Travel Bureau Journeys to New Office Location

CLEVELAND — Sohio's Travel Service bureau has taken a trip — of about 100 feet — into new and larger quarters.

The trip was routed by Home Office Services, which moved the Travel Service into ground-floor, Midland Building quarters vacated by Central National Bank. The main entrance to the Travel Service still fronts on Prospect Avenue.

The move gives the bureau about twice as much room in the public area as before. In addition, it enables the stock storage and routing section to move down from the seventh floor of Guildhall to a large room behind the new public area.

"We have more room, we're laid out better, we're furnished handsomely, and we're all in one place," says John G. Hylkema, Travel Service manager. "And," he adds, "we're doing more work than ever before."

Requests for travel assistance have increased about 100 a month over normal this year. Some of this is attributable to BP Oil Company customers. While there is no formal BP travel service yet, BP customers often ask for maps and routing advice as they pay bills.

Normally, the Travel Service answers about 50,000 travel inquiries a year. Service includes routing to any place on the North American continent, maps of most countries of the world, tourist information, travel-planning hints, and reservation service with thousands of facilities participating in the Telemax computerized reservation system.

The Travel Service staff consists of five persons normally. Two of these work in the routing section, marking maps according to customers' desires and preparing bulging tour packets.

HELPING CUSTOMER determine his best route to a summer vacation spot is Edward A. Kralik, senior Travel Service assistant. Travel Service Manager John G. Hylkema is seated in the rear.

NEW QUARTERS for Sohio's Travel Service include a large room for the routing section and stock storage, located just behind the public area. Judy Kovach (right) supplies Ingrid Schumaker with handful of maps to be marked for Travel Service customers.

BULLETIN

Vistron to Sell Loma Division To Lancaster

COLUMBUS—Lancaster Colony Corp. and Vistron Corporation, a wholly owned Sohio subsidiary, have announced an agreement in principle for the acquisition through purchase and lease by Lancaster of the operating assets of Loma Products Division of Vistron.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Loma engages in the manufacture and sale of plastic houseware products. Sales for 1970 were approximately $9 million. Loma's operations will continue to be located in its present plant at Fort Worth, where approximately 300 are employed.

Lancaster, an Ohio-based conglomerate here, has product lines heavily oriented toward retail trade channels. Lancaster's 1970 sales were $69,400,-000. Its major divisions include Barr Rubber, Lancaster Glass, Enterprise Aluminum, Colony Cookware, Rubber Queen house-ware products, and Marzetti salad dressings.

(Turn to Page 5, Column 4)

Security Division Combats Credit Card Fraud Losses

CLEVELAND — Sohio's credit card fraud losses increased during 1970, but less than was expected before the establishment of the new Security Enforcement Division.

This is the thrust of a report by that division on its activities during the last nine months of the year.

Manager Horace B. (Bud) Loomis says that on the basis of industry experience, a substantial increase in Sohio's fraud losses was projected, but aggressive investigation and prosecution by the new Security staff and the cessation of mailing unsolicited credit cards helped hold down losses.

In his report Loomis also shows that the new division saved Sohio (including Boron Oil Company and BP Oil Corporation) $287,000 in credit card fraud losses through restitution resulting from legal proceedings, charge-backs to stations, and recovering fraudulently used credit cards.

The company's all-time peak in fraud losses occurred last April, the same month the division began to function.

Losses have generally been declining since. During the last quarter of 1970 and the first two months of 1971, losses were down from those of a year earlier.

"We haven't turned the corner yet," Loomis says. "We'll never eliminate credit card fraud altogether, but we must get it down to a minimum."

During 1970 the division handled 6,380 credit card fraud cases. It opened 4,389 new cases during the year — an increase of 58 percent over the case load handled by the former Internal Credit Card Fraud staff, which became a part of the Security Enforcement Division July 1, 1970.

During 1970 the division averaged an arrest every three days for fraudulent use of credit cards. It initiated 130 prosecutions involving 194 individuals and won 192 convictions.

In other investigations during the year, the Security Division:

· Provided information leading to the recovery of 4-1/2 trailer loads of TBA items stolen from two company warehouses.

· Participated in the investigation of the hijacking of $250,000 worth of spent platinum refinery catalyst, thus enabling Sohio to receive a full insurance settlement.

· Solved two embezzlement cases for BP Marketing.

· Cracked a ring that was stealing manufacturing inventory at Vistron Corporation's Fort Worth plant.

Coast Guard Commends Sohio for Quick Clean-Up

TOLEDO — Sohio has been officially commended by the U.S. Coast Guard for quick action in preventing environmental damage from an oil spill at Toledo Refinery.

In a letter to Sohio, Coast Guard Capt. Edgar W. Dorr extends "a hearty and sincere 'Well Done' to the men and management" of the company.

The spill occurred at the East tank field of the crude storage area. A tank containing 63,000 barrels of Canadian crude ruptured and collapsed, spilling its entire contents on the tank farm area.

As soon as the spill was discovered, Sohio recovery operations began. Earthen dikes were erected to contain the flow. Bags of hay and straw were set up to absorb the oil.

A small portion of the oil spread into a nearby creek. Although the stream empties into Lake Erie some two miles away, Sohio personnel reacted quickly enough to contain the spill at the storage site. Once controlled, the oil was sucked up by vacuum trucks. The spill caused no ecological damage.

Capt. Dorr writes: "Under severely adverse weather conditions, ranging from bitter subzero temperatures and high winds to torrential rain, Sohio took all possible steps to effect timely recovery of the spilled oil."

The Coast Guard is designated to oversee Federal antipollution interests in the Toledo port area. Sohio is a member of the Toledo Harbor Spill Control, a cooperating group.

Whitehouse Heads Negro College Fund

CLEVELAND — Sohio President Alton W. Whitehouse, Jr., is general chairman of the 1971 United Negro College Fund drive here.

The UNCF is a nationwide voluntary membership organization through which 36 private, fully accredited, predominantly Negro colleges and universities make a joint appeal for national support. The Cleveland goal is $275,000.

"Contributions to the fund," Mr. Whitehouse says, "help these schools provide thousands of young persons with the necessary education to take advantage of new opportunities opening to them."

JOHN J. HANGEN

John Hangen Nominee for Sohio's Board

CLEVELAND — John J. Hangen, National Cash Register Co. finance vice-president, will be a nominee for election to Sohio's board of directors at the annual shareholders' meeting here April 22.

He succeeds Sidney A. Swensrud, a director since 1958, who has reached the mandatory retirement age of 70.

Mr. Hangen has been with NCR's financial division for 29 years. He was appointed general accountant in 1953, assistant controller in 1957, controller in 1960, and finance vice-president in 1964. A year later he was elected a director of NCR.

Mr. Swensrud joined Sohio in 1928 as assistant to the president. He became a vice-president in 1939, a director in 1940,. and executive vice-president in 1946.

In 1947 he left Sohio to become executive vice-president of Gulf Oil Corp. He moved up to president in 1948 and to board chairman in 1953.

Mr. Swensrud resigned from Gulf Oil in 1957 to rejoin Sohio as consultant. He was re-elected to the board in 1958.

SPRING-CLEANING time is here, and Home Office Secretary Jan Sender is eager to put her new Oxco Brush patio broom to work. The "Wet-n-Dry Squeegee Sweep" is being sold through June at Sohio and Boron Oil Company servicenters. It features a vinyl squeegee in the center of tough, three-inch bristles that won't wilt when wet. Oxco's sweep sells for a suggested $4.98 and may be purchased with an employee discount at all company-owned stations.