Sebokeng Fuels has recently been awarded prestigious Shell RT Pillar certification
It is not very often that one company is accredited across two different industries and can profess to be completely competent in both, but it does happen. In the case of Sebokeng Fuels (Pty) Ltd, which is one the longest standing privately owned fuel distribution companies in South Africa, this feat has recently been achieved.
Sebokeng Fuels has been a Shell partner for more than 40 years and is currently one of the largest Shell Branded Distributors from both a distribution and delivery perspective. The company is constantly adopting new technologies and ideas from Shell with a view to building the fantastic partnership.
In May this year, Sebokeng Fuels became the first ever Shell Branded Distributor in South Africa to successfully fulfil all the requirements for the Shell Road Transport Pillar Audit – making it the only distributor in South Africa which is able to distribute branded Shell fuels to its own customers, and conduct both secondary and primary transport on behalf of Shell to various Shell customer sites as well as Shell-owned depots.
This achievement is testament to the fact that not only is Sebokeng Fuels one of the most prominent fuel distributors in the country, but that the company also upholds some of the highest road transport safety levels in South Africa.
The Shell Road Transport Pillar Audit separates usual industry players from the best industry players when it comes to ability, efficiency and, most importantly, health and safety perspectives. The audit comprises four main sections which encompass general health and safety standards, driver management, route management and vehicle management.
Mandatory requirements for each of these sectors are beyond rigorous for the petroleum industry – and rightly so. If any single mandatory requirement in any of the sections is not successfully fulfilled, the participant instantly fails.
The audit covers everything from route risk assessments, driver behaviour monitoring, driver training, monitoring of driver hours, performance management, recruitment policies and procedures, vehicle maintenance and quality, record keeping and well as all legal and legislative requirements across all sections – just to name a few.
Sebokeng Fuels has partnered with the most updated technologies available through Ctrack and Drive Cam in order to ensure absolute compliance from all drivers and vehicles at any given time.
The company has adopted a driver behaviour management programme which runs on a constant basis in order to ensure that, as far as safety and professionalism is concerned, its drivers are absolute authorities at what they do.
“It is a great achievement to meet these stringent standards, and I trust that this will lead to further growth within the Sebokeng Fuels brand,” says Lauren Pelliccia, Head of Operations at Sebokeng Fuels and the company’s Health and Safety team leader.
“Most importantly it’s our team that has defined our achievement. Every team member realises that a major part of our business revolves around health and safety, and that it has to feature in every aspect of our daily operations – even when under pressure”.
There is clearly no limit when it comes to Sebokeng Fuel’s ambition to always be an industry leader. The company prides itself on everything that is important to the customer and the customers’ needs, which includes quality of product, quality of service, security of supply and the ability to have the flexibility to offer assistance as and when it is needed, and, of course, strict adherence to safety standards.
Sebokeng Fuels is already a no-nonsense fuel industry leader and keeps going from strength to strength. The achievement in gaining Road Transport Pillar Audit certification is testament to the company’s determination, professionalism and leadership within the industry.
With full ownership of four depots across the central and northern parts of the country – including three service stations, almost five million litres of own storage capacity, premier access to 100% Shell additivised fuels, a self-owned fleet of approximately 55 world class Scania vehicles and a logistical and management team that aims to impress at every second of every day – winning is easy with Sebokeng Fuels.
There is no denying the fact that the world’s fossil fuel reserves are being depleted. Accordingly, many businesses that are aiming to reduce their carbon footprints and become eco-friendly have adopted alternative sources of energy in place of conventional fuels.
One of those energy sources is compressed natural gas (CNG), a product which is gaining popularity on a global scale due to its clean-burning properties.
“In addition to its environmental friendliness, reliable supply and consistent availability, CNG pricing is more stable than that of conventional heavy fuels, eliminating the uncertainty associated with monthly price adjustments,” says Stephen Rothman, CEO of CNG Holdings. He says the latter aspect allows businesses to better plan budgets and control operating costs for vehicle fleets.
As a division of CNG Holdings, NGV Gas is committed to promoting the use of compressed natural gas as an alternative fuel for a variety of vehicles. According to Rothman, petrol driven vehicles are easily converted to run on CNG using kits approved by OEMs and imported by CNG Technology – a division of CNG Holdings.
He adds that diesel engines typically used in buses and large commercial vehicles can also be modified to run on a mix of CNG and diesel, the ratio being controlled by an ECU which varies depending on driving habits and/or engine torque demand. The amount of diesel replaced by gas will vary between 40% and 60%.
The company has converted vehicles for – or supplies CNG to – a number of major transport fleets, including those operated by Metrobus, Eqstra, Fidelity, G4S, Coca-Cola and the City of Johannesburg. Additionally, more than 700 taxis have been made CNG friendly.
Many NGV Gas customers have had filling stations installed on their premises, apart from being able to fill up at any NGV gas station in the Gauteng region, where the company’s operations are concentrated.
“Over the last decade, the average cost per litre of both petrol and diesel has risen significantly,” says Rothman. “CNG can offer a saving of between 25% and 40% on fuel costs compared with conventional fuels, dependent on the type of vehicle.”
Apart from the gas’ environmentally friendly nature, tanks used to store the fuel are stronger than those used for diesel, reducing the likelihood of accidental leakage. Additionally, should CNG be accidently released, it disperses quickly in the air instead of onto the ground, reducing the risk of fire as well as soil contamination.
Rothman says CNG Gas is actively sourcing new solutions for the trucking industry, and will be in a position to offer customers a variety of state of the art products within a few months.
For further information on CNG Holdings and NGV Gas, please visit www.cngholdings.co.za. For enquiries about truck conversions contact Mike Hill at project@cngholdings.co.za
