Traveling half a century with the great Gasboys, John Ward Ewan and his brother Howard

A profile on the two men who led Gasboy into the electronic age in petroleum marketing equipment by Sima Robbins

Pioneers look at opportunity with courageous hearts and, despite the obstacles, forge ahead. Using their ingenuity and determination, they are the people who drive progress. John Ward Ewan and his brother Howard – who are the former CEO and president of William M. Wilson’s Sons and Gasboy, respectively – certainly fit the pioneering mold in the petroleum equipment industry. It was their persistence and foresight that brought consumer pumps, fuel management and automated fueling systems into the computer age.

For almost 50 years, the Ewan brothers worked side by side in developing and marketing Gasboy consumer pumps and automated fleet fueling systems. They pooled their knowledge to make their company a leader in commercial, governmental and agricultural fueling. They triumphed along with their employees, as many of their innovations became industry standards. Decade after decade, Gasboy products and the Ewan brothers earned the respect and admiration of colleagues and competitors. Like The Great Gatsby, the great Gasboys have quite a story to tell.

Ewan & me
At first meeting, it is clear that the Ewan brothers have very different personalities that complement one another to form a powerful team. Examining it further, there are four characteristics they share that, in part, explain their success: courageous perseverance; the ability to recognize opportunities and turn them into reality; unflagging professional and personal integrity; and abiding respect for people.

John belies his 82 years. He is energetic, talkative, enthusiastic and always ready to share his joy for life and gratitude for the good fortune he’s been given. It’s easy to see he’s a born salesman. “I’m a realistic idealist,” he says, pointing out that while he can see the obstacles in his path, he won’t let them sidetrack him from pursuing what he thinks needs to be done. It’s no wonder his early successes in marketing and sales eventually led to his becoming Gasboy’s Chief Executive Officer.

Where John is on the short side (5’8”), his younger brother Howard is tall (6’1”). A careful listener, Howard responds concisely to what he’s asked. He exhibits an energetic intelligence and an admirable measure of patience. His qualities complement those of his brother John, and are key contributions to Gasboy’s success. Howard’s talents catapulted him from his first position at Gasboy, as an inspector, to the company’s presidency, where he was responsible for everything from administration, research and development to engineering and manufacturing operations.

John tells how employees would line up outside Howard’s door waiting to talk with him, expecting to be heard and knowing their needs would be met. An example of what is now called ‘Open Door Management,’ it worked to keep the company’s management and employees working together without a union.

“Remaining independent during a time when unions were experiencing their heyday in America was a source of pride for people at Gasboy,” says Howard. And John adds, “We had nothing against unions, but there was just no need for one. Our employees were always number one at Gasboy. We treated them like family.”

The Ewan brothers in the mid-sixties, shortly after they took over leadership of Gasboy

The summer of 1931
John’s story has its roots in one of our country’s most unsettling periods, the Great Depression. It was 1931; he was 17 years old, and a high school football injury threatened to blind him for life, dashing his dreams of becoming a lawyer.

While recuperating and wondering what he would do with his life, John received a call from his older sister, Maris, to spend the summer working for her employer: William M. Wilson’s Sons, Inc., which was an equipment distributor and manufacturer, founded in 1819.

Knowing how to type and take shorthand (at his high school counselor’s suggestion, since all lawyers needed these skills), John joined William M. Wilson’s Sons as a clerk. It was the summer of 1931.

Originally operating out of old Philadelphia’s Merchant’s Row, the company moved briefly to a more stately office on Washington Square, and then to a less than attractive basement location on Arch Street – the office in which John Ewan began his career. By 1931, the depression had hit the distributorship hard. Survival for the company looked dim.

“I remember a customer visiting us on Arch Street, and commenting on how surprised he was to find such a quality outfit hidden away in such an unsightly building,” says John. “ So I thought, why not at least put one of our pumps on the sidewalk, show off the product. Get the Gasboy name out there.” And, as with so many ideas John would conceive over the years, the owners listened.

In the ‘no’
With the energy of his youth and an ingrained belief in himself, ‘Little John Ewan’ – as he calls his younger self – boldly approached owner Ronald Wilson and said, “Let me see what I can do. Let me get out into the field.”

Mr. Wilson did not object to John’s request. “I didn’t get a ‘no’, so I didn’t need a ‘yes’. That became the operating procedure for me from then on. The very next day I went to the nearest area where there was any sign of hope – South Jersey – and I literally never stopped traveling and selling until World War II.”

His early visits to farms and small fleet owners set the groundwork for successfully developing and selling Gasboy hand pumps and tanks. John Ewan put his salesmanship to the test, and the results were impressive. Not only did he help keep the company afloat during the early thirties, he also brought ideas back from the field that gave rise to a parade of successful innovations. These innovations made Gasboy a leader in the consumer-commercial pump field.

The company when John joined in 1932 at the Filbert Street office. John is standing fourth from the right and his sister is standing second from the left.

John found a niche for the original Gasboy handpump with commercial and agricultural customers.

On the road again
John recalls traveling 35,000 miles a year, “sitting up all night on long distance trains across the nation, never giving up,” he says.

Howard points out, “Early on, John saw that there was a need for simplified fueling systems for commercial and agricultural customers. The existing pumps were poorly matched to the storage tanks these customers had on site. Small pump and tank combinations were badly needed, so Gasboy developed them. By doing so, it increased the market for the ‘gallon stroke hand pump’ (one gallon per stroke), which the company had introduced in the late 1920s.

John points out that for a company to be successful, it takes a sales or marketing person in the field who is talking to customers, getting information first-hand and helping buyers to understand the new and different product or service being marketed. “I was fortunate,” he says, “in not only reading the market, but in assessing potential buyers and touching base with them as soon as new products were ready. This was a wonderfully gratifying part of the job.”

Pumping up the company
By 1936, the petroleum marketing segment of the industry had developed a prime niche. Oil salesmen could sell their petroleum products more easily by providing Gasboy tanks and pumps. So while up to 90 percent of the petroleum equipment industry concentrated on manufacturing and marketing pumps for retail use, John helped guide Gasboy into the non-retail market, providing products for farm, fleet and industrial consumers. It was his stream of insights, questions and suggestions that fueled the company’s research and development work, and helped to ensure that what was invented and brought to market related directly to customer needs.

From South Jersey, John brought Gasboy to every state in the union as well as Canada. Top buyers of Gasboy equipment included large regional farm cooperatives that got on board, “and were appreciative of a good supplier,” adds John.

Gasboy grew and prospered as new products hit the street – from the gallon stroke hand pumps (for above ground tanks) to electronic pumps to automatic hose reels...to automated key systems and card systems...to remote control consoles...all the way to today’s sophisticated automated fueling systems.

To make room for the growing market, John entreated the owners of the company to move offices, first to Filbert Street in the early thirties and then to Lansdale, PA, following World War II, where the home office and plant are today – the greatly expanded building that now covers about ten acres.

Gasboy today (right) and (below) as it looked in 1944.

Making a production out of it
Up to World War II, John was the sole salesman. When the U.S. went to war, he came back into the plant and became the production manager over the company’s 200 plus employees. As he had done in sales, John learned his new responsibilities “on the job.” He remembers: “During the war, our people worked in two shifts. Our production line was going 20-24 hours a day, seven days a week.” After the war, in recognition for its outstanding output, the War Production Board gave the company a special commendation.

While the Great Depression ushered in John’s beginnings with Gasboy, it was World War II that brought Howard into the company. In 1942 he received a call from his brother, John, who invited him to join the company – just as Maris had done for John ten years earlier.

The Ewan brothers first worked together during these war years when Gasboy devoted its manufacturing effort to the production of aircraft parts and machine gun mounts.

When the war ended, the steel and brass supplies could be used for non-war-related manufacturing. So, the company resumed its tank and pump business, developing a reliable rotary hand pump – one that would not jam – called the ‘floating rotor.’ They also added a new feature – a meter and register to replace the older style needle counter.

Even before production would allow for an influx of orders on many models of Gasboy pumps and tanks, John foresaw the need to keep the name out there to prime the pump. He wrote trade magazine ads that ran in 1945 – telling the industry that Gasboy had new and expanded facilities and that, although limited quantities of products were available, more were on the way.

The first cosumer electric pump

The pump outside the Filbert Street building was a marketing idea of John’s.

From Keytrol to Cardtrol
During the 1950s, with Gasboy’s continued success in developing, manufacturing and selling products for the consumer-commercial market, the Ewan brothers became part owners of the company. In the early part of the 1960s, following Ronald Wilson’s retirement, John became president.

In 1960, the company introduced the first automated fleet fueling system, the mechanical ‘Keytrol,’ which accumulated the gallons pumped by individual users, or keyholders. In the late sixties, Gasboy introduced an electronic version of Keytrol called Electric-Keytrol, which improved the company’s position in automated motor fuel and data acquisition systems by improving the mechanical model. It made remote installation possible, and could allow from two to 120 keys or units per pump, to meet the needs of both small and large fleets.

During the 1970s, Gasboy stopped manufacturing tanks and concentrated on pumps and related devices, focusing on providing customers with card access and data acquisition systems. In 1973, John took over as the reins as CEO, and Howard became the company’s president.

The Gasboy-Keytrol heavy duty series 50 fueling system.

The Electric Keytrol helped to revolutionize the petroleum equipment industry.

1976: The Mayor of Mobiel, Alabama uses one of the first Cardtrol systems in the nation

An early version of the Cardtrol island reader

Regional farm cooperatives were one of the first groups to use the card system

Progress continued. Because key systems Because key systems and electronic card access systems had limitations, the company worked on developing what would become the industry’s first microprocessor controlled system. In the early 1970s, Gasboy launched Cardtrol, the first card-activated fueling system. Cardtrol led to the automated fueling revolution we benefit from today.

For the next 13 years with Howard by his side, John led the company through continued innovation and prosperity. The two men guided their company through many expansions, realizing their dream of seeing Gasboy products used world wide. They also remained extremely involved in the industry’s advances and, to that end, both served on the board of PEI.

No guts, no glory
In 1986, the Ewan brothers decided it was time to retire. They sold Gasboy (International) to Fort Wayne pump manufacturer, Tokheim Corp. In December 1986, they moved into post-retirement – a time in their lives that remains filled with activity.

John has many thoughts about what he and his brother Howard achieved, and how they did it. He credits much of their success to the help of their co-workers at Gasboy and their industry colleagues. But there is one insight that seems to capture the spirit of these men, and reflects the essence of Gasboy’s rise: “Our greatest strength was not being ‘all knowing’ or particularly that brilliant. It was having faith, courage and the perseverance to do what others could have done but didn’t. We did it well because we cared . . . and we were never afraid to try.”

Sima Robbins is a freelance writer and consultant from Newark, Delaware.

John Ward Ewan today
A keener insight into John Ewan’s energy and attitude toward life is gained as soon as one enters his home in Glenside, Pennsylvania. Mementos and memorabilia decorate the walls and tables in the first floor sunroom and den. The memories hang to the left and right as you travel up two flights of stairs to his third floor ‘retirement office,’ where you are literally surrounded with photographs, awards, articles and other memorabilia.

This treasure of memories incorporates his professional and personal life – from world travels, exhibitions and receptions related to his more than 55 years with Gasboy, to dinners, ceremonies and a host of social activities related to his extended family, volunteer work and philanthropic involvement.

Most conspicuous are the notes he writes as captions to many of the photographs, adding a personal thought to cast a clearer idea of what the memory entails. A prime example is a note he typed and inserted under a photograph of two of his nieces (he has 26 nieces and nephews and 38 grand ones) at a Petroleum Equipment Institute Convention. He wrote, “Who wouldn’t be proud? Family, company and this occasion....”

John’s philanthropy extends to his community. He’s contributed to and helped raise money for the renovation of the famous William Penn statue atop Philadelphia’s City Hall. The list goes on: he’s participated in Values for Life programs at Lansdale Catholic High and Pottstown’s St. Pius X High Schools; he’s supported and raised funds for Holy Redeemer Hospital and Medical Center, where Jane, his wife of 55 years, is a long-time volunteer and member of the Women’s Board; he’s a member of the Foundation for Independent Colleges Inc. of PA (FIC) board of trustees, and in 1993 was elected an Honorary Life Member of FIC.

Small wonder John was named a Distinguished Catholic School graduate and inducted into the Hall of Fame for the Philadelphia Archdiocese Office for Education!

If behind a successful man, there is indeed a good woman, John and Howard would both say that in their childhood years, it was their mother. John and Howard were brought up in a family of ten: six brothers, of which John is third oldest, and two sisters. He describes his upbringing with pride and nostalgia, recalling how they were raised under the loving and guiding hand of a supportive mother and successful father.

“My mother made sure all of her children knew they could do whatever they set out to do,” John says, adding, “It was because of her, we were able to have the confidence and courage to do what we did.” His brother Howard nods his agreement.

As tribute to his mother, and as a reminder to all of his family, friends and colleagues, John has made a poster of the words she repeated to her children as they grew. He believes that everyone who is guided by this precept will live more successfully:

“To be good, do good...and whenever you hear, ‘What’s the use? It can’t be done. It won’t be right anyhow,’ please don’t believe it. There is a use. ‘It’ can be done. And ‘it’ will be right!”

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