Company History

Founded in October of 1931 by Andrew Shellhorn and Harry Hill, Shellhorn & Hill, Inc. was born of the vision to be a leader in the industry by anticipating the ever changing needs of the customer while providing exceptional service. One of their first accomplishments was to bring the new technology of oil fired furnaces to the Wilmington area to replace the then standard coal furnace. Oil provided incredible convenience compared to the coal furnace by creating a much cleaner environment and eliminating the need to stoke the fires every few hours, day and night. Although Andrew Shellhorn sold his portion of the company to Harry in the 1940’s the focus on progressive thinking continued. Creating opportunities to become more efficient is a constant in today’s business world but was in the forefront at Shellhorn & Hill as far back as the 1940’s. Seizing the opportunity to utilize otherwise unused oil trucks in the warm Summer months, Shellhorn & Hill started delivering liquid lawn fertilizer to it’s customers, effectively creating a market opportunity previously untapped while more efficiently utilizing their resources and manpower. The idea of being more than a one dimensional company was well before it’s time. But efficiency was not the only focus, providing exceptional customer service has been a constant for the last seven decades. From the inception of the company through the 1960’s diesel fuel and gasoline were delivered by hand in ten gallon pails to local businesses and farms. Those same customers enjoyed the convenience of custom motor oils blended and canned to specifically meet the customer’s requirements. Continuing to endeavor to meet customer demands, Shellhorn & Hill branched out into the retail gasoline market. With their first station opening in the 1950’s under the Calso name, the company evolved with the times to open stations under the Chevron, Gulf and BP brands as well. After thirty years of providing both heating oil services and retail gasoline, the Hill family decided to focus all of their energy on the heating oil segment of the business thus phasing out the retail gasoline services.

Although the company has evolved through the years to meet customer needs, Shellhorn & Hill’s current focus is the same as it has always been, providing residential heating oil sales as well as heating and air conditioning installation and repair services. Many things have changed over the years but several constants have remained. The ability to pass daily operations from generation to generation has allowed Shellhorn & Hill to continually grow its innovative programs and provide continuity of service and direction in an industry where many companies are sold or absorbed by large “discounters” where service takes a back seat to profits. With the fourth generation of the Hill family now involved in daily operations the company philosophy is the same as it was when Shellhorn & Hill was founded in 1931: To be a leader in the industry by anticipating the needs of the customer while providing a level of service that others strive to achieve.