Clive Gardner, Chairman of Gardner Garages said, “The ability to have open dialogue and excellent communication with decision makers within the Valero organisation has proven invaluable over the years as has the reliability of their fuel ordering and delivery service. It's reassuring to know the level of support and service we will receive on signing up another site to the Texaco brand."
City Service Station, which was previously Harvest branded, offers a Londis convenience store, Costa coffee and stocks three grades of fuel including Supreme unleaded, however Clive who thrives on transforming sites around has bigger plans for the future of this site. His medium to long term goal is to completely knock the site down and create a future proof forecourt with all grades of fuel and better community focused facilities like a small café with a Wi-Fi area. He has a strong vision of how he wants the business to take shape and is looking forward to developing the site.
The business is also committed to helping out in the community, and for many years has undertaken fundraising activities to support the Pied Piper Appeal, a local charity that helps makes a difference to the lives of sick and disabled children in Gloucestershire. During the current the business has also donated £2500 to help a local primary school and cat rescue centre after seeking nominations from the local community.
Andrew Cox, Valero's director sales and marketing, said, “Our relationship with Gardner Garages goes back many years and we're delighted to have teamed up with Clive again as their fuel supplier for their latest location. I've no doubt the site will be successful and Clive's plans for the future will be well supported under the Texaco brand."
Gardner Garages is a family business and is run by Clive Gardner (Chairman), his daughter Emma Gardner (MD) and son Ashton Gardner (Operations Director). Clive grew up exposed to the business world at a very early age as his father ran a portfolio of businesses including two petrol forecourts, hairdressers, cafes, guest houses and ice-cream vans to name but a few. He started off working in his father's petrol retailing business before moving on to become a BP licensee in the 1980's. He acquired his first Texaco site in 1996 and over the years has gone through some acquisitions, sales and even a 'mini retirement' in Spain. The portfolio now comprises of a site with BP and four sites with Valero with purchase of another petrol station in Gloucestershire nearly complete. Planning has recently been approved for the development of two substantial stand-alone convenience stores in Cheltenham as well.
Texaco Star Rewards loyalty customers have helped to donate over £60,000 to front line charities facing .
As the UK went into lockdown earlier in the year, charities across the UK began facing an unprecedented challenge to support those in need. As a company that is committed to supporting the communities in which it works, Valero Energy Ltd, who market fuel in the UK under the Texaco brand, announced they would be supporting a number of charities in the wake of the pandemic.
Valero provided financial assistance, along with free Texaco fuel, to FareShare, Age UK, The Trussell Trust and a charity close to Valero's head office in Canary Wharf, the East End Emergency Fund.
Support has also come from Texaco's loyalty programme Star Rewards. Star Rewards members have been able to donate their loyalty Points to any of these charities, and all donations have been matched by Valero. In total over £63,000 has been donated to these charities through Star Rewards so far.
Joelle Carroll-Fitch, corporate partnerships from Fareshare said, “We have been blown away by the support of Star Rewards members who have made Points donations to FareShare. The donations have allowed us to provide 53,960 meals to people in need throughout the pandemic. The donation has made a big difference at a challenging time and we are very grateful for the support we have received."
Andrew Cox, director of sales and marketing, Valero, added, “We want to say a huge thank you to all the Star Rewards members who have made Points donations to these charities during these difficult times. Your support is greatly appreciated and every donation makes a difference to these charities whose resources have been greatly stretched in recent months."
Wednesday 1 July was a milestone for Valero Energy and the Co-op, with 28 Co-op fuel sites being switched to Valero supply in just one day. It is the biggest conversion of sites in one day that either company has ever attempted.
Normally staggered over many weeks, switching so many sites on one day could only have been achieved thanks to the close collaboration of the two companies.
Valero, who last year agreed a long-term supply contract with the Co-op to be their principal fuel supplier, will now supply a total of 115 Co-op service stations across the UK. The sites are a mix of Co-op and Texaco branded.
Eddie Jenkinson, national fuels manager, Co-op, said, "Developing great partnerships is key to our approach and, we are pleased to build on our work with Valero as we continue to create petrol filling stations which are seen as a community hub locally - delivering the food and fuel needs that our Members and customers need, conveniently."
The ambitious goal was possible because of the introduction of an auto replenishment system, Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI). The system gives the supplier a live data feed from the retailer's fuel tanks that enables them to predict demand and deliver fuel to a site when needed. This allows better planning and management of product supply for the retailer.
The change was not without its challenges. With the country under lockdown, project communication and coordination had to be undertaken virtually, making some tasks more difficult to fulfill than usual. Some groundwork had been completed in advance, with the majority of sites having been assessed for fuel delivery standards before the lockdown.
Communication with the store managers on each of the sites was critical to ensure a seamless switch between suppliers. All store managers were provided with a welcome pack, which was followed up with a review to ensure they were fully briefed and informed.
Simon Fawkes, national account manager for Valero, said, “I was particularly impressed with the enthusiasm, interest and cooperation shown by all the Co-op store and team managers. A number of the sites had been supplied by Valero previously, so it is a real pleasure for Valero to welcome them back and to welcome the new ones too. In addition to these 28 sites, a further two sites will be added in the coming months, bringing the total to 30."
TexacoAndrew Cox, Valero's director of sales and marketing, said, "We've worked with the Co-op since 2005 and our long term partnership has certainly helped facilitate our success in delivering this project. I'm thrilled that we're now supplying a further 28 Co-op sites and it's great news that we've been able to bring this project together successfully in such challenging circumstances."
Elite Garages, one of the leading independent forecourt operators in the south, has agreed a new long term supply agreement with Valero. The agreement, which began recently, sees nine sites based in Hampshire, Surrey, Winchester, Sussex and Cornwall renewing with the Texaco brand.
The company has a long history with the Texaco brand and had no hesitation when it came to making a renewal decision. Richard Whittemore, owner of Elite Garages, has been more than satisfied with the service he has received over the years and sees their relationship with regional manager, Keith Evans as a real asset to the company and the main reason behind staying firm with Texaco.
Richard said, “Our regional branded sales manager Keith and his team at Valero are always on hand to support us and any issues have always been dealt with quickly and efficiently, which is extremely reassuring." Richard went on to say, “The relationship and support is at the heart of our partnership and it's this that makes a difference for us, especially when we're busy running other businesses outside of the forecourts. We feel like we are in safe hands with Texaco at all times."
Amongst the nine Texaco-branded service stations and convenience stores, the sites offer a range of other services such as post offices, garage workshops (included on four of the sites), car washes and also the UK's first drive-through Cornish pasty service at the Scorrier Service Station site in Cornwall.
Outside of the forecourt business Richard also owns an expanding wholesale tyre business that has tripled its turnover in the last few years and a successful rental property business. His portfolio of businesses doesn't stop there though. Richard also owns an 800 acre farm in West Sussex that is home to emus, deer, cattle, sheep and 850 lambs that joined them at the end of this year's lambing season.
Although Richard juggles different businesses, it is the petrol stations that are an important part of his portfolio because of his deep rooted family connections. Richard's parents owned a petrol station with an attached workshop in High Wycombe when he was growing up, where he first became exposed to the fuel and automotive business. Elite Garages now has three generations of the family working together including Richard's daughter Sophie and another daughter Kelsie and son Jack who have both recently completed business degrees and are looking to get involved in the service station and tyre side of the business.
Andrew Cox, Valero's director sales and marketing, said, “I'm delighted that Richard continues to see Valero as the fuel supplier of choice for all nine of the Elite Garage service stations. It's great to hear that our support has been of such great value to Richard over the years. We have a long history with the company and I'm sure we will keep the strong relationship going for years to come."
Shift workers in Operations at Valero Pembroke refinery have donated £25,000 to PATCH to help those in need who are struggling during this difficult time. Pembrokeshire Action to Combat Hardship – PATCH – has been giving free food parcels, clothing and household items to those in financial need in Pembrokeshire since 2008.
The workers are employed by the refinery to keep it operating in shifts, night and day. They canvassed opinion among themselves and decided together to make the large donation to PATCH.