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Puma expansion accelerates with Kempsey truck stop

Petroleum products firm stays busy after Directhaul buy and bitumen consolidation

 

Rising fuel marketer and distributor Puma Energy has opened its first newly-built Australian service centre in Kempsey.

After making decisive entry into the Australian market with a $265 million purchase of Ausfuel in February 2013 to give it 200 retail fuel stations, 11 fuel depots and trucking operation Directhaul, its South Kempsey Travel Centre signals the start of a New South Wales expansion.

The five-hectare service centre boasts 25 B-double truck bays, a 149-space car park, and six bus or caravan parking spaces, as well as a truck lounge, playground, dog park and indoor and outdoor seating areas.

Puma Energy Australia managing director Ray Taylor says the NSW flagship development was a milestone for Puma Energy and for Kempsey, providing convenient fuel access to the 13,000 vehicles that pass through on the Pacific Highway daily.

“The South Kempsey Travel Centre will bring new facilities to one of the state’s most travelled areas and will help us to achieve our goal to provide truck-stop and travel coverage on key routes right across the country,” Taylor says.

“Puma Energy is dedicated to bringing high quality fuel facilities to NSW and expanding our network to give customers greater access to our services, and Kempsey plays a significant role in making that happen.”

The new travel centre was a key part of Puma Energy’s strategy to expand its national network in 2015 and bring new services and benefits to its customers.

It follows the branding of its first newly built reseller service station at Calliope in Queensland.

“In 2014, we launched our national fuel card, Pumacard, which is the most widely accepted retail-branded fuel card in Australia,” Taylor asserts.

“Our NSW expansion program, starting with this flagship service centre, will help to establish our presence on a national level and give our Pumacard customers more access to competitive discounts and network benefits.”

The opening comes as Puma, a unit of global commodities trader Trafigura, digests it two forays into the bitumen business.

Two months ago, the Singapore-headquartered firm consolidated its global bitumen trading and shipping service, snapping up BP Australia’s bitumen operation.

Taylor said the decision to acquire the bitumen business came at a time when the Australian bitumen market was going through transition,” he said in March.

“The Australian bitumen market is increasingly reliant on imports after the shutdown of several refineries.

“Our global supply and distribution network, and our fleet of vessels, ensure supply security and enable us to source high quality and competitively priced products for our customers.” 

Part of that transformation is being driven by Puma itself, with the company buying that of Caltex Australia last October.

 

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