In Conversation
Living the dream
HAVING BEEN IN THE FUEL OIL DISTRIBUTION INDUSTRY AS A TANKER DRIVER FOR MANY YEARS, ANDY WELCH’S AMBITION
WAS TO RUN A FUEL BUSINESS. ON 1ST FEBRUARY 2014 ANDY’S DREAM CAME TO FRUITION WHEN SODBURY FUELS OPENED
ITS DOORS.
The dream took off when Andy just happened to mention in
passing that he was surprised Nolan Oils did not have a depot
in the Bristol area, to which owner Mark Nolan replied: “Why
do you fancy running one?” to which Andy gave a resounding
‘Yes’!
“From that day on it was full steam ahead,” Andy
explained to Fuel Oil News editor Jane Raphael whilst
speaking about Sodbury Fuels 5th anniversary.
“We sourced a yard, a Portacabin and a lorry and went
live under the Nolan Group banner.”
Starting with just one customer on day one, Andy
assisted by his partner Lisa, and the three sons they have
between them, used every bit of spare time to leaflet drop in
their local area.
“Wanting to spread the word about our new venture, we
were very keen to talk to as many people as possible. Born
and bred locally, Lisa and I had the advantage of having,
not only family in the area, but also a wide circle of friends,
all of whom very much helped us to grow the Sodbury Fuels
business. Joining us as a driver in November 2014, brother-in-
law Steve Cason’s help and hard work helped us enormously.”
A growing business
Within two years Sodbury Fuels had outgrown its first yard,
moving to bigger premises which offered greater storage
facilities and a much larger Portacabin office.
Five years down the line, Sodbury Fuels, which covers a
30-mile radius of its Chipping Sodbury office, now runs four
lorries, three 4-wheelers and a 6-wheeler. The team has
expanded to include a further two full-time drivers, Steve and
Thomas, with Andy presently looking to recruit another full-
time driver.
What else was happening in 2014?
The Petroleum Driver Passport was launched, and the Driver CPC deadline was approaching...
Occupying the top slot in the Fuel Oil News top 20 fuel oil distributors on the UK mainland, Certas Energy’s managing director, Paul Vian, was
keen ‘to get the company’s (new) name known as quickly as possible’; formerly GB Oils
The Fuel Oil News tanker of the year title went to Yorkshire-based Craggs Energy
Wild Wednesday saw Mark Nolan of the Nolan Group among the many attendees at the Fuel Oil News Distributor debate in the Midlands
In Ireland LCC Oil and Topaz, now part of Circle K, topped Ireland’s top 10 lists
The JET brand celebrated 60 years in the UK and MechTronic celebrated its 10 th anniversary
Over 60 fuel distributors and industry suppliers took part in the Fuel Distribution Forum in Barcelona
Work began to transform the former Coryton refinery into today’s Thames Oilport which opened for business on 24th April, 2017
Oil4Wales’ Milford Haven depot was proud to be awarded an FPS fuel certification accreditation
Valero’s Avonmouth terminal received a boost with the news that its capacity was to be tripled; the upgrade went live on 30th January, 2017
Following the launch of the Renewable Heat Incentive, a survey of over 700 oil users by Watson Petroleum found that just 4% would consider
switching to an air source heat pump, which remains the government’s favoured option today; 73% preferring to opt for a condensing oil boiler
A major win for oil heating was scored by OFTEC giving oil heating appliance manufacturers until 2022 to develop a new generation boiler to
meet more stringent NOx emissions – the fight for liquid fuels continues….
16 Fuel Oil News | April 2019