By Barb Shaw
KAWARTHA LAKES-When British Empire Fuels moved from Toronto to Bobcaygeon in the 60’s the company worked to keep neighbours toasty warm in the cold winter months. Over the years, the fuel sources, delivery methods and product lines have evolved and changed, but for the Whyte family, Sheila, Greg and Rob, who continue to run the business – it’s still about their personal commitment to caring for neighbours that has brought them years of success in a small town.
“When you run a business in your own hometown you have to stand behind your work,” explains Rob Whyte, who has been running the company since 1990. “We will do what we have to do to keep people hot or cold.”
This commitment has helped the company grow to a successful business in both Bobcaygeon and Lindsay, offering personalized service from fuel delivery to full installations of forced air furnaces, in-floor heating, heat pumps, boilers, fireplaces, instantaneous hot water, and air conditioners.
Sheila Whyte, Rob’s wife, joined the company in 1996, ten years after she married Rob. She laughs now about how her mother used to say she’d be running the business.
“I’d tell her, ‘that’s never going to happen,’” Sheila laughs. “It certainly wasn’t something I planned on.”
But Sheila’s mom was right, and Sheila’s enjoyed being part of the thriving business with its small town spirit.
“Everyone here is working towards the same goal,” she explains. “We pull together, we solve problems and it’s not uncommon to get a letter of thanks, penned by a customer, for making a good job of it.”
Rob and Sheila, along with Rob’s brother Greg have worked with year-round and seasonal residents over the years to make important product decisions for their homes and cottages. They’ve got clients who started with oil furnaces who have transitioned to propane and they can help them transition to natural gas in the future – if it ever makes it this far. British Empire Fuels provides full service HVAC to meet all of their customers’ needs.
This desire to meet the customers’ needs started early on. Greg remembers when his father first started with propane, with a small cylinder filling station.
“We were not real happy about having to work weekends but we sure did enjoy meeting-up with all the tourists as well as the locals when we did work,” Greg says.
The company has expanded from a company of six to now employing over 30 and while that makes it easier to offer clients what they need, it means lots of behind the scenes for Greg who takes care of all the fleet requirements, health and safety training, and the annual renewal of the risk and safety management plan that they have to deal with each year as a bulk propane facility.
“We’re in the process of adding more storage,” Greg says. “This is 100 per cent because of our staff commitment as well as our local community supporting us.”
The Whytes all enjoy their relaxed approach to sales and helping clients make good heating and cooling decisions that will provide comfort for years to come, but Rob is quick to note that this is a business of emergencies.
“We know how serious this is,” Rob says. “The heat that we just went through – it can be a health issue for some of our clients so if there is a problem, we deal with it. If we have to drive to get a part – we will do that.”
The business takes around 900 calls a week but in extreme weather conditions, they can see calls spike to 400 a day.
“We like dealing with the public,” Rob says. “It can be stressful but we like resolving issues and when we do, it’s a good feeling. We always stand behind our work and whatever happens – we can deal with it.”
Being ready to respond in a crisis means that the whole team is always tackling new training. Their new space in Lindsay includes a training centre to keep all their technicians and sales associates up to date with new technology and techniques for managing it.
And when things do go wrong, it’s a team approach to managing an emergency.
“We’re always here to help,” Sheila says.
From supplying clients with portable loaner heaters in an emergency to working extra hours to solve a problem, British Empire Fuels has always relied on word of mouth and the Whytes acknowledge that reputation is what makes or breaks businesses in small towns.
“We trust our staff to make great recommendations and to solve problems,” Sheila says. “We have that small town commitment to taking care of our neighbours.”
From their products and services to sponsoring community events – that’s what the Whytes look forward to doing for many more years as a family, even if it means sometimes taking work home.
“I don’t mind,” laughs Sheila. “And if something happens with our furnace – I just get Rob to deal with it.”
Click here for more information: https://britishempirefuels.com
