In the rear-view mirror: Aral turns 100
Aral is 100 years old. And perhaps only very few people know this. The Bochum-based company is named after the world's first super fuel, which it invented itself in the spring of 1924. The petrol-gasoline mixture was composed of aromatics and aliphatics - the initial letters of the two main components then became the name "Aral".
Today, Aral AG is the largest provider in Germany with around 2,400 petrol stations, since 2002 also the petrol station brand of bp in Germany and with currently more than 2,000 charging points under the brand name "Aral pulse" also one of the largest providers of ultra-fast charging infrastructure. "100 years ago we invented the world's first premium fuel, today we are inventing the filling station of tomorrow," says Aral CEO Achim Bothe on the occasion of his company's anniversary. "We believe in the future of the filling station as a hub of mobility."
The predecessor company was founded on November 28, 1898 by 13 mining companies as the "Westdeutsche Benzol-Verkaufs-Vereinigung" in Bochum. The beginnings of Aral Research, which is still based in Bochum today, date back to 1919. In 1924, chemist Walter Ostwald's research laid the foundations for the new super fuel, which was given the name "B.V.-Aral". In 1928, the first east-west Atlantic crossing was made with an airplane fueled with benzene fuel.
In the course of the National Socialist war economy, fuel sales were centralized from 1939. Instead of branded petrol, only standardized fuel was used, which was also leaded. Gasoline made from coal instead of petroleum was also used. After the end of the Second World War, from 1951, the fuel could once again be sold under the company's own brand name.
In 1969 Aral opened the first self-service filling station, from 1985 the fuel Aral Super Unleaded was introduced, and from 2004 the Ultimate high-performance fuel was introduced as the only fuel to date with 102 octane. bp has been a shareholder of Aral AG since July 1, 2002. From 2021, the ultra-fast charging network was expanded under the "Aral pulse" brand. And another detail is probably less well known than the origin of the company name: With more than 85,000 coffees dispensed per day, Aral is Germany's largest coffee-to-go provider. (aum)
More info for topic: Aral , Jubiläum , 100 Jahre , Super-Kraftstoff
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Aral filling station, 1940s.
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Aral filling station from 1924.
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Aral gas station from 1939.
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Aral filling station, 1930s.
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Aral filling station, 1960s.
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Aral company headquarters from the 1960s.
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Aral filling station from the 1970s.
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Aral filling station from 1974, self refueling
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Aral unleaded fuel pump from 1986.
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Aral filling station, 2000s.
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