Crown Oil


Crown Oil Ltd, also trading as Crown Oil Fuels and Lubricants or simply Crown Oil, is a fuels and lubricants distribution company located in Bury, Greater Manchester, England. The fuel distributor specialises in national supply of diesel, gas oil, kerosene and lubricants among other fuels and oils to the commercial and domestic market in the United Kingdom.
Crown Oil has depots in six locations around the UK, including Bury, Birmingham, Iver, and three in Greater London with the Bury depot being the main depot that the fuel supplier operates from.

History

Crown Oil began trading in 1928 and was owned by Harry Greensmith, affectionately known as "Harry Lamp Oil". Greensmith traded door-to-door from a wooden cart, providing household goods such as firelighters, candles, and lamp oil. After World War II, Greensmith expanded the product range of the company to include the bulk supply of fuels and lubricants.
The name Silver Crown Oil Distributors was used from around 1947. The business was based in Heywood, Greater Manchester, England.
In 1959, Harry's only son, David Greensmith, joined the family business, and new premises were acquired in the Heap Bridge area of Heywood, where the company is currently located. The distribution of fuels and lubricants became the firm's primary business activity, with red diesel currently making up the majority of business. In 1977 the business was incorporated and the name changed to Crown Oil Limited.
The present head office, completed in 1990, is located at Bury in Greater Manchester. The headquarters was named the 'Oil Centre'.
Crown Oil remains family-owned. According to the company's history, in 1949, ownership passed from Harry to his son, David, and thereafter to his grandchildren Andrew, Matthew, and Abigail in 2007, following David's premature death in 2007. Matthew Greensmith is the current managing director.

Environmental commitments

Crown Oil Environmental was set up to assist with the environmental hazards that are caused by fuels – such as oil spills and microbial contamination. Environmental collects waste oils and recycles these oils for re-use. It also disposes of waste diesel in line with regulations. Tank cleaning is also undertaken in order to prevent mechanical failure caused by contaminated diesel.
As part of the company's work towards environmental responsibility, all delivery mileage is carbon offset to keep CO2 emissions to a minimum.
In 2019, Crown Oil committed further to reducing fossil fuels' environmental impact by turning its attention to hydrotreated vegetable oil, when the company invested £4 million in stocks of the renewable fuel, making it reportedly one of the only suppliers in the UK with a stock of the fuel. HVO fuel is said to be useful for industries such as farming, commercial vehicles and data centres to reduce their carbon emissions.
Other CO2-reducing fuels supplied are biodiesel and CHP biofuel.

Expansion and acquisitions

Crown Oil has expanded its business over time through the acquisition of other fuel suppliers:
In total, the Crown Oil group of companies is made up of nine fuel suppliers, energy suppliers and utility installation services. Around 1,500 people are employed across the group.
Crown Oil Ltd has earned multiple recognitions over the years.
As a UK based lubricants blender and supplier, Crown Oil is part of the UKLA and UEIL. Crown Oil is also registered with Oil Firing Technical Association and is certified as a Crown Commercial Service supplier.

Rochdale A.F.C

Crown Oil has been a sponsor of Rochdale A.F.C.since the 2013/2014 season when the club was in EFL League Two, when in May 2013, the company signed a front of shirt sponsorship. Rochdale achieved promotion to EFL League One, and the sponsorship was seen as a success and was continued in 2014/15.
In August 2016, Crown Oil signed a five-year sponsorship deal with Rochdale A.F.C., and the club's stadium, then called the Spotland Stadium, was renamed the Crown Oil Arena as part of a 'record-breaking' 'six-figure' sponsorship deal for the club that included the stadium's naming rights.
In June 2020, Crown Oil and Rochdale AFC extended their sponsorship agreement for a further six-years.

Rally driver sponsorship

Since 2015, Crown Oil has sponsored WRC rally driver, Gus Greensmith with logo placement on Greensmith's Ford Fiesta, a livery sponsorship which is currently ongoing.
In 2015, Greensmith stated that Crown Oil has been a 'financial and emotional' supporter since as early as 2015.

Industries served

As with most fuel and lubricant suppliers, Crown Oil serves a range of industries that are reliant on mineral oil-based products for fuel, power and heat generating applications.

Power generation (red diesel)