spacious covered jet wash bays , six vacuum bays and three open jet wash bays for commercial vehicles . People used to come from far and wide to see and take photos of our flagship facilities .
In 2015 we diversified again , taking advantage of the vast technological advancements in the current energy market . We still had space on site and , with lots of domestic customers moving away from oil , we spotted an opportunity to retain their custom by selling woodchips for farmers , industry and larger buildings such as schools .
Campbell Energy was formed , a new entity offering renewable energy boiler installation , servicing and maintenance . We installed a biomass plant and two Combined Heat and Power Plants ( CHPs ). We now buy in logs , turn them into woodchips , and thanks to a dedicated drying facility , we can reduce moisture content from 50 % to 25 %. We also install woodchip boilers and have done around 50 to date .
Thanks to the two CHP plants which are fuelled by woodchips , we ’ re fully self-sufficient for electricity . The plants generate around 100Kw of electricity daily , of which we use 40Kw . The rest is sold back to the grid .
It ’ s safe to say that we haven ’ t stood still .
Fuel Oil News asked if there are plans to extend the wider energy business . That ’ s difficult to say at this stage , said Alister .
Technology moves on so quickly . You need to look closely at each new development and if you spot an opportunity you dive in and make the most of it .
Embracing change and looking to the future Not being willing to embrace change is a recipe for disaster in this industry . We ’ ve certainly not been afraid of a challenge – and there have been many over the years ! But there have been lots of opportunities as well and we ’ ve tried our best to make the most of them .
We ’ re investing in the business , revamping our filling station and car wash before we decide what we ’ ll do next . The oil industry is changing rapidly with developments in electric vehicles , renewables and new technologies . We need to adapt now so that we don ’ t become a casualty of future industry developments . But in my opinion oil is here to stay and fuel distributors can still make a success of it , as long as they run their business well and efficiently .
We ’ ve experienced competitors undercutting us on
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The grand opening of the first site ( top ); Campbells livery as the business expanded ; Douglas Campbell ( r ) in the early years ; the very first tanker
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