Valero brand launching in UK next month on three Ascona sites

Valero, the owner of the Texaco brand, will be opening its first Valero-branded fuel retail site in the UK in October, marking the introduction of the first new fuel retail brand in the UK since 2015.

Ascona Group’s flagship Green Garage Service Station in Pembroke, west Wales, will be re-branded to Valero and will offer the same fuel previously sold there under the Texaco brand.

Two more Ascona sites are also to be re-branded to Valero during October – Ascona Crossways in Neyland and Ascona Tenby Road near Carmarthen.

Valero has a long association with the Pembroke area. The company owns and operates the Pembroke refinery west of Pembroke, as well as a fuel terminal at Waterston near Milford Haven, making the Ascona service stations and Pembroke a natural fit for the introduction of the Valero brand into the UK.

The opening marks the first foray into the UK retail sector by US-based energy company Valero Energy under the Valero brand. However, there are more than 6,000 Valero-branded outlets in the US and Mexico.

Since buying Pembroke refinery and the UK marketing and logistics assets in 2011, Valero has made considerable investments in its logistics infrastructure and network.

“The natural progression for the company was to bring the Valero brand to UK forecourts,” Valero’s vice president of UK commercial operations, Chuck Pettibon, said.

“We’re extremely excited to be launching the Valero brand in the UK. It is a very attractive image that offers large and small fuel retailers the option for a new look to their forecourts. Retailers have asked when the brand would be introduced into the UK, and now it is.”

The company said that with ownership of the Valero brand, it has greater flexibility to determine what can be offered and how it can be aligned with Valero’s corporate ethos.

It explained that the Valero brand has a strong community ethic, and this community spirit will be offered to Valero-branded retailers, supporting their community and charity efforts and together, giving back to the community through charity events or volunteering. Valero is keen to partner with Ascona on its community outreach initiatives.

It added that it would be focused on demand-driven, organic growth of the Valero-branded retail sites.