Times may change, but there’s always a Marran at Marran.
Serving Long Island for 128 years, today’s Marran is a full spectrum energy supplier, providing the latest in high-efficiency oil, gas, and solar heating systems. Nobody knows how to keep your house warm the way Marran does.
Our technicians design, install, and maintain the finest air conditioning systems available. Trust Marran to provide the system that’s just right for you.
Since 1891, five generations of Marrans have embraced the latest technology and worked tirelessly to perfect the finest customer service on Long Island. To learn more about our history, read on.
My great-great-grandfather, William R. Marran, founded Marran Oil in 1891. He delivered kerosene for cooking and space heaters to his neighbors and friends by horse-drawn cart. He passed his philosophy down to his son: “Service your customers well and treat them as your neighbors and friends.”
My great-grandfather, Francis Marran, modernized the delivery system by switching from horse-drawn cart to motorized tank trucks, which could deliver oil more efficiently to a large area. In the early 1930s, he constructed a million gallon oil terminal on the Patchogue River, which received barges from New York harbor. He worked with Standard Oil, supplying their oil to other companies and to his customers throughout Suffolk County. Under his leadership, Marran was the first oil company to provide automatic delivery to its customers. He began to sell oil as an alternative to wood or coal heating systems. He called it “automatic heat,” because it eliminated the necessity to feed the fire. He believed that a company should invest in its infrastructure and equipment to provide better services and products to its customers. His philosophy was, “Innovate and provide your customers with the best products.”
In 1935, Francis Marran’s death left his widow alone with the challenge of raising four young children during the Great Depression. My great-grandmother, Marcelle D. Marran, said that it was the community of neighbors, friends, employees, customers, and priest that convinced her to run the business to support her family. As a schoolteacher, she had often told her students, “There’s no such word as ‘can’t'” to correct their grammar. As one of Long Island’s first businesswomen, that phrase became her motto. She successfully ran and grew the company before her son came to work with her. She reminded my grandfather that their loyal customers had helped her keep the business going through the death of his father and the oil rationing during World War II. She told everyone she knew that, “When it come to your customers, there’s no such word as ‘can’t.'”
In 1948, William R. Marran II took over the family business from his mother. He had been a Navy Officer in World War II and was trained in radio communications. He erected a radio tower on the highest hill in Suffolk County and equipped all of Marran’s oil and service trucks with two-way radios. He used the technology to introduce 24-hour radio-dispatched emergency services. He experienced the huge post-war expansion of home ownership on Long Island and equipped many new homes with oil-fired heating systems. He also converted many existing homes from coal to oil. In the 1970s, the Middle East oil embargo caused oil prices to soar. My grandfather and his brother, John Marran, collaborated to create the first low-mass, computer-controlled heating system. As the most efficient system of its time, it allowed customers to burn less oil, saving them money and reducing their carbon footprint in a time of high oil prices. With continuing design improvements, the System 2000 is still the most efficient oil-fired heating system on the market.
In 1982, my father, Jack Marran, started working at the company with his father, grandmother, brother, and sister. He has kept to our family’s tradition of personalized service—like my grandfather, Dad puts his telephone number in our All-Risk Service Contract. In addition, building on Marran’s past, he has added Alarms and Air Conditioning to the services we provide to our customers. He’s in his 24th year of running the business, after taking over from his grandfather in 1995.
Thank you for taking the time to read about our company’s history. We look forward to another 128 years of providing the best service we possibly can, leading with the latest and most efficient equipment available, and maintaining the tradition of treating our customers like family.