MIDDLETOWN — A Middletown-based oil distributor’s recent national recognition as a supplier has the potential to help the company gain more customers across the country.

The National Minority Supplier Development Council Inc. named Hightowers Petroleum Co. a minority supplier of the year for the Midwest region. Stephen Hightower, president and chief executive officer, said his company received the honor Oct. 27 at a conference in Miami, Fla.

“It actually offers our company some recognition to corporate America, which is our primary customer base, and put us before most of the top 100 companies as a company they would consider successful in their organization,” Hightower said.

Duke Energy Corp. nominated Hightowers Petroleum for the honor in the category for businesses with more than $50 million in sales. Hightowers supplies Duke with gasoline and diesel to their generation stations for making electricity and gasoline for Duke’s vehicles.

“One of the things we always look for is do the suppliers we currently have, have the ability to growth with the company,” said Grady Reid Jr., who was manager of supplier diversity when the nomination was made. “They’ve grown with us and expanded as we’ve become a larger company.”

While Duke has expanded from three to five states, so has Hightowers, Reid said. That ability to grow with Duke is part of what makes Hightowers one of the utility company’s top suppliers for gasoline and diesel.

“We want our suppliers to be strong,” Reid said.

Hightowers Petroleum was one of 11 regional minority supplier winners selected from 70 nominees across the U.S., according to the council.

Criteria considered community involvement, recent growth, infrastructure and management and industry penetration.

Hightower said the petroleum company is on track to grow about 60 percent this year, after growing 30 percent last year.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2551 or clevingston@coxohio.com.