36 | Fuel Installations CONTRACTING T T Hugh de Lacy Keeping up with a changing landscape Fuel Installations is constructing of new warehouse and office facilities at Rolleston, south of Christchurch. Whatever succeeds oil as the world’s main fuel – electricity and/or hydrogen – Fuel Installations Ltd will be providing the construction, knowledge and experience for its delivery, much as it has done for the past 40 years. The Auckland-based company, which has expanded its services over the past decade to cover the whole of the country, is already involved in providing re-charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs), and is closely watching the development of hydrogen and alternative technologies, and positioning itself to support them as required. Fuel Installations’ core work has been installing storage tanks, dispensers, pipework and the associated civil construction for oilbased fuels, above and below ground. But that’s changing. The company is positioning itself strategically and geographically to take up the challenge that the introduction of the new fuels will pose, with the goal of ever-improving delivery to better meet the needs of the clients, present and future. The company has been servicing the South Island for years but is cementing its position there with the construction of new warehouse and office facilities at Rolleston, south of Christchurch, which it is hoping to have open for Christmas. The new facilities will provide a home for the range of heavy and support plant, staff and contractors that the company already has servicing the South Island, and they will provide the foundation for further expansion and growth. Fuel Installations’ range of services extends far beyond digging holes and filling them with fuel tanks: in the case, say, of a client service station, new or existing, the company can offer a complete design-and-build service, project management, canopy and structure construction, plus sourcing and supplying all the associated hardware from the tanks to the fuel pumps. Site improvements and upgrades of infrastructure and equipment, site branding upgrades and installation are all part of the Fuel Installations service, along with environmental remediation, the provision of civil maintenance services and the delivery of sheet-piling and retention structures. There are nearly 40 full-timers and contractors on the company’s staff, with the South Island team poised to grow on the completion of the new Rolleston facility. General Manager Richard Croucher says the conversion to electricity as a transport fuel is well under way and Fuel Installations is rising to the challenge. “Our market is the ‘fuel’ market, the energy-based ingredient that keeps the country moving, and where that changes we’ll change with it. “We’re definitely seeing more movement in the EV market and the development of their associated charging facilities, especially at the traditional retail fuel sites. “We are also monitoring industry demand for hydrogen facilities, and with the company’s experience in providing services for alternative fuels like LPG we are positioned for whatever might be rolled out, and we will continue to support the wider industry by delivering safe, cost-effective construction solutions to our clients whatever the fuel,” Richard says. ROOFING C A N T E R B U R Y L T D Custom folding up to 6.5m • Flashings • Gutters • Rainwater Heads • Chimney Caps 021 237-5870 | info@truefold.co.nz 14 Container Drive, Rolleston www.truefold.co.nz Proudly Supporting Fuel Installations New Builds • Project Management • Construction Services Proud to support Fuel Installationswith all civil and general construction services 03 365 5513
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