MEMBER
PROFILE
Kevin Nicklin, President of Phoenix Petroleum
N A M E : Phoenix Petroleum Ltd.
U R L : www.phoenixpetro.ca
F O C U S : Design, build and
management of tank farms, aviation
fueling sites, storage and fuel transfer
sites, and service stations.
HEADQUARTERS:
Fredericton, New Brunswick
EMPLOYEES: 160
FUN FACT: Phoenix Petroleum was
formed in 2002 with six employees. The
company now seasonally employs 160
and includes all of Canada in its service
area.
2 2 | PEI.ORG | Third Quarter 2013
SERVICE & CONSTRUCTION DIVISION
PHOENIX PETROLEUM
From Sea
To Shining Sea
Phoenix Petroleum Builds On Safety,
Transportation and Technology
U.S.-BASED PEI MEMBERS MIGHT not recognize the name, but what Phoenix Petroleum Ltd.
is doing in Canada is nothing short of
remarkable.
While many petroleum equipment
contractors struggle to adequately
service a single state or even a large
metropolitan area, President Kevin
Nicklin has transformed Phoenix, a 2002
startup, into a coast-to-coast Canadian
behemoth, with a service area of more
than 3,854,000 square miles.
“It can be a logistical nightmare at
times,” said Nicklin, “but with our three
offices (Fredericton, New Brunswick;
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia; and Acheson,
Alberta), we are able to bring crews from
either the east or the west and cover all
of Canada.”
“Last year we spent about $1.3 mil-
lion in air travel,” he said. “Air Canada
definitely loves us.”
Despite the relative youth of the
company, its president is no stranger
to the petroleum equipment business.
Nicklin started rebuilding nozzles while
in college.
In 1984, immediately after college
graduation, Nicklin purchased his
first company, Gunters 1976 Ltd., a
contractor. Over the next few years,
Gunters went on a buying spree,
purchasing Goulds Pump Service,
Graycon Ltd. and Fabcon Ltd. The
combined companies were branded as
Falcon Petroleum in 1987.
In the mid 1990s, Falcon was
purchased by outside investors, the
RNG Group. But that wasn’t the end
of the story.
“In 2002, RNG went under, and I
started back with the formation of this
company,” Nicklin explained. “Out of
the ashes came the Phoenix; that’s how
we got our name.”
GROW TH THROUGH SAFET Y
Nicklin said the company’s safety
program, once an afterthought, has
been the key to continued growth in
the Canadian petroleum equipment
industry. “It may sound funny, but our
safety program is actually generating
business for us,” Nicklin said. “We
believe in safety and our safety
