MONTH IN FM
FMJ.CO.UK
BRADFORD BASED FUEL STORAGE
SOLUTIONS CELEBRATES 20TH
ANNIVERSARY MILESTONE
On 1st April 2002 husband and wife team
(Le to right) Vince McCarry - Operations Director, Jonathan Barnett – Managing Director and Katharine
Barnett – Finance Director (Vince McCarry joined FSS as Operations Manager in March 2017 and was made
Operations Director in August 2020. Jonathan and Katharine are co-founders of Fuel Storage Solutions)
MAY 2022 65
Jonathan and Katharine Barnett realised
their business dream by launching Fuel Storage
Solutions (FSS) from their spare bedroom
in Rastrick, Brighouse. Twenty years on FSS
has grown into a £4.5m turnover operation
employing 38 people. The company is
headquartered in a former Methodist chapel
in Thornton village which was fully restored
and converted by the Barnetts to providing the
platform for further growth aimed at achieving
£10m turnover in the next 5 years.
Marking the occasion of the 20th Anniversary
of FSS the Directors hosted a get together for
the team which included members of their own
family, previous employees, advisors and friends
of the business. The sense of family, family values
and teamwork are central to the daily operating
principles of FSS.
FSS is an award- winning OFTEC registered
provider of complete commercial and industrial
fuel storage solutions, from supply to maintenance
of tanks for oil, diesel and petrol, plus associated
systems including pads, bunds, pipework and
environmental controls for the safe storage of all fuel
types.
Prior to starting FSS Jonathan worked as a
Contracts Manager for a company that pressure
tested and safety checked underground tanks for
Shell, BP, Esso and Total retail sites, and Katharine
was a Chartered Tax Advisor for Price Waterhouse
Coopers in Leeds.
The first 18 months of the new venture were
challenging; tenacity and patience paid o in 2003
when Jonathan managed to pick up a single visit
to a site for a bank, then securing the contract and
setting FSS on the path for growth. Testament to
their expertise and their customer service ethic, FSS
still looks a er that site as well as all the bank’s UK
sites.
With a highly trained in-house Engineering Team,
a dedicated Projects Division and a Compliance and
Technical Services Division, FSS o ers innovative
solutions to all sizes of works. Six of the UK’s largest
Facilities Management companies are serviced by
FSS, whilst other market sectors serviced range from
Undertakers to the RAF, Banking to Distribution &
Logistics, Food Prep to Pharma and public sector
organisations including the Police, Ambulance
Services and The Environment Agency. Important
contracts for the Armed Forces and the NHS are also
serviced.
The business has ambitious plans for future growth
through the development of innovative products and
methods to add value to clients including scaling
up pipework installations for the transfer of fuel and
other products using their patented APIApipe™ cold
compression system.
FSS is currently developing their green initiative
through the positive reduction of the firm’s carbon
footprint. They are consistent donors of charitable
funds to initiatives that align with the strong family
ethos and values that pervade the business. They
obtained the Bronze Armed Forces Covenant in 2020
and the Silver award in 2021 in recognition of the
number of veterans that that they employ.
Katharine Barnett articulates the significance of the
20th anniversary milestone and an opportunity to
say thank you to talented and dedicated colleagues.
“I cannot believe where the time has gone. Our
journey has been bumpy and fun, scary and exciting
but at the centre of it all and supporting us have
been all our colleagues. Every single person who
has been part of the FSS family has contributed
something that has taken us to the next level, taught
us how to do (or not do) things, improved the
company that we are, contributed to our growth and
le an indelible mark.
“The people in the business are what make Fuel
Storage Solutions the force that it is. They shape us,
they drive us, and their loyalty and dedication push
us to places we never thought we would go.
“On our 20th anniversary we thank you all, past
and present, for accompanying us on this journey.
We thank you for building a company that o ers us
all a stable environment and, in doing so, creating a
secure place that empowers all, is nurturing, where
people are supported to grow and advance, and
which provides everyone with a glowing future.
“I have a sense of immense pride and excitement
as we start the next chapter at Fuel Storage
Solutions. Thank you!”
www.fuelstoragesolutions.co.uk KB@fuelstoragesolutions.co.uk 01274 009104
/www.fuelstoragesolutions.co.uk
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