“It’s going to, we feel, be the game changer of how we come to market and where we will be in the marketplace over the next three to four years,” he said.
Currently, Hightowers Petroleum delivers fuel and services to Mexico and Canada. The company is seeking to become an international supplier to countries and existing company customers on other continents, he said.
Hightowers is a member of the National Petroleum Council, which advises the U.S. Secretary of Energy on national oil and natural gas issues and policies.
He’s also involved with Power Africa, an initiative started in 2013 by President Barack Obama to increase the number of people with access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa.
Last year, Hightowers joined a trade mission to Ghana and Nigeria with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. He said his involvement in Power Africa and trade missions is helping to build relationships that could lead to business opportunities abroad.
“We’re already in Nigeria. There’s other countries within the continent of Africa like South Africa and Ghana that we’re looking at. We’re also looking at Abu Dhabi; we’re looking at the Middle East also,” Hightower said.
“This is strictly a relationship business.”
Read more about Hightowers Petroleum's recent award from the Ohio Minority Supplier Development Council here. The local company was named the nonprofit's 2014 Supplier of the Year in the category for companies with $50 million or more in annual sales.
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