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TravelCenters of America is the largest full-service travel center company in the United States. The majority of customers are professional truck drivers. The corporate headquarters is located in Westlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. The company operates under both its namesake brand and the Petro Stopping Centers brand, hence the name TA and Petro Shopping Centers. ==History== TA was founded in 1972 by Phil Saunders under the name Truckstops of America. The chain was purchased later that year by the Ryder Corporation. The chain changed owners throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 1984, TA was bought by Standard Oil of Ohio, which was bought by BP in 1987. BP later sold the chain to The Clipper Group in 1993. In 1997, Truckstops of America merged with the National Auto/Truck Stops chain, adding 112 sites, while changing its name to TravelCenters of America. Also that year, TA bought out the first chain of national truckstops, Union 76, and closed/sold most of the old truckstops. TA kept a few and changed them over to TA locations. TA acquired a few smaller chains of stores in 1998. On August 25, 1998, the company announced it would acquire 19 Burns Bros. Travel Stops would close two of the locations. TA also acquired the 16-location Travel Ports chain of truck stops in the Eastern United States.〔 In the early 2000s, TA became an international chain with the acquisition of a truck stop in Woodstock, Ontario off of Highway 401. To this date, it is the only international location. On May 31, 2007, TravelCenters of America acquired rival Petro Stopping Centers〔(money.aol.com )〕 Much like the later merger between Pilot Travel Centers and Flying J, T/A has continued to use both the T/A and Petro brands, though some Petro's were later sold off to rival chains or had their franchise contracts eliminated if they were within competition of a T/A location. On October 4, 2007 ''Land Line'' magazine reported that the company will spend $135 million to fix up its truck stops. The work was expected to be completed by the end of 2008.〔(landlinemag.com )〕 In 2008, TA was listed as 395 on the Fortune 500 list. TA's main competitors include Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores and Pilot Flying J. The company launched a line of "Goasis" travel stops designed to cater to families and other non-professional drivers. The centers include family bathrooms and a wider range of food and beverage offerings.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Goasis )〕 TA recently bought the Minit Mart Foods Inc. chain of convience stores from Fred Higgins for $67 million. This is a part of TA's buying of small gas stations to gain numbers in stores. Some of the smaller stores bought by TA have adopted the Minit Mart name. On November 16th, 2015, the company acquired Quaker Steak & Lube immediately after Quaker Steak & Lube filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. TA plans to expand the chain both in its chain of truck stops as well as in standalone locations.〔http://www.wfmj.com/story/30531616/deal-to-sell-quaker-steak-and-lube-filed-in-bankruptcy-court〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「TravelCenters of America」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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