Free to choose

IN February this year fuel supplier Greenergy took over supply to all independently owned Esso forecourts in Scotland, supplying Esso fuel to existing Esso-branded sites and offering the Esso brand and fuel to non-Esso dealers. It also reached agreement with Nisa to offer its brand, extending the Nisa symbol from stores to forecourt.

Andrew Owens, chief executive of Greenergy. The firm isn’t dependent on others for fuel supply and offers a variety of fuel brands to dealers, he said.
Andrew Owens, chief executive of Greenergy. The firm isn’t dependent on others for fuel supply and offers a variety of fuel brands to dealers, he said.
As a result, says Greenergy, it now offers petrol retailers fuel supply under a choice of forecourt brands, with the freedom to choose the right brand for each site.
Andrew Owens, Greenergy chief executive said: “Many independent forecourts owners have told us that they want different solutions for different sites, so we’ve been creating the freedom to choose what’s right for each forecourt.
“Our offer gives the flexibility of site-specific brand and service options, plus the convenience and cost benefits of buying from a single national supplier.”
In Scotland, Greenergy supplies fuel from Clydebank, near Glasgow, as well as from the Grangemouth refinery. It has its own storage for petrol and diesel at Clydebank and is the sole supplier from the terminal.
Owens said: “We want to provide our customers with the lowest-cost fuel and also the highest levels of supply security. With our own storage arrangements and our own oil at Clydebank, we’re in control of our own fuel stocks and we’re not dependent on another party for fuel supply.”
The same thinking, he said, laid behind Greenergy’s decision to in-source most its haulage operations last year.
The company now employs 25 drivers in Scotland and runs most of its logistics operations in-house, although it still uses third-party haulage providers on legacy supply contracts.
The firm says the in-house arrangement is unique in the industry. “It puts us in control of the customer experience,” said Owens. “That’s important to us as a company committed to providing the highest levels of reliability and service.”