.

The Modern Era of Foster Fuels

By 2019, Foster Fuels has 7 area locations throughout Central and Southside Virginia and assets across the nation including Phoenix, Arizona, Houston and Dallas, Texas. Foster Fuels’ Mission Critical Division is awarded the largest emergency fuel contract by the federal government, a five-year, multimillion-dollar deal to deliver emergency fuel support covering all 50 states, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Today, 100 years after the company’s founding, Foster Fuels, Inc. is still expanding. It has outlasted a world war, the Great Depression, and the recession of 2008 and its continued existence is proof of its adaptability to circumstances and its ability to serve customers’ needs with exemplary results.