IN CONVERSATION
Celebrating 50 years of excellence at Kinch Fuels
WILTSHIRE-BASED KINCH FUEL OILS LTD IS AN INDEPENDENT FAMILY RUN BUSINESS THAT HAS BEEN DELIVERING OIL THROUGHOUT WILTSHIRE AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE ITS BEGINNINGS IN 1971 . AS THEY CELEBRATE THEIR 50TH YEAR IN BUSINESS OUR MANAGING EDITOR , MARGARET MAJOR , MET WITH OWNER ROY KINCH AND HIS SON RICHARD TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THIS THRIVING AND HIGHLY TRUSTED SUPPLIER .
Roy and Pauline Kinch originally started the business from a coal yard , selling oil locally . Since then , the company has grown considerably and has established a solid reputation for its top-quality heating oil , lubricants and road and agricultural fuels . The company prides itself on offering competitive prices , a personal service and efficient and safe deliveries .
How has the business evolved over the last 50 years ?
Roy replies : “ From our humble beginnings , working out of a coal yard , Kinch Fuels started trading in 1971 , selling oil to domestic and agricultural customers . To this day we remain a family firm and owe our success to a small team of staff dedicated to customer satisfaction .
Roy speaks with pride as he confirms the company ethos : “ We offer an excellent fuel distribution service and are committed to the highest standards of customer care . As we have grown , we continue to value every new and existing customer , regardless of size , and offer a friendly and helpful service .”
What have been the main company milestones of growth and change during that time ? “ We are based in Malmesbury but have constantly expanded and now serve customers throughout Oxford , Cirencester , Swindon , Burford and beyond . We opened a second depot in Devizes where we have an office and storage as well as two tankers .
Kinch Fuels had a long-standing supply partnership with the Jet brand which ran for over 30 years until changes in supply locations encouraged Roy to become an independent supplier as he explains :
“ We have our own artic to keep our storage topped up so that we can maintain our excellent record for delivery times .”
How does business divide between domestic , commercial and agricultural ? Roy doesn ’ t hesitate : “ Domestic is by far the
largest part of our business and we have an excellent reputation among our customers . Our drivers know the customers and the delivery routes well and work hard through the winter months to ensure that we don ’ t let anyone go without oil then take their holidays through the summer when there is less demand for deliveries .”
Do you currently offer any alternative fuels , and do you intend to add any ? “ We are not really getting requests from our customers for other fuels , and it seems that the price difference of HVO is too much for it to be considered as an alternative .” Roy comments .
Looking to the future how do you see decarbonisation impacting on your customers ? “ It looks very likely that electrification will play a large part in the heating of the future but that is still some way off . We cover a lot of rural areas and there are already a number of households that use wood pellets for heating .”
How much has the business grown both in terms of customers , vehicles and areas ? Do you see much opportunity to grow further , and do you have any plans to diversify ? “ We have grown steadily over the years and are lucky enough to have a good team here who look after our customers well so that they are very loyal . We have a 12-strong tanker fleet with 9 drivers and 4 office-based staff taking customer orders .
“ From our initial base in Malmesbury the area we serve has constantly expanded and now takes in a 30-mile radius . We have also developed the yard to ensure we have sufficient storage to look after our growing customer base without extending the delivery window ”
“ Many of our customers are on a top-up scheme to ensure that they get a supply that is reliable and convenient .”
Do you have a next generation in the business ? As we talk about what the future might hold for Kinch Fuels Roy introduces his son , Richard , who is already very much a part of the business and echoes his father ’ s enthusiasm for the business .
How are you celebrating your 50th year ? Marking the milestone with the introduction of a brand new 11-tonne Isuzu tanker to the Kinch fleet it seems the focus remains very much on customer service .
“ With the increase in fuel oil tank capacity available on the higher GVW Isuzu 11 tonner , we will now be able to cover up to 12 customer drops per day using this vehicle .” Roy explains . “ Our previous Isuzu certainly gave us good service over many years but by moving up the weight range , this has allowed us to become more operationally efficient .
“ The drivers of this new Isuzu have already confirmed how easy it is to drive in both urban environments and country lanes , as well as it being really manoeuvrable on site , allowing them to deliver to properties with quite limited access .”
A previous 7.5-tonne tanker was retired to make way for the latest truck to join the 12 strong tanker fleet , which was commissioned and built by Road Tankers Northern in Barnsley . The new tanker will be carrying mainly kerosene and a range of domestic burning oils to customers local to the company ’ s Malmesbury base in Wiltshire with the additional capacity ensuring that , as always , Kinch ’ s customers can be sure of their supply .
Fuel Oil News | October 2021 9