l-r: – Mark (2nd from left) and Amanda Hobbs at the new depot with Brian Colquhoun, Rob Spearman and Paul Shepard of Clydesdale Bank
Hobbs Bros recently moved to brand new purpose-built premises on a two acre site in Gloucester.
Funded long term by Clydesdale Bank, Hobbs Bros moved from its previously rented premises to the newly purchased site in the autumn.
Established more than 100 years ago Hobbs is a fourth generation family business with a turnover of £18m, which distributes Texaco fuels and Chevron and Exol lubricants throughout Gloucestershire and North Wiltshire.
The new depot features four 200,000 litre tanks, two each for gas oil and kerosene plus 150,000 litre tanks for diesel and Premium paraffin.
The company’s 19 staff includes four members of the Hobbs family – owner Mark Hobbs is the great great grandson of the original proprietor Clem. Mark’s wife Amanda is company secretary, his sister Jane is lubricants manager with step son Chris being one of the tanker drivers for the company’s 11-strong fleet.
“We’d been in talks with Clydesdale Bank before and decided that now was the right time for us to transfer our full banking to them,” explained Mark. We’re confident that the move to the new premises will allow us to continue to provide the highest quality of service to our customers throughout Gloucestershire.
“In a family business environment, it’s easier to provide the highest quality of customer service,” added Mark. “We can make our own decisions straightaway without having to speak to a head office. I know if a worker calls in sick, I will take on their work and make sure the job is always done.”
“Hobbs Bros is a well-known, respected business in Gloucestershire which has always ensured that the local community has a regular supply of fuel and heat,” said Rob Spearman, head of Clydesdale Bank’s Business and Private Banking Centre in Gloucester. “We’re delighted that Hobbs was able to take advantage of one of the new lending initiatives we launched this year to help purchase their new premises.” www.hobbsbros.co.uk
Will Merrick (centre) with members of the Mansfield depot team
At the beginning of December, NWF Fuels officially opened its new depot at Mansfield in Nottinghamshire.
Operating in the eastern region as a JET branded distributor, the new depot is backed by Phillips 66. It covers Nottinghamshire across to Kingsbury in the West Midlands and Immingham in Lincolnshire as well as supplying to the Yorkshire cities of Sheffield, Doncaster and York and all points in between.
Looking after the new depot is regional manager Will Merrick who heads up a team comprising Steve Colton in transport, planning and routing, Margaret Barrett and Rachel Clarke in business development, Alex Lewin, internal sales, Helen Bull, customer service with Anne Patten being responsible for business administration.
“We believe that the building of this modern facility in such a strategic location for my region will offer great opportunities for development,” said Will.www.nwffuels.co.uk
For more about the new depot – please see the January 2015 issue of Fuel Oil News
Commercial director Darren Borras (r) receives the Business of the Year award from Ralph Montagu
The ninth annual New Forest Brilliance in Business Awards 2014/15 saw the WP Group win both the Sustainable Business Award and the Business of the Year Award.
“Sustainability isn’t just an initiative but a company-wide commitment to ensuring future generations are not compromised by the actions we take today,” said marketing manager, Harriet Phillips. “Through the launch of WP’s Sustainable Solutions Programme which has three key elements – people, planet and performance, we’ve delivered significant efficiency and emission savings both internally and to our customers, large and small.
“Across a series of recent energy efficient trials conducted, WP has been able to demonstrate a reduction of CO2 emissions in excess of 2000 tonnes and a waste reduction of 2500 litres with an opportunity to save considerably more.
“Having also taken the New Forest Business Partnership Business of the Year Award, we will also receive a year’s membership to the NFBP, an association that the company is honoured to support.” www.thewp-group.co.uk
Varun will be based both at the marine head office in Warrington and at The Maltings in Cardiff.
As its new trading & risk manager, specialist marine fuel trader Varun Chhabria brings ‘new expertise’ to the Certas Energy’s marine team.
In line with the growth plans for the marine sector of the business, Varun brings new industry experience to the expanding marine team. Varun’s career has focused exclusively on the marine industry, with positions at international commodities trading companies, Inver Energy and most recently as UK sourcing and trading Manager at OW Bunker UK. At these companies, Varun has developed skills in sales and trading, hedging and contract negotiation.Aiming to become a dominant player in marine fuel
Commenting on his new role, Varun said: “This is an exciting time to join Certas Energy – the marine distribution side of the business is really going places and has aspirations for significant growth which I intend to help facilitate. With the drive and ambition of the team, I’m confident that Certas Energy will become a dominant player in the marine fuel distribution sector over the coming years.
“Varun is an excellent fit with our current team dynamic,” said Gary Byers, head of UK marine. “He brings fresh experience on the trading side of the business and is already fully furnished with the business requirements of Certas Energy having worked with members of our team already.” www.certasenergy.co.uk
When designing this skid, Alpeco fully appreciated the space issues says Nolan Oils
Just 15 miles from Nolan Oil’s Bicester depot, Alpeco was the preferred supplier when the Oxfordshire distributor was looking to upgrade its fuel delivery station.
Whilst Nolan Oils needed to install a 4-arm 1700 LPM bottom loading skid, the company still needed to keep its existing top loading bay to facilitate the loading of 3rd party trucks many of which are not equipped for bottom loading.
Severe space constraints meant that Alpeco had to design and build a bespoke skid unit for a precise location. Built at Alpeco’s premises in Aylesbury, the skid was designed and configured in such a way as to allow it to be installed alongside Nolan’s existing top loading bay. To make best use of the limited space available, the four new pump units were installed separately in the tank bund thus allowing the skid frame to be more compact.
“Alpeco met our requirements,” said managing director Mark Nolan. “Following a visit by Alpeco’s design engineers, they fully appreciated the issue regarding space and supplied us with a very compact skid unit, enabling us to retain our existing top loading rack, with the result that loading speeds are now much faster.” www.nolanoils.co.uk
Anyone with information about fuel fraud should call the Customs Hotline on 0800 59 5000
Last week over 100 HMRC officers were involved in searches which led to the dismantling of two diesel laundering plants on the Wirral and in Kent and eight arrests.
At the Birkenhead laundering plant over 9,000 litres of suspected illicit fuel was removed along with equipment and chemicals. Three men from Merseyside were subsequently arrested. At premises in Ashford in Kent, 12,000 litres were removed along with chemicals, equipment and a fuel tanker. Capable of producing nearly 120,000 litres of suspected illicit fuel a day; the plants would evade almost £12.5 million in taxes a year
A further eight premises were searched with a further five men arrested in Essex, Lancashire and the West Midlands. All those arrested have been bailed until April 2015 pending further enquiries. Investigations into the illegal fuel plants are continuing.
“It’s wrong that honest businesses should be undercut by criminals involved in making or selling laundered fuel,” said Sandra Smith, HMRC’s assistant director, criminal investigation.
Lord Oxburgh (l) receives his Melchett Award from Malcolm Brinded CBE FEI, vice president, Energy Institute
The above is the title of the Melchett Lecture delivered recently by former Shell chairman Lord Ronald Oxburgh of Liverpool who was also presented with the Melchett Award.
“I’m delighted to have been honoured by the Energy Institute (EI) in this way,” said Lord Oxburgh KBE HonFEI. “I offer my thanks both to the EI and to the numerous friends and colleagues with whom I have enjoyed discussing energy and energy policy over the years and from whom I have learned so much.”
An eminent geologist and geophysicist, Lord Oxburgh has worked in academia, the Civil Service and the private sector. After an early career teaching and researching in universities across the UK and the US, he became chief scientific adviser to the Ministry of Defence and then rector of Imperial College.
Having been a member of the Shell Board for a number of years, he became chairman in 2005 and stepped down a year later having overseen the merger of Shell with Royal Dutch Petroleum to form the current Royal Dutch Shell.
He is currently president of the Carbon Capture and Storage Association and chairs several small renewable energy companies. He received his KBE in 1992 and became a life peer, joining the House of Lords in 1999, where he previously sat on its Select Committee on Science and Technology.
Part of the RE:Group team (l-r), Matthew Fenton, collections driver, Sarah Atkinson, business development manager, Paul Waine, managing director, and Rob Booth, production director.
RE:Group UK is poised for further growth following an investment of nearly £2m.
In the first quarter of 2015, the company, which collects and processes aqueous and oily waste and manufactures environmentally sound industrial fuels, is commissioning an innovative processing plant in Hull. The investment has so far generated five new jobs, with a further 19 posts expected to be created over the next two to three years as the plant’s production capacity is developed.
The new environmentally friendly process, which RE:Group claims is an ‘industry game changer’, will improve the processing of waste oils by facilitating a greater recovery rate, removing the need for the use of chemicals and providing a more commercially competitive product.
The company, which specialises in waste oil management and hydrocarbon recovery, currently handles more than 50 million litres of marine and industrial oil each year and sells advanced fuels under its RE:Fuel brand to sectors such as brewing, food production, aggregates and abattoirs.
Managing director, Paul Waine, said: “This is a significant and strategic investment for RE:Group giving us the increased capacity to develop our customer base through providing innovative hydrocarbon based products.”
The new 1.7 acre location in Hull’s riverside industrial area, will allow the company to consolidate operations through creating a physical link with two of its other sites – a tank storage area and fuel production facility. The new location is also home to Clipper House, a 3,200 sq. ft. newly restored Edwardian building, which becomes RE:Group’s new head office. www.regroup.uk.com
Fergus Ewing, minister for energy, enterprise and tourism, at the launch of the Oil & Gas Innovation Centre in Aberdeen
The newly established Oil & Gas Innovation Centre (OGIC) is already having an impact on accelerating new technologies to support the North Sea oil and gas industry.
OGIC’s official launch in Aberdeen revealed that it now has its first projects coming on stream and is in discussion with more than 50 companies regarding technology development opportunities.
OGIC provides a single access point to the knowledge and capabilities of 12 Scottish universities for the oil and gas industry. It can also part-fund and provide management support for projects with the potential to deliver technology solutions to the exploration, production and decommissioning challenges facing the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS). It links around 2,300 oil and gas operators and service companies to more than 450 academic staff and researchers in Scotland working in oil and gas related areas.
Speaking at the launch, Fergus Ewing, minister for energy, enterprise and tourism, said: “The Oil & Gas Innovation Centre represents a very positive step in the right direction in ensuring support for operators and supply chain companies – allowing them to maximise the recovery of our significant hydrocarbon resources.”
Ian Phillips, chief executive of OGIC, said: “Innovation is now one of the major priorities for the oil and gas sector locally and globally in order to maximise return from existing assets and to bring new, more challenging reserves into production.”
The Scottish Funding Council, which provided the initial capital for OGIC, has also welcomed OGIC’s transformation from concept through to delivery body in a matter of months. www.ogic.co.uk
