Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Sohio Boron vs. DX Boron

I’m familiar with the history of Standard Oil and the various “baby Standards”, including how Standard Oil of Ohio (SOHIO) used the Boron brand on stations outside Ohio. From what I’ve seen, SOHIO also used the Boron name as a brand for their premium grade of gasoline at stations within Ohio.

The earliest trademark registration I can find for Boron is from 1954, and it lists the Standard Oil Company of Cleveland, Ohio as the registrant.

But I’ve seen photos showing that DX stations also sold gasoline branded “Boron”, which strikes me as odd since DX and SOHIO were never (to my knowledge) affiliated in any way. And everything I’ve read suggests that oil companies were very protective of their trademarks in those days.

So was there ever any connection or joint marketing arrangement between the two companies?

Brian, Welcome to Oldgas. I can't answer your Boron trademark/marketing question, but have attached pictures of salt and pepper shakers from both DX and Richfield that have Boron markings on them. Good luck with your research.

Sohio developed the technology to treat gasoline with the chemical boron for product enhancement. So much so did Sohio become identified with the process that in 1956, when they opened their first corporate owned stations outside Ohio they branded them Boron. The name would remain in use in states surrounding Ohio until 1990. But outside of their primary market, Sohio licensed the process/technology to Sunray DX and to Richfield of California. It was not a particularly formal process, as the companies did not really overlap, and boron was a chemical element name with limited use for trademark purposes.

SandPCollector -

Thanks. I vaguely recalled there being another company using the Boron name, and now I know who it was—Richfield.


Carolinatraveler -

Thanks for the detailed answer. That settles it!