Companies 20
One of JET’s specially rebranded tankers in support of Road Safety Week
During last week’s Road Safety Week JET helped to raise road safety awareness by rebranding four of its tankers with special Road Safety Week messages.
The four JET promotional tankers took to the roads in the brand’s core delivery areas – South East, Midlands, Yorkshire/Humberside and Scotland with the tankers visiting approximately 100 JET forecourts.
Pete George, managing director of Phillips 66 UK & Ireland marketing, commented: “We know that our distinctive JET tanker fleet is a significant contributor to brand awareness so we felt that branding some of our tankers with special Safety Week messages was a great way to show our commitment to road safety and our support of Brake’s fantastic initiative.”
Pete added: “As a company we are committed to consistently looking at ways to minimise risks and ensure the safety and well-being of our customers, drivers and staff. Road Safety Week provides a great opportunity to do this in a way that is fun but also gets across a serious message.”
The move was part of Jet’s long-standing support for the national road safety charity, Brake.
Set up in 1997, Road Safety Week is coordinated annually by Brake each November. Now the UK’s biggest road safety event, it aims to encourage grassroots action on road safety and raise awareness about the part everyone can play to prevent tragedies and make roads safer. www.roadsafetyweek.org.uk
Roz Purcell launches the Topaz home heat campaign 2014
In January, Topaz will create 110 new jobs with the opening of two new service stations developed at a cost of €10 million.
An additional 200 people are currently employed on the development of the sites in North Dublin and Co. Laois which will include service stations, restaurants and shops.
“Topaz is in job creation and expansion mode,” said Paul Candon, marketing and corporate services director at Topaz. “We’re constantly looking at sites with good potential – particularly near motorways. Our award winning sites at Dublin Airport and Cashel have been extremely successful and we expect these new sites to be likewise. We’re actively looking for new sites and locations across the country.”
Topaz has 330 sites throughout the country, 120 company owned. One of Ireland’s largest privately owned companies, it has an annual turnover of €3 billion and currently employs 1,600 people.The Topaz Home Heat campaign
The launch of the campaign coincided with a warning from weather experts that Ireland could be set for an Arctic freeze within weeks.
“While we have experienced very mild weather up to this point, forecasters are warning that temperatures are set to fall rapidly in coming weeks,” said commercial director Liam Mulcahy. “Ordering oil on our revamped website can be done in four simple clicks and we guarantee delivery within 48 hours.”
To mark the launch of the new site and online ordering facility, Topaz is giving away 500 litres of fuel every week for the next 26 weeks and double Play or Park loyalty points to customers who order online.
Topaz also urged customers to consider using Topaz Thermal, a home heating fuel specially developed by the company to lower carbon and sludge build up. www.topaz.ie
Killian Tallon, APEA chairman; Nobby Clarke, chairman of E&S Environmental and director of Adler & Allan; and Warren Peters, managing director of KPS UK at the APEA presentation event
Adler and Allan’s ethanol coalescing filter won the Environment Protection and Improvement category at this year’s Association for Petroleum and Explosives Administration (APEA) awards, announced earlier this month.
Essar Oil UK received the gold award for 2014 and the order of distinction for 18 consecutive gold awards at its Stanlow manufacturing complex.
Delighted to be recognised for Essar Stanlow’s commitment to occupational health and safety, site manager Jon Mason commented: “We’re very proud of this achievement, which is our 18th consecutive award, as it recognises our absolute commitment to preventing injuries and ill health at Stanlow.
” The RoSPA awards date back 58 years and recognise commitment to continuous improvement in accident and ill health prevention at work. Through the scheme, which is open to businesses and organisations of all types and sizes from across the UK and overseas, judges consider entrants’ overarching occupational health and safety management systems, including practices such as leadership and workforce involvement.
David Rawlins, RoSPA’s awards manager, said: “The RoSPA awards encourage the raising of occupational health and safety standards across the board. Organisations that gain recognition for their health and safety management systems, such as Essar Oil UK’s Stanlow manufacturing complex, contribute to a collective raising of the bar for other organisations to aspire to, and we offer them our congratulations.”
Stanlow produces approximately 15% of UK transport fuels, including three billion litres of petrol, 3.5 billion litres of diesel and two billion litres of jet fuel per year.
www.essarenergy.com
“We aim to build a world-class retail and fuel business and to expand our operations significantly over the coming years,” says Emmet O’Neill, new Topaz chief executive.
Last month John Callaghan, chairman of Topaz Energy Ireland, announced that Emmet O’Neill had been appointed to take over as chief executive on 1st February 2015. Sean Corkery will continue as acting CEO until then.
Thirty-five year old Emmet is one of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs with a number of interests across the economy. In 2005 he founded Smiles Dental as a radical and innovative patient-focused dentistry business. Over the following decade, he grew the business to become one of the largest providers of general and specialist dental services in Ireland and the UK with 78 branches between the two countries. Smiles Dental was sold earlier this year. He has previously worked in aircraft finance and in March was appointed to the Topaz board where has led a number of projects in recent months.
“Visionary and passionate, Emmet is one of the outstanding young entrepreneurs in Ireland,” said John Callaghan. “We’re very much looking forward to his leadership and his exciting plans for the business.”
“I am absolutely delighted to be taking up this role at Topaz – everybody connected with the Topaz business has been incredibly welcoming and I know they all share our ambition for the business,” said Emmet.
www.topaz.ie
On 31st October Balmoral Tanks divested the manufacturing of its range of rotationally moulded oil, water, wastewater and rainwater harvesting products to Clarehill Plastics.
Trading as Harlequin, Clarehill has acquired a range of assets associated with the above products. These assets include the use of the Balmoral name associated with particular products for a period of 18 months and items of rotational moulding equipment.
Harlequin has been producing an extensive range of oil, fuel and water tanks for over 30 years. The company is committed to both product and market development and sees this move as ‘an opportunity for its established customers to expand or develop into new areas of business’.
Wastewater and rainwater harvesting are seen as growth opportunities both in the home and international markets with Harlequin now ‘very well positioned to service these sectors’. www.harlequinplastics.co.uk
Greenergy’s fuel storage terminal at Plymouth has been shortlisted for a prestigious global safety award by the Energy Institute (EI).
The EI awards recognise companies which have set new standards of excellence and innovation in their day to day operations. Greenergy’s shortlisting reflects the company’s ability to maintain and improve safety standards during an extensive regeneration programme.
Over the last five years Greenergy has undertaken major improvement work at its Plymouth terminal to bring it into line with the latest safety and environmental standards. 15 tanks have been restored or replaced, new truck loading facilities installed and there has been a complete overhaul of safety and maintenance procedures, making it one of the first terminals in the UK to adopt post Buncefield standards.
Earlier this year Greenergy’s Plymouth facility was also awarded its first Gold RoSPA award, following four consecutive Silver awards, in recognition of its outstanding health and safety management.
Nathan Leaver, Greenergy’s Plymouth terminal manager, said: “Being shortlisted for the Energy Institute safety award demonstrates the hard work and determination of the team in ensuring that the terminal is safe and efficient. It also shows us that our drive to innovate and instil new standards can be used as a benchmark throughout the industry.”
The winning entry will be announced on 13 November.
Blackburn-based Euro Garages – featured in the October issue of Fuel Oil News – has secured the 2014 Forecourt Retailer of the Year award for multiple sites at The Retail Industry Awards.
This year’s event – now firmly established as the ‘Oscars’ of the grocery industry – took place at The Grosvenor House Hotel, London, at the end of September.
Commenting on his company’s success, Zuber Issa, chief executive officer of Euro Garages, said: “The Retail Industry Awards prove that the quality of retail provision in the United Kingdom remains incredibly high. Everybody at Euro Garages is thrilled to be recognised alongside household brands such as Waitrose, Asda, Sainsbury’s and SPAR. As well as showcasing a wide range of retail offers and new product launches , the evening was a wonderful opportunity to recognise the very best of British retail.”
Euro Garages is one of the UK’s largest privately-owned forecourt operators with over 180 sites, employing around 2,500 people. This is the third such accolade for the company, having been named Forecourt Trader of the Year in 2011 and again in 2013.
Senior driver trainer, Chris Hill has been seconded to Tanzania
Hoyer Petrolog UK is renewing its support for Transaid, the international development charity focused on transport management and driver training in developing countries.
Hoyer Petrolog has previously seconded three trainers to deliver driver and hazardous goods training with Transaid and this month the company is seconding one of its most senior driver trainers, Chris Hill, to a project in Tanzania.
Chris who is based at Hythe terminal is a full-time driver training instructor for Hoyer Petrolog UK. He was seconded to Transaid’s professional driver training project at the National Institute of Transport (NIT) in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, in February 2012 to deliver the first input of driver training there and before that was seconded to the Industrial Training Centre (ITC) in Lusaka, Zambia.
Hoyer says that despite the challenges of limited availability of equipment that might be considered standard in the UK, being able to make improvements in driver technique and to improve the handling of dangerous goods has proved to be personally and professionally fulfilling for its trainers.
Operations director, Allan Davison, said: “Hoyer Petrolog is delighted to support the excellent work Transaid undertakes – we truly believe that the work undertaken by Transaid has made a real difference in improving road safety in Zambia and Tanzania.”
Transaid’s acting chief executive, Caroline Barber, commented: “Every year 1.3 million people die in road accidents across the world – of which 90% take place in developing countries. In order for Transaid to keep improving road safety in Africa it is vital that we can work with companies such as Hoyer Petrolog.
“We are extremely grateful to the company for their continued support and for offering their time and skills to develop the expertise of trainers at the NIT which ultimately helps to address dramatic statistics and save many lives.”
The UK retail business of Murco Petroleum Ltd – a subsidiary of Murphy Petroleum Ltd – has been acquired by institutional investors, Patron Capital Partners.
The business was acquired via Motor Fuel Group, the UK forecourt business owned by Patron in partnership with Alasdair Locke, for an undisclosed sum. It consists of a portfolio of 228 owned and operated forecourt sites, together with contracts to supply fuel to a further 226 sites owned and operated by third parties.
The acquisition represents Patron’s most significant investment to date in the UK forecourt retailing sector, following the acquisition of Motor Fuel Group in 2011, a portfolio of Shell stations in 2012 and a group of 53 freehold forecourts let on long leases to Murco in 2013.
As a result of the Murco acquisition, Motor Fuel Group is now the second-largest independent petrol filling station operator in the UK.
Stephen Green, senior partner at Patron Capital, commented: “This transaction is a rare opportunity to acquire a substantial and strongly performing business as part of our strategy to build Motor Fuel Group into one of the UK forecourt sector’s most significant operators. We would like to thank Murco, the Motor Fuel Group team and our respective professional teams for their support in executing this transaction so quickly.”
The combined heat and power plant at Grangemouth
INEOS Industries Holdings has agreed to acquire the combined heat and power plant (CHP) that serves the Grangemouth site for £54 million. The natural gas-fired plant is currently owned and operated by Fortum.
The acquisition complements the current £300 million infrastructure project at the site to import and store ethane, an essential raw material for the petrochemical plant.
Following a butane gas leak at the INEOS plant at Grangemouth at the end of September, the Unite union has called for the company to work with the union’s safety representatives to help prevent future incidents.
INEOS confirmed that a leak of butane gas had been detected but stressed that the incident had been quickly and safely contained. As a precaution, police closed a local road and schools were told to keep children indoors with windows closed.
“Grangemouth is Scotland’s premier industrial site so it is vital that the workforce, the local community and the contractors can have every confidence that it is being run with maximum emphasis on safety,” said Pat Rafferty, Scottish secretary of Unite.
Volker Shultz, Essar Oil UK chief executive
Essar Oil UK has reconfigured its Stanlow Refinery to increase the production of high value products and further reduce the amount of fuel oil and naphtha produced on the site.
Maintenance has recently been completed on a key furnace in the main distiller unit, and the site’s smaller CD3 crude distillation unit has been mothballed earlier than originally planned, resulting in reduced fuel oil and naphtha production, and improved margins and cost efficiencies.
It is expected that Stanlow’s yield profile will be approximately 33% gasoline, 57% kerosene and diesel and 3% fuel oil, with crude and feedstock throughput reducing from 75 to 71 million barrels per annum.
This is the latest in a series of cost efficiency initiatives at Stanlow, which include the expansion of the refinery’s crude slate, the 25 year “re-lifing” of Europe’s largest catalytic cracker, and the introduction of natural gas fuel to all high pressure boilers on site.
In addition, the recent voluntary leaver incentive scheme, proposed by a joint working group of employees, has been well received by staff, with organisational changes already delivering additional cost savings.
Essar Oil UK chief executive, Volker Schultz, commented: “This new optimised configuration has delivered an immediate improvement to our refining economics. This is in addition to the margin enhancement initiatives already introduced, with a large number of other projects still ongoing.
“Despite the challenges facing the European refining industry, Stanlow is becoming an even more advantaged site, having undergone a major turnaround only last November, including the 25 year re-lifing of Europe’s biggest cat cracker.
“The entire business is committed to identifying and implementing additional opportunities to improve margins, with organisational streamlining also strengthening our competitive position and ensuring we have the right blend of skills and experience to build a positive and long term future for our business.”
Stanlow produces approximately 15% of UK transport fuels, including three billion litres of petrol, 3.5 billion litres of diesel and two billion litres of jet fuel per year.
Thames Enterprise Park has taken a major step towards the economic development of the site of the former Coryton Refinery with the appointment of contractors to demolish the redundant refinery and boiler house.
A vision prepared by the owners of Thames Enterprise Park for creation of a centre of excellence in energy and environmental technologies has won the support of Thurrock Council. Up to 400 acres of the 580-acre former refinery site are to be used for Thames Enterprise Park, with 140 acres now immediately available and another 70 acres to be freed up by the clearance of the refinery.
The former refinery’s tanks, jetties and loading racks are being converted into a deep water import and blending terminal at neighbouring Thames Oilport, the design of which is still under review, so will not be demolished by the contractors.
Graham Alexander, head of business development at Thames Enterprise Park, commented: “The business of Thames Enterprise Park is progressing well ahead of our investment expectations. The potential of the site has become very obvious since we took ownership. It is a great strategic location for business and, as an established industrial site with river, road and pipeline access, has a unique set of attributes.”
Cllr John Kent, leader of Thurrock Council, said: “While it’s sad to see another of Thurrock’s old landmarks disappear, at the same time it’s exciting as another dynamic industry rises here and utilises our unique geographical advantages.”
Demolition of the refinery is expected to take approximately two years.
For more about the Coryton refinery – see also page 7 in the October 2014 issue of Fuel Oil News
Left to right: Tom Noonan’s wife Mary, Tom Noonan, compere Miriam O’Callaghan and Tom Noonan junior
Maxol chief executive officer, Tom Noonan, was presented with the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award at Ireland’s ninth annual Forecourt & Convenience Retailer (IFCR) awards ceremony in Dublin earlier this month.
Tom, who joined Maxol 35 years ago as a personnel manager, accepted the accolade from the awards’ host, Irish radio and television presenter, Miriam O’Callaghan.
He told the 350-strong audience that he was delighted to win the award and spoke about his time working in the Irish fuel industry, the people he has encountered over the years and how Maxol’s forecourt and convenience business has continued to develop during his tenure.
Tom added that when he joined Maxol, the industry was 90% owned by foreign firms but that today it is 75% owned by Irish companies who are setting the standard in forecourt convenience retailing that is the envy of similar operations around the world. “Maxol is at the forefront of this movement, as evidenced by the recent launch of our new food brand “Moreish”, which highlights our dedication to further evolving and enhancing Maxol’s overall forecourt experience.”
Maxol also had another winner on the night as Conway’s Maxol/Spar, Ratoath, Co Meath picked up the award for the “Best Site” with a licence to sell alcohol.
Bill Penton, publisher of IFCR and organiser of the awards event, said that he had been very impressed by the high calibre of all the finalists in this year’s competition.
“Continuous investment in new forecourts means that the standards are getting higher every year and that means much-needed new jobs and support for Irish suppliers, growers and manufacturers,” he said.
Dean Leggett, service manager at Haartz Tanker
Dean Leggett has joined Haartz Tanker as service manager.
Dean takes to Haartz a wealth of knowledge and experience of the tanker industry from previous positions, including time with manufacturer GRW Engineering and with service agent, DSV.
His appointment is seen as an important step for Haartz Tanker. It will enable the company to extend its customer support services and to ensure that the expanding fleet of tankers are maintained to the highest operational and legal standard.
Tim Heaton, managing director of Haartz Tanker, said: “It’s great that Dean already knows most of our customers and suppliers. Dean’s energy and excellent reputation within the industry means he has already started at full speed.”www.haartztankersales.co.uk
DCC plc, the international sales, marketing, distribution and business support services group, has reached agreement in principle with Esso Société Anonyme Française (“Esso SAF”) to acquire the Esso Express unmanned retail petrol station network and the Esso Motorway concessions in France.
The acquisition is subject to the conclusion of the French Works Council consultation process and EC competition clearance. The transaction is expected to complete in the first half of 2015. The total consideration will be €106 million (£84 million), plus stock in tank at the date of acquisition.
This will be DCC Energy’s second major acquisition in the European unmanned retail petrol station market following the acquisition of Qstar in Sweden in May 2014 and is a further step in DCC’s strategy to build a larger presence in the transport fuels sector.
The acquisition will comprise: Esso SAF’s network of 274 Esso Express unmanned petrol stations; 48 Esso branded motorway concessions; and contracts to supply around 75 dealer owned and operated sites. As part of the transaction, DCC Energy will enter into a long term branded supply agreement with Esso SAF.
The acquired business will have annual volumes of approximately 1.9 billion litres, revenues of approximately €2.2 billion (£1.7 billion) and is expected to generate an initial return on invested capital of approximately 15%.
On completion of the acquisition, DCC Energy will operate 672 retail service stations across Europe and supply in excess of 2,000 dealer owned service stations. On a pro-forma basis, DCC Energy’s product split by volume will be 58% road transport fuels, 16% commercial fuels, 16% heating oil and 10% LPG.
Tommy Breen, chief executive of DCC plc, commented: “The acquisition of Esso SAF Retail will be DCC Energy’s first acquisition in France. It represents a significant further step in DCC’s strategy to build a larger presence in the transport fuels sector and provides DCC with an excellent platform for growth in the French market.”
According to experts at the 2nd Annual Oil & Gas Summit which took place in Dublin last month, a degree of preparedness with regards to infrastructure and education is required to fully take advantage of a possible oil find in Ireland. Irish correspondent Aine Faherty reports from the event
The message that oil is most likely to be found off the coast of Ireland was clear at this two-day event; the only question left unanswered is where exactly will it be found?
The Porcupine Basin area in the Atlantic, an area of 1,400 square kilometres to the south west of counties Kerry, Clare and Galway is considered most probable. In the past, the area has seen some success, now there is massive investment underway.
There will be further exploration in Porcupine with two possible drills taking place between now and 2016, according to Hugh Mackay, CEO, Europa Oil & Gas. Companies involved include Cairn Energy and Kosmos Energy, both have their own rigs. “As such, they are the masters of their own destiny,” said Hugh.
A number of prospects have also been identified around the Larne-Lough Neagh Basin in County Antrim reported Dr Andrew Hindle, CEO of InfraStrata with the best estimate being that there could be more than ‘50 million barrels of oil in the area’. This area is to be further investigated with an exploration due to begin later this year.
Could Cork become the oil capital of Ireland?
Gordon McIntosh, director of enterprise, planning and infrastructure for Aberdeen City Council spoke about the services and infrastructure that took Scottish city Aberdeen from a ‘small, underdeveloped fishing town’ to a centre of excellence and the oil capital of Europe.
With many similarities to Aberdeen, Cork could make great strides to become another oil capital said Gordon who cited the city’s good harbour as one of its best assets to support a burgeoning oil industry.
“Education is the key,” said Gordon. Two universities in Aberdeen offer courses relating to the oil industry producing talented individuals who are specifically trained to further strengthen the oil industry.
Worldwide it can be hard to attract people to oil and gas exploration. With Ireland having thousands of people directly and indirectly involved in oil exploration, the consensus is that an oil find is required soon. Speaking at a panel discussion about how Ireland can adapt to a burgeoning oil industry, Cathal Friel, chairman of Fastnet Oil & Gas said interest in the industry will most certainly develop after such a find.
When, and not if, an oil find happens, the experts say the country must be prepared in advance with infrastructure and education in place. Only then will Ireland be ready to take advantage of such a commodity and feed the industry with the skilled labour force required.
Share your opinion of Ireland’s oil potential with Aine Faherty at Aine@fueloilnews.co.uk
Phillips 66 staff prepare for the Grand Union Canal Challenge
Phillips 66 has raised vital funds for ILEAP, a South Warwickshire charity that provides inclusive community-based leisure activities for vulnerable children and adults with additional needs.
In July a team from Phillips 66 took part in the Grand Union Canal Challenge, raising a total of £6,300 for the charity. Twenty seven employees faced the tough challenge of walking, cycling, or kayaking 60 miles along the canal in just 24 hours. The distance of 60 miles was chosen because 2014 marks the 60th anniversary of JET, the fuel brand of Phillips 66.
Peter Bazeley, ILEAP manager, said: “The money raised by Phillips 66 will pay for the 2014 ILEAP summer holiday activity programme, providing over 100 disabled people with personalised activities throughout summer.”
Pete George, managing director, Phillips 66 UK & Ireland marketing, added: “We pride ourselves in giving back to our local communities. It’s part of our legacy and identity as a company. Here at our Warwick office we strongly believe in giving back to our communities in various ways. ILEAP provides fantastic support to families throughout the region so we were delighted to donate all the funds raised through our Grand Union Canal Challenge to this very worthy cause.”www.phillips66.com
MFG managing director, Jeremy Clarke
Motor Fuel Group (MFG) has signed an agreement to purchase the retail assets of Murco Petroleum Limited (Murco), which is scheduled to close by the end of September.
Jeremy Clarke, managing director, MFG said: “We are delighted with this exciting transaction. The signing of this agreement supports our stated objective to grow Motor Fuel Group into a significant force in the UK forecourt sector.”
MFG currently operates 60 stations throughout the UK. Operating primarily under the BP and Jet fuel brands, the company also offers the Costcutter brand at forecourts.
The acquisition of Murco will add another 228 company stations to the MFG network and a 200 plus dealer network to the Group. All of these stations will continue to offer fuel under the Murco brand. The forecourt shops on the Murco company station network also operate under the Costcutter brand. www.motorfuelgroup.com
OPW has signed an agreement to acquire all the outstanding shares of Liquip International.
David Crouse, OPW president of OPW, commented: “The acquisition of Liquip is another important step in the global growth strategy of OPW. Liquip significantly strengthens OPW’s fluid handling position in Australia and throughout Asia Pacific. By combining our products, we create a truly best in class product portfolio meeting the unique requirements of our chemical and industrial and tank truck customers.”
Liquip expects to generate revenue of approximately USD $40 million in 2014. The transaction is subject to certain customary and other closing conditions, and is expected to close in the third quarter.
Phillips 66 received the prestigious Gold Award for Occupational Health and Safety, together with two ‘Guardian Angel’ awards at the 2014 RoSPA awards ceremony recently.
RoSPA plays a unique role in UK health and safety, campaigning for safety change and providing services and support to help organisations to become safer and healthier places in which to work.
Russell Best, HSE adviser at Phillips 66, comments: “Receiving these awards is recognition of a far-reaching effort throughout the whole organisation. Safety is the number one priority in our industry, so it’s not surprising that safety is the first of our three core values: safety, honour & commitment.
“All staff are encouraged to share good practices in all areas, especially when it comes to safety. We work with JET dealers, distributors, contractors and hauliers to ensure they are aligned with us on their awareness and competency from a health and safety perspective.
“We achieved a zero recordable injury rate during 2013, which was an exceptional achievement and was the culmination of a strategy of strong leadership, contractor management, integration of HSE across all business segments and continuous behavioural focus.”
For the first time RoSPA’s presented specific ‘Guardian Angel’ awards this year to celebrate the work of individuals who have gone ‘above and beyond’ to improve the safety and wellbeing of others. Phillips 66 was delighted to have two winners of this new accolade – HSE adviser Russell Best, and Dr Nick Tait, who provides occupational health support to Phillips 66 in its Warwick office.
David Rawlins, RoSPA’s awards manager, said: “Organisations that gain recognition for their health and safety management systems, such as Phillips 66, contribute to a collective raising of the bar for other organisations to aspire to. We offer them our congratulations.”
Adding another dimension to Jet’s 60th anniversary celebrations is the “JET SET GO” summer promotion, launched across Jet’s dealer network to engage with customers and increase forecourt footfall.
Until 7th September, customers visiting Jet petrol stations will receive a unique code voucher to enter online where they will instantly find out if they have won one of more than 1,500 summer-themed prizes – including BBQ sets, travel gadgets, beach mats and picnic sets.
To encourage return forecourt visits, customers collecting three vouchers will automatically be entered into Jet’s prize draw to win one of four holidays worth £5,000 to a destination of their choice. Jet has partnered with its fuel customer, Jet2holidays.com, for the promotion.
Anne Day, brand communications manager of Phillips 66 UK & Ireland Marketing, comments: “Promotions have been a key element of Jet’s marketing strategy for many years and we are continually looking at new ways of engaging with our customer base.
“By making it very easy to enter, providing great instant prizes, a range of in-store POS and an integrated on and offline marketing campaign to support the promotion, we’re confident that we can drive customers on to our forecourts, increase brand loyalty and generate a real ‘feel good factor’ among UK consumers this summer.”
Dunraven’s product development manager, Michael McCaughley celebrates success at OFTEC’s Awards for Excellence
Dunraven Systems OilPal integrated heating oil management system has won the Innovative Product of the Year accolade at OFTEC’s Awards for Excellence.
Speaking after the presentation, Dunraven’s Michael McCaughley said: “We’re delighted to have won this much sought-after award. OilPal is a truly revolutionary product and the world’s first integrated heating oil management system. Not only does OilPal allow customers to monitor the level and volume of heating oil inside their tank, it allows them to check supplier prices and order fuel from any web connected device, including smartphones and tablets.
“As a business-to-consumer (B2C) product, OilPal perfectly complements our existing depot based Apollo RMS remote tank monitoring system. Indeed, for heating oil distributors who want the best of both worlds, we can even now offer an own-brand, white label version. This provides consumers with similar functionality to the proprietary OilPal product, whilst limiting online engagement options to a single distributor and putting that distributor’s brand at the heart of the customer experience.”
Having celebrated 10 years in business in 2013, Dunraven is currently benefiting from buoyant demand for its Apollo brand range of storage tank monitoring and energy management products – especially in international markets, which now represent the majority of the company’s sales. In response, Dunraven has recently completed a significant expansion of the company’s R&D, product assembly and customer support facilities at its Co. Louth headquarters.
Michael says, “Last year, we celebrated ten years of success. However, rather than resting on our laurels, we recognise you don’t stay ahead by standing still – especially with modern monitoring and communications technology developing at an ever faster pace. As we look ahead to Dunraven’s next decade, we will continue to develop our range of market led monitoring technologies.
“The success of our company to date has been built upon a flexible approach to customer requirements, coupled with unrivalled reliability and world class customer service. We are determined these values will remain at the heart of our business.”www.dunravensystems.com
Certas Energy has announced a new facility supplying marine gas oil MGO <0.1% sulphur DMA grade at Port of Tyne in North Shields.
The facility, which comprises of a new pipeline as well as fuel storage facilities, opened on 10th June 2014. It also offers an ex-pipe facility, a convenient service for large ships, as well as providing MGO across the North East region by truck.
Gary Byers, head of marine, said: “Our decision to expand our services with this new facility demonstrates our continued commitment to delivering a cost effective service for our customers. We are continually developing our portfolio and this is the latest expansion in the North East.
“We have forged strong relationships with UK refineries to meet the pricing and quality demands of the shipping industry and our growing depot network will ensure customers can access our products across the UK.”
Port of Tyne is the latest addition to the company’s portfolio, which is expanding across the UK. The network features depots in many major UK ports, including the Isle of Wight, Isle of Man, Orkney, Southampton and Shetland Islands. It also has an ex-pipe facility at Aberdeen, barging on the Thames, the recent IFO facility in Dundee, a pipe fed marine bunker facility in Oban as well as an excellent nationwide delivery infrastructure.
The new pipeline will offer local and international customers MGO <0.1% sulphur DMA grade, which has the cold filter plugging point (CFPP) guaranteed.
Designed to offer complete flexibility for customers, there is no minimum or maximum fuel quantity and orders can be made in cubes or metric tonnes and paid for in US dollars, Pound Sterling and Euros. www.certasenergy.co.uk