Fuel Oil News July 2019 | Page 13

Irish News A solid brand presence in Ireland VALERO MARKETING IRELAND LIMITED, TRADING UNDER THE TEXOIL BRAND, IS A LEADING OIL DISTRIBUTOR IN THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND. SERVING THE COMMERCIAL, INDUSTRIAL, DOMESTIC, AGRICULTURAL, TRANSPORT AND MARINE MARKETS, 40 PEOPLE ARE CURRENTLY EMPLOYED WITHIN THE TEXOIL BUSINESS WHICH OPERATES FROM 13 STORAGE LOCATIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. Fuel Oil News Irish correspondent, Aine Faherty asked marketing manager, Bronagh Carron about the business. Valero has now been in Ireland since 2011 – what have been the highlights of your 8-year journey, and do you still intend to keep the Texoil name? We reorganised the business in 2013 to refocus on our core distribution business – the supply of oil to commercial, industrial, domestic, agricultural, transport and marine markets. Since then, we have also increased our sales staff and expanded our presence across the country, while upgrading our delivery fleet and investing in our storage locations to bring them to modern, safe and fit for purpose operations. The Texoil brand is a strong household name in Ireland and is a real strength to our business. It sits perfectly alongside its parent brand ‘Texaco’ which enjoys a long and distinguished history and has a very solid brand presence across the country too. Both brands work perfectly in tandem with each other in their respective markets. Valero supplies fuels to many sectors including domestic, commercial, agricultural, marine, transport, construction and quarrying – have you seen much change in any of these important business sectors recently? The main change relates to the use of kerosene in the domestic sector with homes now being better insulated, the growth of alternative heat sources and the environmental efforts to reduce carbon emissions all having an input. Those that are using kerosene are also enjoying reduced consumption levels due to more efficient boilers and better insulated housing stock in the market. In future, we expect new build houses not to have an oil boiler installed and this will obviously have an impact on the sector. So, in summary, we see the domestic sector as having experienced the most significant change to date with more impactful changes forecast in the future. What other issues is the company facing today? • Heightened competition • Increasing and more stringent depot infrastructure and transport legislation • Labour shortage of available tanker drivers The main challenge in the labour market currently relates to the availability of suitably qualified and experienced tanker drivers. The younger generation are not entering the industry, so as older drivers are retiring there hasn’t been the availability of new drivers to replace them. We are acutely aware of this issue and work hard to attract younger drivers to our business. Have recent technological advances made much impact on the business, and, if so how? Technological advances within our fleet and Continued on page 14 How was this last winter with respect to the kerosene market and how do you see the business performing over the coming summer months? The winter of 2018/2019 was milder than the previous year and subsequently quieter in terms of kerosene sales. With regard to the summer months ahead, we’re obviously conscious that our kerosene sales are seasonal and are adept at managing this cycle by focusing our business activity on the other market sectors that we supply. Texoil driver, John Quinn, beside an easily recognisable fleet A brief history of Texaco, Texoil and Valero in Ireland Texaco’s presence in Ireland goes back over 90 years. The company first came to the country as the Galena-Salena Oil Company (of Ireland) in 1924. Following the formation of the Texas Corporation in 1926, the company changed its name to The Texas Company of Ireland in 1929 and then to Caltex in 1951. In 1967 the company became Texaco (Ireland) Ltd. The merger between Chevron and Texaco in 2001 created the ChevronTexaco Corporation, which became Chevron Corporation in 2007. In 2011, Valero Energy Corporation acquired Chevron Corporation’s Ireland and UK refining and marketing businesses, and the Texaco brand was licensed to Valero in these markets. Specifically, in relation to Texoil, this company was set up as a branded equity distributor in 1995 and the Texoil brand is now an integral part of Valero’s business in Ireland and is the trading name for Valero Marketing Ireland Limited. Fuel Oil News | July 2019 13