TA Express is going ‘Biggs’ time

Hmm… smells like opportunity and 40 to 50 new jobs.

“That Pilot is busy,” said General Manager Lal “Don” Sidhu of Biggs Petroleum LLC. “Sometimes it’s backed up to the bridge.”

Biggs Petroleum LLC, based in Salem, has bought a TA Express franchise and is building a competing $13-million truck stop just a bit farther west of Pilot on Biggs-Rufus Highway.

It will provide parking for some 40 more semi-trucks. The 9-acre site will also include 12,500 sq. ft. of retail space that will house showers, bathrooms, a Chevron convenience store and several restaurants.

It will also have an RV dump site.

Pizza Hut and Krispy Krunchy Chicken franchises are in the mix.

Biggs Petroleum is owned by three Oregonians, Tony Singh, Nirmal Virk and Don Sidhu, who have similar businesses in and around Salem and Albany, Sidhu said.

Their new site will have 14 fueling islands—seven for vehicles and seven for semi-trucks. A 54,000-gallon storage tank has been installed for diesel.

So, here’s the story problem: If the station is getting the industry standard average of a 3 percent margin in every $3.49 gallon, what can it earn if they fill a 300-gallon semi at each island every hour for 24 hours? Times up. That’s 50,400 gallons, with a margin of about 10 cents a gallon or $5,040 per day.

I bet chips and Pepsi pays better, but only if you need diesel.