Member Article

Rix Petroleum invests nearly £3m in new tanker fleet

National fuel company Rix Petroleum is investing nearly £3 million in a new fleet of tankers.

The firm, based in east Hull, has ordered a total of 17 new Scania trucks which will be distributed among its depots in Scotland, Hull, Lincolnshire, East Anglia and the midlands.

The tankers will be used to transport domestic heating oil and commercial fuels to rural homeowners, farmers and hauliers across England and eastern area Scotland.

They are currently being delivered in batches meaning many will be operating throughout any remaining winter weather.

Rory Clarke, managing director of Rix Petroleum, said 12 of the new vehicles will replace older tankers coming towards the end of their working life, but five are additional vehicles needed to accommodate the businesses growth.

The new fleet consists of one four-wheeled truck and 16 six-wheeled trucks with a carrying capacity of 20,000 litres.

The additional trucks will be distributed between Rix Petroleum’s depots in Scotland, Shropshire, Warwickshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk.

Mr Clarke said: “The reputation of Rix Petroleum is based to a great degree on the service we provide to customers, whether they are in the commercial market place or our residential consumers. As such our ability to deliver product to the required quantity and timescale is of paramount importance.

“This investment is about ensuring we can continue to do that in the face of growing enquires across all of our depots.”

The truck chassis are supplied by Scandinavian firm Scania and the liquid flow meters are supplied by Aylesbury firm Alpeco Ltd.

The vehicles are assembled by Tasca Tankers Ltd of Wakefield before finally being delivered to Rix and are equipped with the latest mod-cons including heated driver’s wing mirror and fully air-conditioned cabs.

In the year to December 2012, Rix Petroleum increased sales from £317.8m in 2011 to £391.7m.

The company is the largest in the J.R. Rix & Sons Group, a 140 year old family run business that in 2012 turned over £494m.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Graham Vincent .