The Ampol National Distributors Association held its annual conference at Deniliquin in NSW on 7-10 March 2023, with Ampol’s Distributors travelling to the NSW town from all over the country. The event was hosted by the Purtill Group at The Depot – a facility that combines a function centre with an extensive historic vehicle and memorabilia collection that is one of the major tourist attractions in the region.
“This annual event that provides our member businesses with an opportunity to engage directly with key staff at Ampol about issues that are central to the successful operation of their fuel distribution businesses in the future”, said ANDA Chair Sarah Simpson of Simpsons Fuel. 
The event opened with a welcome dinner at the Depot which provided a relaxed atmosphere for delegates to reconnect and discuss the events of the past year.
The highlight of the night was an address by Ampol CEO Matt Halliday who provided a brief opening address and announced the loan of a historic Golden Fleece tanker to add to the extensive historic vehicle collection on display at the venue.
Delegates were then given the opportunity to wander through the vehicle display. 
The formal conference proceedings commenced with a presentation from Neville Purtill about the Purtill Group business and a presentation from the Board of the Ampol National Distributor Association. The key theme of these presentations revolved around the strong relationship that fuel distribution businesses have developed with regional Australian over many years – one that was both enduring and unique. 
Ampol CEO Matt Halliday then provided a presentation about the current healthy state of the Ampol business and the Company’s approach to the dual challenges of building infrastructure to support alternative vehicle technologies, while simultaneously ensuring that the supply of conventional transport fuels was sufficient to meet the fuel security needs of the country in the medium to long term.
Ampol Executive General Manager Andrew Brewer followed with a presentation on the supply chain ecosystem, followed by Ampol ’s National Distribution Partner Manager, Rob Watson who reinforced the vital role played by Ampol’s extensive network of fuel distributor partners in supporting the refuelling needs of regional and rural Australia.
The second half of Day 1 included presentations from a range of invited guests, including ACAPMA, as well as series of open forums that provided delegates with an opportunity to discuss current areas of operational strength and areas where the relationship between AMPOL and its Distribution partners could be further enhanced.
Day 1 finished with a relaxed dinner at the Timbercutters Function Centre – a truly unique facility positioned in the bush on the banks of the Murray River near Mathoura NSW. 
Day 2 continued the strategic conversations about the issues facing fuel distributors in Australia. There was an informative panel on Future Energy with varied views on the timing of the clean transport transition and Evan Newell from Tasco provided a case study Tasco and Ampol’s joint initiative in supporting the Rochester community through the recent floods – a story that resonates the experience with fuel distributors and fuel retailers alike over the last three years.
Presentations were also provided by a number of key partners of the Ampol Distributor network including New Sunrise Group and BioBlue. Simone Reinersten of the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) also provided delegates with an overview of the Regulator’s heavy vehicle enforcement and industry information practices.
The event concluded with a relaxed dinner at the Deniliquin Golf Club, with some delegates showing their golf prowess – and others not so much.
During the course of the two-day event, Ampol formally recognised the contributions of five industry stalwarts by inducting them into the 50 Year Ampol Distributor Club. The inductees included:
- Neville Purtill – Purtill Group, Deniliquin NSW
- Guy Boland – Boland Petroleum, Moree NSW
- Peter Sims – K & S, Mt Gambier SA
- Bryson Fredericks – Adelaide Fuel Distributors, Adelaide SA
- Kevin Powell – Crokers Fuel & Oils – Mackay QLD
- Lyall Johnston – Geographe Petroleum, Busselton WA.
“The inductees to the Ampol Distributors 50-year Club are well known in our industry and a number of them have played a major role in the development of APADA, and later ACAPMA, over the last 46 years. It was great to see them formally recognised by Ampol at the event last week”, said ACAPMA CEO Mark McKenzie.
“All in all, the event was very worthwhile and gave our members the opportunity to engage directly with AMPOL Senior management as we all position our businesses to service the fuel needs of rural and regional Australia in the year ahead”, said Sarah Simpson.
“Our sincere thanks to Neville and all the team at Purtills Group for hosting the conference. If you have never been to see the collection of historic vehicles and memorabilia at The Depot in Deniliquin, then this is one to put on your list for a visit in the near future”, concluded Sarah.
ACAPMA.
Source: https://acapmag.com.au/2023/03/ampol-distributors-discuss-the-big-issues/.
