In Conversation
No standing still at Campbell Fuels
WITH 2018 MARKING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF KILMARNOCK-BASED CAMPBELL FUELS, FUEL OIL NEWS WAS KEEN TO
KNOW MORE ABOUT THE COMPANY’S EVOLUTION OVER THE PAST FIVE DECADES
The business was started in the
1960s by my parents, Douglas
and Moira Campbell, explained
managing director, Alister
Campbell.
They spotted an opportunity
to develop a small, successful
coal cash & carry in Kilmarnock
and when the opportunity arose
to purchase the company, they
began trading as Campbell Fuel
Oils. With a lot of hard work and
commitment from a team of just
four, the business soon became
well-known throughout the area
for reliable service and quality
fuels; a reputation we’re very
proud to still uphold.
A few years later a second
commercial property was
purchased with a new depot
in Paisley enabling distribution
to a much wider area. In 1985
the business relocated to a
six-acre site in Kilmarnock with
this site remaining as our head
office, housing our technical,
management and administrative
teams.
This site is also home to our
JET-branded forecourt with a small
convenience store, car wash and
valet bays, coal/wood fuels sales,
a distribution yard, a workshop
for our ten 4-wheeler trucks, a
biomass plant and two Combined
Heat and Power Plants (CHPs). Our
Paisley depot continues to act as a
distribution unit and cash & carry
for different types of coal.
Father, mother, son and
grandson
I joined the business straight
from leaving school at the age of
18. I’m 55 now so that’s almost
four decades in the business!
My son, Douglas, joined seven
years ago and is doing a brilliant
job of supporting me. We work
very well together and he’s very
enthusiastic! I’m a great believer
that companies need to embrace
the younger generation and their
ideas – they’re the future after
all. I’m taking more time off this
year, but as long as I feel I’m still
contributing to the business, I’ll
stick around!
My dad sadly passed away
over 10 years ago but my mum
(who recently turned 80) is still
in every day and plays a main
role in the day-to-day running of
Campbell’s filling station opened in 1985 – 10 years
from now it is envisaged it will be self-serve, pay at
the pump with electric vehicle charging points
14 Fuel Oil News | August 2018
the office. I suppose you never
truly retire when you are part of a
family business!
Has being a family-run
business helped Campbell
Fuels over the years?
Yes, I think it’s the fact that we
can react to circumstances a lot
faster than some larger companies
might. Also, because we’re not
too big (currently 35 staff) we
don’t lose sight of what’s going
on in the business and with
our customers. Efficiency and
reliability were my parents’ core
values and they remain key today,
along with customer care and
flexibility.
We have long-term
relationships with many of our
customers who value the fact that
they know our staff personally
and can depend on us. Over
50% of our staff have been with
the business for over 15 years
with many more over 10. It’s
great to have such a loyal and
committed workforce and, some
of our current customers were my
parents’ customers back in the
sixties!
Also, we only supply within a
30-mile radius of our two depots
– we want to remain a reliable
local supplier that doesn’t try to
stretch further. To give you an
example, five domestic customers
ran out of fuel last Saturday and
we managed to deliver to all of
them that day. Larger regional
or national companies would
struggle to respond in that short
time frame.
Has diversification been vital
to your success?
It has certainly enabled us to
stand the test of time as we
haven’t gone out of business or
been taken over. We’ve adapted
to what our customers want: high
quality product when they want it,
with great service and at a good
price.
We had always wanted to
run a filling station and back in
1985 when we moved to the
larger site, there were no local
supermarkets so we spotted an
opportunity. With so much space,
we introduced a car wash and,
after that, vacuums. The largest in
Europe at the time, it featured six