Next year, the Morrow family celebrates 100 years of oil retailing in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. And throughout the decades, the business, which eventually became Morrow Fuels, has proudly guarded its family ownership and has striven to live up to its long-established reputation – to go the extra mile to meet customers’ needs; Peter Clayton reports “Oil retailing has been in the family since1913, when Colin Morrow’s great aunt sold paraffin from her village shop for lamps and heaters,” says a member of the most recent generation of Morrows to run the business, Jonny. “Her shop was in the exact location still used today as Morrow Fuels’ main depot – at Gravelhill Road, Maze.” Colin Morrow originally began as an engineer, manufacturing steel oil tanks for the domestic heating market. He saw his natural progression as moving more into the oil market, and bought his first distribution tanker in 1988. As the company became established, Colin’s wife Joan and their three sons – Jonathan (Jonny), Simon and Phillip – all joined the business. “Because of the housing boom during the 1990s, we enjoyed rapid growth and steadily grew our tanker fleet from one in 1988 to 11 in 2012,” adds Jonny. The most recent addition to the Morrow fleet is a specially designed 4×4 tanker which can cope with the extremes of weather, and the very worst of terrain. “Last year’s extreme weather caused so many people in Northern Ireland to go without oil,” explains Jonny.  “Houses off the beaten track stayed cold as regular oil tankers just couldn’t get to them. This meant many people had very little heating during one of the coldest winters we have seen in years.” It was this – combined with the company motto – which prompted Morrow Fuels to invest in their new custom-built vehicle which, claims Jonny, allows the company to deliver fuels whatever the weather and regardless of challenging landscapes. A convertible oil tanker? “When we had a press launch for the new truck, with the tagline ‘service you can trust’, we had a great response from the public and customers alike. Of course, Murphy’s Law would have it that Northern Ireland has had virtually no snow or ice this winter, and has even experienced record high temperatures for February! So for next year, the Morrow boys are thinking about building a convertible oil tanker!” jokes Jonny. As is shown by this latest vehicle, the Morrow family know their tankers. In fact, to complement the rest of the business, Morrow Fuels diversified into tanker building some 20 years ago when it became apparent to the family that there was an urgent need for quality built oil tankers in the principality, in fact they were the first company in Northern Ireland to build their own tanker barrels from scratch. This part of the business has recently enjoyed a record number of sales, and Jonny – an engineer by background – is looking forward to another good year. Just about to go live is their new website www.morrowtankerservices.com. As distributors, Morrow Fuels operates within a 30 mile radius of its main depot at Maze, close to Lisburn, with satellite depots in Belfast and Bangor. Around 80% of company business is supplying domestic customers. The remaining 20% is split evenly between agricultural and commercial customers.   The state of the industry Asked about how he perceives the current fuel distribution industry in Northern Ireland, a thoughtful Jonny replied: “The biggest problem we can see with the current market is that anyone can buy a tanker for around £5000. Along with a pay-as-you-go mobile phone, they can start an oil distribution business – undercutting rates and poaching valued customers.” Jonny is convinced that the Irish distribution industry is currently going through its hardest period of trading for decades. “Seasonal temperatures are too high, oil prices are still rising, and the economy is struggling more than ever,” he says.  “Added to this, margins are getting tighter and tighter, vehicle fuel and insurance costs are all on the up, and more and more one-man-band operators are getting into the business with little or no knowledge of the industry. “But on a brighter note,” he concludes, “We’re still experiencing some growth… not on the scale it once was, but in a diminishing market, threatened by natural gas and renewable energies, any growth at all has to be considered good. We find that, although customers always want cheaper and cheaper fuel, they still appreciate a good quality product and ‘service you can trust’…  after all, we do go the extra mile to meet their needs.”

With a company slogan, “more smiles per gallon”, Northern Ireland based Thompson Fuels has established a reputation as a happy and helpful team, willing to go the extra mile (and smile!) for customers. The company has evolved during the years. It was established in 1968 to provide a coal delivery service. Ten years later, the family business diversified into oil sales, starting off with one oil delivery lorry and one employee. Thompson Fuels was registered as a limited liability company in 1993, although it remained a truly family-run business – as it is today, with three sibling directors: Mark, David and Aaron Thompson. Since then, the customer base has steadily grown. The company now has 15 tankers and a full-time staff of 30, operating out of five depots. For its domestic customers alone, Thompson has an annual throughput of more than 20 million litres. “We strive to maintain a modern fleet of lorries with well trained, motivated staff,” says Aaron Thompson. “As you can imagine, our business has changed considerably over the years – from coal and bottled gas deliveries being our original main lines of business, to oil fired central heating fuels taking over. However, how things change… coal sales have significantly increased again in recent years.” Although the company focuses on domestic customers, Thompson also deals with both commercial and agricultural clients. And the Thompson “patch” is considerable – covering an approximate 20 mile radius from each of its five depots, located in Tandragee, Portadown, Banbridge, Markethill and Fintona, as well as Belfast and the surrounding areas. Responding to market demand, Thompson has also diversified into selling lubricants and has recently become a Maxol lubricant agent. “We also retail decorative garden stones for flower beds and rockeries during the quieter summer months,” continues Aaron. “And we still maintain a successful coal sales department, which we have developed and grown over the years – from importing and packing our own stock, to supplying retailers and carrying out our own delivery and cash ‘n carry services which we operate out of all our depots. Emergency run-out service “Our depots also operate an ‘emergency run-out drum’ service, which has proved to be very popular with the public; they tell us this is very convenient as they can get as much or as little as they need.” It has always been part of the company’s ethos to provide the service – and a little more – expected by its customers. “As distributors with a reputation for providing a dependable service to the public, we have to be able to adapt and cope with anything – especially when demand is at its highest during the winter months,” says Aaron. “With a reliable, competent staff – and storage capacity in excess of one million litres – we are well equipped to meet public demand, regardless of winter weather conditions. “We always try to encourage our customers to buy early in the winter, before the cold weather sets in. However, it doesn’t always happen. We find that most customers now tend to buy as and when they need it.” Aaron believes that the oil distribution industry has changed over the years, becoming a lot more competitive due to the constant fluctuation of oil prices. But, with so many years experience in the sector, he is philosophical about the future. “As a business, we believe you have to be competitive, but not at the cost of profitability,” he says. “We don’t get distracted by what our competitors are doing… we are focused on our own business and concentrate on giving our customers top quality fuel and service at the best possible price! And by doing exactly that, we provide our customers with more smiles per gallon!” www.thompsonfuels.com  

Last winter’s weather conditions throughout the island of Ireland were unprecedented with sudden and long-lasting frozen spells – accompanied by thick snow and treacherous road conditions. In the thick of it – literally – were home heating fuel distributors who struggled, but in most cases doggedly persevered to provide a lifeline for customers in some of the most remote and wild locations “This year, we’re getting better prepared,” says Patrick Doherty, director of Doherty Oils which operates a fleet of five oil delivery tankers, distributing fuel throughout the Tyrone and Fermanagh areas. “If we’ve learned any lessons from last year, it would be to have all of our trucks psv’d and well maintained. “We’ve also decided to put our own 40 foot lorry on the road to haul fuel direct from the terminals,” he explains. “We have an excellent haulier – Lisburn-based Pettrans – who bring 95% of our fuel at the moment, but in the busy period even they find it very difficult to care for all customers, as any haulier would. Competitive prices “We’ve installed two extra 55,000 litre kerosene tanks and have just got permission to store our own petrol underground, so that we can supply the local filling stations direct from our depot in Omagh. This is all at a cost, so we‘re hoping for another winter like last year!” he adds. “But our strong relationship with a range of major oil suppliers ensures customers consistently receive highly competitive prices.” Big or small, all fuel distributors throughout Ireland learned important lessons from last year’s experience. Topaz – with the largest network of home heating oil distributors in the country, and a fleet of more than 250 tankers – is no exception. The company is incorporating many of those lessons into its strategic planning for the 2011/2012 winter period. Marketing activity will focus around reminding people to order early, and the company’s product offering has diversified to cater for both the worsening economic and weather climates. Topaz Thermal is a premium home heating oil with a special additive to reduce boiler breakdowns and provide 11 days longer per year from the oil. Emergency 20 litre drums are being made available to purchase from company depots, and small delivery amounts will be available. “Last winter’s weather conditions called for some very timely and crucial response measures from the Topaz Local Fuels team,” Adrian Gallagher, Topaz home heat business manager, told Fuel Oil News. “Many customers did not realise that their oil tanks were so low and the increased demand during the cold snaps put pressure on oil companies, meaning many people had to endure the harsh cold while they waited for delivery.” Priority attention However, the company’s sales team realised that some circumstances needed more immediate attention than others. At the time of order, each customer was therefore asked about their level of need, and deliveries were scheduled based upon this information. Pregnant women, people with disabilities, and houses with older people and small children were given priority. Others were asked to wait no longer than 48 hours. For those who had to wait, the Topaz team delivered drums of 20-50 litres to tide them over until full delivery could be made.  Priority was also given to organisations who deliver essential services to keep the country running in spite of the weather, such as the army, defence forces and the Dublin Airport Authority. The company’s ‘need-based’ scheduling policy certainly came into play when the Dublin Airport Authority reported that their snow ploughs had run out of fuel, and unless delivery could be made within a few hours, the airport would be forced to close. Even though Topaz Local Fuels were fully booked for 48 hours, they quickly identified and re-scheduled non-urgent customers and delivery was made to Dublin Airport within an hour. Back at Doherty’s; alongside its traditional fuel distribution service, the company is also planning to expand its coal and firewood business, which, says Patrick Doherty, proved profitable last year. “As one of the most progressive fuel distributors in the North West of Ireland, we’ve made our contingency plans for another winter of freezing conditions, and are ready for anything that’s thrown at us!”