Aster Petroleum – The Gas Station Network of Carlos Alberto de Oliveira Santiago

With offices in the main capitals of Brazil, the company Aster Petroleum is one of bigger local gas distribution companies in the land of thousands of miles of beautiful beaches. Now more than 600 employees work for Aster in more than 180 gas stations, 5 offices and some gas storing facilities from where the distribution to the gas stations is done. This company was created by Carlos Alberto de Oliveira Santiago, a Brazilian business man, now the president of Aster, and his business partners.

Aster's origins date back to the mid-80’s, when the partners of the Aster Group founded a network of gas stations in Sao Paulo. In the early 90’s, the then still small network of resellers decided to take a bold step: To become a distributor for delivery to its own gas station network and to partners in the state of São Paulo, Brazil.

"We must be a national company that exceeds the competition. Our company will pursue competitive prices, offering proven quality and personalized and differentiated service" - said Carlos Santiago de Oliveira Santiago, President of Aster.

That was the basis for the creation of the company. The fuel (derived from oil and alcohol) distribution activities started in 1996.

Sales progressed, the number of partners increased and the transporter of the group was created with the acquisition of the first tank-trucks.

Aster then took the first step to its operational independence, building its first storing facility, (interconnected with Petrobras through a pipeline), located in the municipality of Guarulhos, in the greater Sao Paulo area.

The distributor also decided to create its visual identity and invest in gas stations bearing their brand.

Now, not only with the dealer, but also with the final consumer, ASTER, adopted an aggressive policy of prices, and is now well known as a new brand, where the customer identifies the tripod of quality, price and service.

With the experience of success in the state of São Paulo, the main Brazilian market, the Group is expanding, reaching the state of Minas Gerais and the states of Goias, the Federal District, Mato Grosso, Parana and Tocantins. With commercial offices based in each state and storage and distribution facilities in place Aster is developing each of these markets.

Important to Carlos Alberto de Oliveira Santiago is the social responsibility that comes with a successful company like Aster. Social Projects that Aster is or has been involved with are:

Clean the City - A project to create more awareness for the need to keep the city of São Paulo clean.

Help Nature – A project, in memory of the day of the tree (21st of September), Aster distributed tree seeds in its gas stations to increase awareness of nature and the environment.

Help with a Smile – A project in which Aster sold educational games in its network of gas stations. All profits were donated to institutes that care for children that need extra care.

Carlos Alberto de Oliveira Santiago, the President of Aster, did a great job creating a company that has established itself in Brazil as a strong brand in the main market, the state of São Paulo and is now expanding into many other Brazilian states. Through social projects, Aster takes its social responsibilities very seriously.