By HARRY CLARKE | SPONSORED
THE Darling Downs based subsidiary of Australia’s largest privately owned petrol company is celebrating the return of an immensely popular range of lubricant and oil products used by farmers.
IOR Rural, an arm of the family-owned company IOR Petroleum, has become fully stocked with a suite of the famous Caltex Delo oils and lubricants.
IOR Rural owners Peter and Georgie Hart said there’d been huge relief among agricultural customers that they could finally access Caltex Delo lubricants and oils locally once again.
“Delo really is a premium product. The manufacturers use the highest quality base oils and additives,” Peter Hart said.
“Some of our longstanding customers have been using Delo for 30 years, and they come in and say they only want Delo. It’s an iconic brand in the rural space, that’s for sure, and a lot of people are pleased we now have it back in stock.
“We’re stocked up with the full range of about 200 Caltex Delo products which can be purchased in store or delivered to farms directly.”
Georgie Hart added: “For a premium oil, we were surprised that it’s come back into the market at the price it has. Delo is an awesome product – not just a brand.”
IOR Rural’s Delo range is now available in store at Oakey, Dalby and Goondiwindi, and can also be ordered by phone for delivery.
For a limited time only, customers who purchase 200 litres or more of a Caltex Delo product will also receive a free, high quality Alemlube LED and UV work light which has aircon gas leak detection capabilities.
“We think a lot of farmers out there will be happy to see Delo back on the shelves because it’s such a high quality, versatile product which meets all Original Equipment Manufacture requirements,” Peter Hart said.
For 20 years Peter and Georgie Hart have owned the Oakey-based grain packing, storage and logistics provider Grainhart. In 2018 they decided to branch out, having noticed a demand for a locally operated petrol supplier in the region with a focus on agricultural customers.
In 2020 they entered a partnership with the Queensland based IOR Petroleum to establish IOR Rural, a petrol distributor which services a broad farming region encompassing the Lockyer Valley, Darling Downs, Goondiwindi, Maranoa, Balonne and Moree regions.
With fuel depots now in Oakey, Dalby, Goondiwindi, St George and Moree, Peter Hart said their team of 22 staff now supply petrol to thousands of customers throughout the agricultural sector.
We started out with one truck and over two years we have built that up to four trucks, but fuel is a business where you have to scale significantly if you want to remain competitive with the major companies,” he said.
“IOR Petroleum approached us about setting up and running IOR Rural, which was a great opportunity because it gave our existing customers access to the IOR network sites which are here, there and everywhere.
“That’s made things a lot better logistically because we can have our trucks running more efficiently servicing a wider area.
“About 90 percent of our customers are family owned and operated farms but we also deliver for some corporate farms, feedlots and transport companies.”
In February this year Deputy Premier Stephen Miles announced the commissioning of a new IOR Petroleum diesel terminal which is now under construction at the Port of Brisbane.
At the time IOR Managing Director and CEO Stewart Morland said the $50 million facility would be of huge benefit to Queensland’s fuel supply and security.
“The Lytton Fuel Import Terminal will add an additional 110 million litres of diesel storage to the Queensland economy. It will be the largest diesel only import terminal in Queensland and one of the few in Brisbane with the capability to receive international shipments of diesel via LR2 vessel,” he said.
“IOR proudly fuels Transport, Agriculture, Resources, and several other industries essential to the success of our economy and the livelihoods of all Queenslanders. The Terminal will provide fuel security to these industries and contribute to industry productivity in the years to come.”
