A recent event involved a number of Valero volunteers helping marshal 100 horse riders at an annual event in Knole Park, Kent. The popular event by permission of Lord Sackville gave horse riders a rare opportunity to ride through the historic National Trust grounds. Money raised from sponsorship is donated to the Bradbourne Riding for the Disabled Association who provide therapy and enjoyment for people with disabilities.
In October, a Halloween themed Macmillan bake-off took place at Valero's head office in Canary Wharf, giving employees the opportunity to impress their colleagues with their baking skills and more importantly, raise funds for the charity.
Plus, there are a number of festive themed events planned to finish off the year including the East End Community Foundation children's Christmas present book appeal and the Community Links children's toy appeal, where Valero employees donate books and toys for disadvantaged children living in East London.
A new event on the Valero volunteer's calendar for December is organising and funding the Community Links children's Christmas party, which will be held for 5-11 year olds. Valero volunteers will also be attending two seniors luncheons in London where the guests will enjoy a Christmas dinner and party.
To end the year, Valero's head office will hold a charity Christmas jumper day to continue their fundraising efforts, whilst busily planning a calendar of events to continue supporting charities and our communities in 2020.
Valero has had its eye on the aviation supply business at Birmingham Airport since 2012. Not only is it the largest airport in the Midlands, it is less than 12 miles from the company's Kingsbury Terminal, which receives aviation fuel directly by pipeline from Valero's Pembroke refinery.
Birmingham already had two incumbent fuel suppliers – Shell and World Fuel Services – that own tanks and into-plane facilities. However, there are very high entry barriers that prevents new market entrants - any newcomer would have to invest in infrastructure to store and deliver product, as well as build and staff new offices.
But the airport authorities have stepped in. ""For the sake of the airlines, competition, growth of the airport and to create a level playing field, airports are building tank farms that anyone can access at a published rate. This is what has happened at Birmingham,"" said Jason Oliver, Valero's marketing manager for their aviation and bunkers business.
The new facility means that the airport is more competitively supplied and has extra supply resilience, should the existing facilities be unable to cope. The challenge for Valero is that we have to drive the volume growth within the capacity constraints of the new facility, Oliver added.
Valero now has a through-put contract with Birmingham Airport Limited (BAL), the airport operator, and another with Menzies, an independent fuel-farm and into-plane operator, which has the concession for fuel delivery within the airport. ""With the airport close to our Kingsbury Terminal, we can supply equity product using Valero-branded trucks operated by Wincanton.""
The new facility has been operational for a year and has two other users.
We are really pleased to have gained our first airline contract in Birmingham from 1 October 2019. This is the second new airport we have managed to get into as Valero, after Belfast International Airport in March 2017. Our restriction is only the size of the BAL facility. We can meet new growth in airline business having our terminal so close to the airport. Valero is working closely with Menzies and the airport to grow towards a brighter future.""
With summer holidays now a distant memory and before the busy Christmas period takes over, we've come up with some ideas on how to make the most of autumn. From taking long walks in the colour-changing forest to making autumn crafts with the children, make autumn your new favourite season!
Jump in the car, dig out those wellies and head for the forest to see all the beautiful autumn colours in their full glory. Kids will love jumping in leaf piles, collecting conkers and pine cones, and building a forest den. Check out the wildlife from deers rutting to squirrels rummaging for food. If you fancy exploring somewhere new, National Trust have numerous places to visit, and don't forget you can redeem your Star Rewards Points for a National Trust e-code through Love2shop.
Put to good use the multi-coloured leaves, conkers and pine cones collected in your forest outings! Children love making collages of leaves and twigs and why not let them try some leaf rubbing? Grab a crayon and some paper, turn the leaf vein side up and rub over the leaf. Or how about drawing a hedgehog and using twigs to create its spikes?
Fancy yourself as an amateur photographer? Autumn is an ideal time to dust off the camera and take some nature photos. Don't dismiss overcast days as a grey sky can contrast well with the bright leaf colours.
For a change of scenery, take a walk at a nearby beach and take the dog along. Now the summer visitors have been and gone, the beach is a peaceful place for a walk in the autumn.
The change in season is an excellent excuse for a shopping trip and with the constant threat of winter approaching, it's an ideal time to get your wardrobe 'winter ready'. Whether it be treating yourself to a new winter coat or updating last year's coat with a new scarf, don't forget you can redeem your Star Rewards Points for Love2shop reward codes which can be exchanged for gift cards and digital e-codes for numerous high street brands including John Lewis, Debenhams and M&S.
Patterson M1 Service Station in Dungannon, County Tyrone, is the latest site to join the Texaco brand, having previously sold BP fuel. The switch is the latest success in Northern Ireland for Texaco, as sites continue to move to a brand that offers heritage, quality and reliability. At 10,000 sq ft, the Dungannon site will be one of the largest Texaco forecourts in the region, capturing commuters and commercial traffic heading along the main route into and out of Belfast.
Texaco UKSite owner, George Patterson, switched to Texaco because of the competitive fuel package offered by Valero, who market fuel under the strong Texaco brand. Being the owner of an existing Texaco site, Patterson Oil Centra, George had already seen the benefits of being under the Texaco brand for his business.
Mr Patterson, said, ""The existing relationship with Valero was a major factor in us switching to Texaco, as was being associated with a reputable company, known for its quality fuel. We're proud to have one of the largest Texaco sites in Northern Ireland and the first site nationally to feature a 15m pole sign, which will help draw customers onto the site.""
Patterson M1 Service Station, is a motorway style service station in Northern Ireland and has eight pumps stocking all four grades of fuel, including Supreme Diesel and Supreme Unleaded. It provides LPG, electric charging facilities, AdBlue and will benefit from a 24-hour lorry park, shower facilities and high speed WiFi. A Centra Brand shop with deli, Subway and 100 seater restaurant will also be offered on site.
Andrew Cox, Valero's director sales and marketing, said, ""This is one of our largest sites in the region and I'm pleased George has chosen us once again as his preferred supplier. It's always great to see existing customers bring additional sites to the Texaco brand and extend their relationship with us. With the fantastic services and facilities on offer, I'm sure we'll see the site grow and be a great success.""
George Patterson has been involved in the commercial side of the business for 30 years, having first set up Patterson Oil, a family run business, in the early 90's. He began distributing oil with only one tanker and now owns his own fleet of fuel distribution tankers that operate from four oil depots across Northern Ireland - Belfast, Bellaghy, Gilford and Omagh. Patterson Oil Centra Gilford Road Service Station opened its doors in 2014.
Valero's Pembroke refinery, on the south west coast of Wales, has been refining since 1964 and is one of the largest refineries in Western Europe. It occupies approximately 450 acres of a 1,275-acre site on the southern shore of the Milford Haven Waterway.
Throughput capacity is around 270,000 barrels of refined product a day – which equates to 43 million litres.
The refinery is a major national employer in Wales with more than 500 employees and hundreds of term contractors. In addition, the refinery runs apprentice and bursary schemes to train and retain new entrants to the refining industry.
At Valero, we share our success with the communities in which we live and work, and take pride in being a good neighbour.
There has been over 50 years of community engagement and charitable support in Pembrokeshire. Plus, in recent years, the Pembroke Valero Volunteer Council has seen hundreds of employees and contractors along with their friends and family complete thousands of volunteering hours for charitable causes and local community projects throughout Pembrokeshire and West Wales.
"The company’s process safety programme instils safety and reliability at every facility to push beyond regulatory compliance to operational excellence.
Valero plays an active role in the life and spirit of the communities in which we live and work, by investing in projects that will make a positive difference to the quality of life. We support a number of national charities and charities local to our operations in London and Pembroke. The company also has an active volunteering culture and in 2014 completed over 6,000 voluntary hours for local and national charities in the UK.
Texaco service stations were one of the first to introduce ultra low sulphur petrol and diesel in the UK. Furthermore, Valero believes that biofuels will play an increasingly important role in transportation fuels. The company has 10 state-of-the-art ethanol plants in the US, making it the first traditional refiner to enter production of ethanol.
Valero also has investments in several companies working to commercialise emerging alternative biofuels. We have achieved significant emission reductions and made improvements in producing cleaner-burning petrol, diesel and ethanol-blended fuels.
Park Garage Group (PGG) has agreed a long-term extension to their relationship with Valero, whilst also adding another four Texaco-branded locations to its portfolio. This brings the total number of Texaco-branded PGG sites to 44.
The new sites are all located in the south east of England with Park Sutton Valance, Park Beckenham and Park Tudor based in Kent and Park Sydenham based in London. The four sites, previously branded BP, will stock all grades of fuel including Supreme and will be supplied by Grays Terminal on the Thames.
Hemant Tandon, Park Garage Group Operations Director, said, “We've been working with Valero for over 30 years now and our relationship has incredibly strong foundations. When it came to extending our relationship with them and adding four new Texaco sites to the portfolio, we did not hesitate. Valero's dedication to helping us to meet our goals has never been in doubt and I'm sure we have many more successful years ahead of us."
Andrew Cox, Valero's director of sales and marketing, said, “The extension and growth of our agreement with Park Garage Group has further strengthened a relationship that spans over three decades. We're delighted to see them go from strength to strength and they can rest assured that we will continue to support their business as we have always done – with 100 percent commitment. It's also great to see that the Texaco brand remains the brand of choice for the majority of the Park Garage Group's sites."
Hemant and Manoj Tandon of PGG are continually looking for ways to improve and modernise the services they offer and provide a better overall customer experience. As part of these improvements, they recently decided to re-brand their park & shop stores after 25 years. The new park & shop brand will be introduced onto the four new Texaco sites this year and is due to be rolled out across the remaining PGG sites over the first half of next year.
All the sites offer contactless car valet services, including a jet wash, car wash, air water tower and vacuum. The service, has seen a higher sales revenue than in previous years and has led to the service being implemented across all of the PGG sites. PGG has also seen significant growth from the sale of vaping products. As a result, they have recently introduced vape units into a quarter of their sites and are planning on adding these to the shop floor of all their sites over the next year.
Hemant went on to say, “We're extremely excited to be introducing our new park & shop brand and looking forward to seeing the fresher, more modern brand image displayed across our sites. I'm sure that the new branding, alongside the strong Texaco image will be a winning combination."
Another brand new service station has been opened by Kay Group Limited, which will supply fuel under the Texaco brand. The site at Dobshill in Flintshire brings the total number of Kay Group sites under the Texaco brand to fifteen.
The impressive one and a half acre site is the Kay Group's 5th Texaco-branded new build to have opened in the last 6 years and offers a Londis convenience store, Greggs and Subway. In addition, there's a seven bay valeting centre with five jet washes, front of shop customer parking and bespoke external seating area to compliment the instore food to go offers. A Costa Drive-thru is also in the process of being built by the Kay Group and will open in November 2022, which is sure to increase foot fall to the site.
The Kay Group have 15 of their 22 sites branded with Texaco and the extension of their relationship over the years is testament to the trust they have in the brand to deliver a first-class service to their customers.
Ken Kay, owner and CEO of The Kay Group, said, "Our relationship with Valero goes back to 2010 when they first started supplying our head office site, Kay Grimshaw Park in Blackburn, followed a few months later by Kay Primrose Garage in Clitheroe. We've always been impressed with the professionalism and support we've received from our account manager, and over the years have developed an excellent relationship with Valero, who have been very supportive of our business activities."
He went on to say, “We pride ourselves on customer service and a great deal of emphasis is placed on staff training to ensure this is maintained to a high standard across all of our sites. This includes training and engagement of Texaco's Star Rewards loyalty scheme, which has proved to be a vital aspect of our retail business footprint and has subsequently led to great success with customer retention."
Andrew Cox, Valero's director sales and marketing, said, “The Kay Group are a forward thinking and ambitious business and we're proud that we continue to be their fuel supplier of choice after so many years. Their commitment to providing a superior customer experience contributes to their ongoing success and we're delighted to be working alongside them to support their business goals."
The Kay Group operate their service stations in East Lancashire, Yorkshire and the Midlands, with the goal to expand and develop new sites in locations away from the North West. All their sites offer all grades of Texaco fuel including Supreme, a branded Londis shop and many offer well known fast food brand outlets such as Greggs and Subway.
Texaco customers in the UK now have the Texaco app to help them to save on fuel when they fill up. The app allows customers to never miss out on Star Rewards Points by adding a digital Star Rewards card to their phone's wallet.
Petrol near meThe app also allows members to exchange Points for digital Texaco vouchers, which can be used to purchase fuel at Texaco service stations. Star Rewards members are now able to simply 'tap' their phone to earn Points and easily spend at Texaco.
And as an incentive, new members can earn 200 Star Rewards Points when they download and register via the app.
Andrew Cox, Director Sales and Marketing, said, “The new app will make Star Rewards so much easier for customers – simply tap to earn Points and spend digital Texaco vouchers. The app is ahead of the competition in this area, no one else gives such flexibility and control. Customers can access their Star Rewards account from their phone, get information and offers from Star Rewards and use their Points without any fuss.
“We're really excited about the app and the functions it offers. And as a bonus, we're offering new customers 200 points when they download and use it."
The Texaco app can be downloaded via the App Store or Google Play Store. Members can then use the app or their digital Star Rewards card to earn Points and spend digital Texaco vouchers. Existing cards and fobs will continue to work as normal. Members can also donate their Points to charities including Age UK, the Trussell Trust, Action for Children and Fareshare and all donations will be matched by Star Rewards.
Customers can easily add their Star Rewards card to the Wallet app on iPhone. With a simple tap of their iPhone or Apple Watch, customers earn points anytime they check out and pay with Apple Pay. There's no need to swipe a separate physical Star Rewards card, enter a phone number, or scan a QR code. Their card will now automatically pop up in Wallet every time they use Apple Pay.
Valero employees in the UK and Ireland have selected their Charities of the Year for 2021. These will be the main recipients of fundraising efforts during the year, though employees will still support events and other fundraising activities for a wide range of charities.
Throughout February, Canada Square-based employees voted from a long list of candidate charities and those chosen are all long-standing supported ones. They are: the British Heart Foundation, Macmillan Cancer Support and Richard House Children's Hospice. The company has supported Richard House in east London since it opened in 2000.
Alongside these, volunteering and other specific fundraising events will continue to support many of the usual charities, including Mudchute Farm, East End Community Foundation and Riding for the Disabled. Pembroke has reaffirmed its commitment to improving mental health by continuing with the DPJ Foundation as its Charity of the Year for 2021. The foundation was set up in 2016 in response to the death of Daniel Picton-Jones to address the lack of support for those suffering from poor mental health in rural communities and in agriculture.
Speaking last year, Refinery Manager Ed Tomp, said, “The DPJ Foundation is a very worthy charity and it is vital that we all recognise the importance of mental health. The pandemic has shone a light on these issues and Pembroke refinery is delighted to help continue to raise awareness."
