Fuel Oil News July 2019 | Page 15

FPS EXPO 2019 Representing the best in liquid fuels THE 39TH FPS EXPO MARKED A TURNING POINT IN THE HISTORY OF BOTH THE FEDERATION OF PETROLEUM SUPPLIERS AND THE FPS EXPO ITSELF, WRITES FUEL OIL NEWS EDITOR, JANE RAPHAEL One of the first actions taken at this year’s event was to vote on a change of name – with the Federation of Petroleum Suppliers (FPS) rebranding to become the UK and Ireland Fuel Distributors Association (UKIFDA) and introducing the new strapline – representing the best in liquid fuels. The transition to UKIFDA will be completed as FPS members celebrate the association’s 40th anniversary at a dinner on 31st October. Pledging to contribute to ‘the long-term decarbonisation of the energy mix’, the FPS also launched its Clean Growth Future Vision document with members agreeing and supporting ‘the principle of decarbonisation, clean growth and clean air.’ Whilst ‘members can provide consumers with transitional support and low carbon fuels that can be easily dropped into existing networks’…it is imperative that action starts now…all that is required for this vision to be implemented is for government to agree that low-carbon fuels should be part of the future energy mix’. Among the new attractions at this year’s two-day event was the introduction of panel sessions – see page 18 for a report on the UK supply chain seminar. Armed with a new FPS EXPO App, delegates and exhibitors were also able to create their own personal agenda, take notes, store documents and find out about special offers and giveaways. FPS EXPO will be back in Liverpool in 2020 on Wednesday 10th and Thursday 11th June. New products Following the announcement earlier this year that Cameron Forecourt is now under the ownership of TSG (formerly Tokheim Services Group), FPS EXPO welcomed the ‘the new power couple’. Now serving both domestic retail forecourts and commercial fuelling operations in rail, aggregate and fleet, Barry Jenner, former MD at Cameron Forecourt is now its business development manager, within TSG. With annual sales of €550m, French company TSG which has a presence in 30 countries, has a UK head office in Dundee plus other regional offices. Increasing its offering to the fuel distribution market with the ProGauge tank gauging system in addition to the TLS, OLE and Normand ranges, FPS EXPO visitors were able to see live demonstrations given by TSG technical service manager, Paul Hill. Rawmat®HDB Type PJ has been added to Rawell Environmental’s environmental protection secondary containment liners range. Used by major oil companies across the world including BP, Valero, Shell and ExxonMobil, the liners are also widely used by storage terminals such as Inter Terminals, Stolt & Oikos and distribution companies. The Type PJ product utilises a PE upper layer and a non-woven geotextile lower layer to sandwich its unique prehydrated high density sodium bentonite clay core. The addition of a plastic sheet offers greater resistance from the weather to the swellable bentonite core, allowing the membrane to be left uncovered for longer periods of inclement weather during the civil works. In recent projects conducted in winter months with high rainfall, the product’s flexibility allowed for easy sealing around pipe supports, staircases and tank bases. Both projects were completed on time, providing the client with compliant bunds and the concrete pavement required. Introduced at FPS EXPO by TECALEMIT – ‘mytecalemit’ is a cloud-based software system developed by parent company HORNGROUP in Germany. A natural progression from the company’s fluid management HD Manager 8 software, the new package is customisable to meet the needs of different applications and users. Enhanced features include the ability to instantly view key information in real time on any device from any location, and the capability to connect directly with the dispenser to change vehicle, driver and dispensing details. Access can also be given to fluid suppliers to monitor tank levels and allow automatic notifications for delivery with service providers able to monitor dispensers for maintenance programmes. “Connecting products, devices, users and businesses, using ‘mytecalemit’ is smart and flexible, enabling the whole supply chain to optimise the workflow for greater efficiency all-round,” reports Brian Mosley, national product sales manager. Fuel Oil News | July 2019 15