ESL Fuels target the quarrying sector
Company focusing on quarry plant equipment following launch of new Ultra Gas Oil fuel product
FOUR years after their purchase of the former BP Castrol oil terminal in Stanlow, and following a multi-million pound capital investment programme at the Ellesmere Port plant, ESL Fuels are targeting the quarry plant equipment sector with the launch of their new premium Ultra Gas Oil fuel product.
Traditionally, the minimum cetane number (CN) for off-road gas oil has started much lower than road diesel at 45, but many modern manufacturers of non-road mobile machinery are telling customers they will now only offer a warranty on new equipment that meets the EN590 CN specification of 51.
ESL Fuels say their Ultra Gas Oil achieves this minimum cetane value of 51, allowing it to offer faster fuel combustion, improved performance – including in cold-start situations, and fewer emissions.
The new fuel also offers improved built-in detergency to help remove harmful deposits on critical engine components and protect against the build-up of new ones which can cause power loss.
According to ESL Fuels, combining enhanced detergency with a higher cetane number delivers cleaner, more efficient fuel-injection systems which are less prone to pump and injector deterioration or failure, all of which means the company can now offer customers an optimum product quality but for only a fractional increase in pence-per-litre cost.
ESL Fuels’ managing director, Stephen Whittaker, believes that when it comes to plant machinery, the quarrying sector could be ready to accept a competitive new market entrant in direct gas oil supply.
‘Whilst the benefits of a gas oil’s higher cetane value are becoming increasingly recognized, product quality has been consistently compromised by price sensitivity,’ he commented. ‘It’s our intention to shake up a market that has traditionally been shaped by fuel wholesalers and distributors and to halt their ‘race to the bottom’, in terms of standard product quality, by introducing a gas oil that, with price taken out of the equation, would be the preferred choice of any discerning construction plant manager.
‘Furthermore, because we have complete control over the blend, manufacture and distribution of Ultra Gas Oil, we can manage costs so that if there is any price premium for the customer, it is almost negligible and far outweighed by engine performance benefits and cost efficiencies over the longer term.’
With a proven pedigree in the manufacture of innovative fuel products going back 16 years, annual sales of some 180 million litres and a successful, long-established relationship with the UK’s largest fuel distributor, ESL Fuels say they have been able to further transform their business ambitions since their purchase of the Stanlow oil terminal in 2012.
The site holds more than 100 storage tanks with a capacity of 35 million litres and has pipeline connections to the neighbouring Essar oil refinery as well as a dockside connection to the Manchester Ship Canal, allowing ESL Fuels to receive, blend and distribute a large amount of fuel products across the UK using their dedicated fleet of 15 articulated tankers.
Mr Whittaker continued: ‘We have already developed a full range of fuels for multiple clients in specific markets, such as heavy-duty haulage and marine, and have, to date, sold well over half a billion litres of our popular Ultra 35 bespoke heating oil.
‘Our continued expansion of Stanlow and our ability to source and blend premium oils to create new fuels means we are confident that in the plant and construction machinery market, Ultra Gas Oil can quickly become just as commercially viable as these established products.’
