Ipiranga
In March 2007, Group Ipiranga was acquired by three companies: Ultra, Petrobras and Braskem. Ultra acquired the Ipiranga brand, its management team and its gas distribution chain in the South and Southeast regions of Brazil. The industrial operations and the rest of the fuel distribution network were transferred to Petrobras and Braskem.[11] The acquisition made Ultra the second-largest gas distribution company in Brazil.
That same year, Ipiranga Zero Carbon Card was launched. A portion of all gas purchases on the credit card went to carbon neutrality programs, such as planting trees.[12]
In 2008, Ultra bought Texaco's fuel distribution chain in Brazil. By then, Texaco had 1986 gas stations in the country. Ipiranga’s presence in Brazil expanded to the Central-West, North and Northeast regions, thus covering all the states of the country. As part of the acquisition, the gas stations were entitled to keep using the Texaco brand for five years; after that they would be converted into Ipiranga's brand. The acquisition brought Ultra's share of the Brazilian fuel distribution business to 23 percent. Also in 2008, Ipiranga launched Jet Oil Motos, a specialized franchise in oil change services for motorcycles.[13][12][14]
Ipiranga opened the first eco-efficient station in Brazil, in Porto Alegre (Rio Grande do Sul), in 2009. The station was designed to increase the effectiveness of energy management, water, waste and materials.
In October 2010, Ultra acquired Distribuidora Nacional de Petróleo (DNP), expanding the volume of Ipiranga by 40% in the northern states of Amazonas, Rondônia, Roraima, Acre, Pará and Mato Grosso. The following year, Ipiranga launched a project to collect batteries and cell phones in approximately 30 Jet Oil stations in the city of Rio de Janeiro.[11]
In November 2012, Ipiranga partnered with Odebrecht TransPort to create ConectCar, a company engaged in the electronic payment of tolls, parking and fuel. ConectCar began operations in April 2013 in São Paulo.[6][15]
In 2014, Ipiranga was named best wholesale company by "Melhores e Maiores" of Exame magazine for the fourth consecutive year. That same year, am/pm, a franchise owned by Ipiranga, was voted the 11th-most-profitable franchise in Brazil by Exame magazine.[16]
