IRISH FOCUS
In Conversation with Glen Fuels
SINCE OPENING ITS DOORS IN 1986 , IN CO . WICKLOW / CO . WEXFORD , GLEN FUELS HAS ALWAYS STAYED ONE STEP AHEAD . CONSTANT EVOLUTION HAS ENSURED THAT THE BUSINESS HAS SURVIVED THE TOUGH TIMES AND EXPANDED IN THE GOOD . OUR IRISH CORRESPONDENT AINE FAHERTY CAUGHT UP WITH MANAGING DIRECTOR , ALAN KEYES , TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS DISTRIBUTOR WHO BEGAN IN OIL AND NOW OFFERS ‘ ENERGY FOR EVERYTHING ’.
Glen Fuels has a commitment to environmentally sustainable business growth . In what way does this affect the way you operate ? We are very conscious that the market is constantly evolving and , if we don ’ t evolve with it , and preferably in advance of that evolution , we will be left behind .
Describe the journey Glen Fuels has taken from its beginnings in 1986 to the present-day company My brother Kevin and I currently own and run the business . It was started in 1986 by our parents , Kevin Snr . and Miriam . Dad was a high-flyer in Irish Shell at the time ( that ’ s what he tells us anyway ) and Mum was from the Wicklow / Wexford area . Irish Shell was looking to expand their distributor network in those areas at the time , so they decided to join the ranks of the self-employed leaving the cushy , pensionable job behind .
Kevin and I jumped in around 1990 – the business grew slowly and surely through those difficult times .
As everybody involved in the distribution business knows , it ’ s very tough but also very enjoyable . You meet great people along the way - customers , staff , suppliers , stakeholders - who each helped the business grow .
Mum and Dad retired in the early noughties and with the advent of the Celtic Tiger and Irish Shell being bought out by Topaz , we experienced great growth . This came to a shuddering halt with the financial crisis . Tough times indeed but we learnt a lot and these lessons prompted us to reassess our business model .
We expanded into different geographical areas organically and by acquisition and it has certainly paid dividends . We currently operate out of 5 depots in the South East and are always on the look out for more opportunities .
The current Covid situation is yet another curve ball thrown at everybody . Hopefully it too will soon pass or , at worst , become manageable . It has changed how we all work but as I said above , that ’ s the market evolving so we must evolve with it . .
18 Fuel Oil News | December 2020
You have certainly been leading the way in Ireland in terms of the energy transition , readily adopting energy alternatives and becoming the first and only company in Ireland to deliver both traditional and renewable energy solutions to all your customers when you founded Glenergy in 2015 . What do you think has made you so open to change where others have perhaps resisted ? We have an in-house joke in Glen Fuels that “ change isn ’ t good !” Our belief is that if you don ’ t change , you will be quickly left behind .
The way that we all live our lives in the past 10 years has changed beyond all recognition . It would be foolish in the extreme to think that the oil distribution business would or should be any different .
As you approached your 30th anniversary in 2016 you evolved your original tagline ‘ Oil for Everything ’ to reflect the modern , dynamic and forward-thinking company that is Glen Fuels – with the new tagline ‘ Energy for Everything ’. How has the business continued to evolve over the last 5 years ? 6 years ago our product offering would have been oil products only . I remember surveying our lost customer databases and going through their responses . They had changed their energy requirements from oil to gas , geothermal , solar , heat pumps , passive heating , CHP , biomass , things that we had never even heard of !
So we decided to get into those markets . We joined up with a few very intelligent people , combined the collective and set up Glenergy . We hit some speed bumps along the way , made some mistakes by chasing the wrong markets but I think we have now found Glenergy ’ s milieu .
Glen Fuels is still the mother ship but there are lots of synergies between the two businesses that are proving to be very fruitful .
Do you have any further geographical expansion planned ? We would most definitely be open to opportunities should they arise . We have very strategic cover in our depot network in the South East but would like to tack on one or two more but I can ’ t tell you where !
We are currently in the process of branding our second retail station , in Co . Wexford , and this is a market that we ’ d like to grow in the near future .
Does being at the forefront of the energy transition remain key to the Glen Fuels strategy over the coming years and where do you see this taking you as a business ? Very much so . We are constantly looking at new technologies and products . I can see us being involved more in the design side of energy solutions for the end-user . These solutions will include synthetic fuels , hydrogen cells , electric vehicle charging , water – the list and potential is endless .
We believe that the energy evolution will continue at pace and we would like to be part of that evolution .
What actions have you already taken to green your own distribution activities ? We have , very recently , partnered up with Eirscope , a Galway based software firm that manufactures the Magnus Monitor . We hope to distribute these amongst our customer base to improve our logistics and reduce those expensive trips to fill half empty tanks .
At present we don ’ t have any alternatively fuelled vehicles but we will most definitely have some light commercial EVs in the near future . I think that EV trucks may be a while away yet , but once they are available , we will be in that space .
Looking to the future how does Glen Fuels see decarbonisation impacting on its customers ? Our view is that there will always be a need for