Lewis strikes major deal to distribute bioethanol

Lewis Tankers has won a three-year contract from Vivergo Fuels to handle UK distribution of bioethanol from the company’s new £350m biorefinery at Saltend, near Hull.

The plant, which is scheduled to become fully operational in the first quarter of 2013, will eventually produce 420m litres annually.

Lewis Tankers will use a fleet of tankers to distribute the bioethanol to the refineries of the UK’s major fuel suppliers, where it will be blended with gasoline to meet the Government’s targets under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation.

Stewart MacDonald, Lewis Tankers’ managing director, said: “This is an important contract win for us. We will be responsible for all Vivergo Fuel’s UK distribution, which, when production reaches full capacity, means we will have a fleet of 20 plus dedicated road tanks delivering over 3.5 million litres of bioethanol every week.”

Rob Murray, logistics manager at Vivergo, said: “We’re delighted to have awarded this contract to a local supplier and look forward to working closely with Lewis Tankers in the road based distribution of our bioethanol.”

Initially, Lewis Tankers will plan all movements from its head office in Hensall, near Goole, but this will be reviewed as volumes increase to a level where planning support may be moved on-site at the biorefinery at Saltend. Vivergo Fuels is a joint venture set up by AB Sugar, BP and Dupont five years ago.

Its bio-refinery will turn 1.1m tonnes of feed-grade wheat into bioethanol every year with by-products converted into 500,000 tonnes of animal feed.

The company estimates that running vehicles on the bioethanol it produces will be the equivalent of removing 180,000 cars from the road. Founded in 1973, Lewis Tankers is a provider of bulk distribution services with a blue-chip client list. It handles a wide range of products, including aviation fuel, gases, and chemicals.

In November 2009, the company was acquired by Stewart MacDonald, David Brown and Andrew Nicholson who now form the senior management team. The company, which employs 120 staff, had a turnover in the last year of £11m.