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News/Product Innovation
Berrys “Midas Touch”
Following a name change and successful move to a new home, Berrys Technologies is looking to a future with “The Midas Touch”.
Says owner Martin Berry, “my decision to re-locate and rename after more than 40 yrs was a calculated risk to bring us in to line with the range of more Hi Tec products now appearing in our portfolio.” Martin continues, “Midas in particular has set us on a new road, we have always developed products which solve problems in the UK PFS market, but Midas has created a global interest to which we needed to respond.
Now under one roof with 20,000sq ft of manufacturing and storage and close to the M5/M6, Berrys Technologies will continue to offer a quality and service that’s set them apart, helping to achieve Martin Berry’s vision for the future.
Berrys New Home
Berrys new home - Dave Berry House, with founder Dave Berry
After more than 40 years based near West Bromwich D. Berry & Co, now renamed as Berrys Technologies Limited, have re-located to Aston Birmingham just off the M6 at junction 6.
With an official opening by founder Dave Berry that took place on Friday 27th July highlighted by the unveiling of a sign reading “DAVE BERRY HOUSE” (see photograph) which was a complete surprise to the recipient, a renowned speaker, who for once was lost for words, the day went very well with a party atmosphere.
Now under one roof with more than 20,000 square feet of fabrication shop and warehouse the future looks bright for Berrys, with the atlas range continuing to grow and more new products in the offering, all in a substantial new home.
MIDAS Misfuel Identification and Avoidance System will be launched at PetroForum Singapore
Berrys Technologies based in Birmingham, UK is ready to launch one of the most exciting innovations to happen in world forecourt control, at Monday’s PetroForum in Singapore.
MIDAS stands for Misfuel Identification and Avoidance System. It is a fully automated intelligent valve system that can discriminate between petrol and diesel fuels.
The valve is fitted to above or below filing points and will only allow the correct fuel that has been allocated to that tank to enter the storage space. If it is not the correct fuel the valve will not open and the system will alarm both visually and audibly to warn the driver that there is an error.
Berrys’ Technical Director, Jacque Williams explains more, “We initiated this product development after meeting with oil company engineers who indicated that misfuelling storage tanks was a major environmental and financial issue. Problems of misfuelling include the uplift from and clean up of the tank, pump down time and loss of sales and the cost associated with refining the fuel back to spec. If the mistake is not realised, customers unwittingly fill their vehicles with the wrong fuel which leads to breaks down and engine damage leading to customer claims, negative publicity and damage to company image.”
This claim is supported by a large supermarket group that has conducted cost benefit analysis against a misfuel event and forecasts a loss of £120,000 per incident.
The MIDAS unit is stand alone and powered by a lithium chloride battery pack, able to provide a typical life expectancy of 5-7 years on a site with two fills a day due to its “hibernation mode” during inactive periods. It is also almost maintenance free. If the valve does experience a fault it will alarm on the indicator panel that a maintenance call is required. The service engineer will wirelessly connect with the unit via a hand held Datatec unit. This is used to set the parameters, calibrate the fuel type, capture data and conduct diagnostics tests.
Jacque continues, “MIDAS is much more than a misfuel prevention device. It also offers black box technology, able to log any attempted misfuel events in a non volatile memory which can then be used to retrain personal if the misfuel incidents are common to a particular individual. The only interaction required, will be for the driver to “wake up” the unit with a motion activated key fob which is “waved” over the indicator panel. The rest if fully automated.
Removal of a mechanical overfill requires confined spaces entry and potential health and safety issues showing that another potential problem can be avoided using the MIDAS valve.
The MIDAS valve offers affordable misfuel prevention and brings total control to the filling position. With the added benefits of being self powered and low maintenance, MIDAS is set to revolutionise the tanker filling process on the forecourt. With its global opportunities MIDAS’ designers, Berrys Technologies designed the product with all known filling positions in mind.
For more information visit Berrys Technologies at www.berrys.com. Berrys Technologies has lead the UK forecourt systems for 46 years specialising in design and manufacture of fuel and vapour transfer systems.
Berry’s Helps Fight The Great Fuel Robbery
Petrol pipework and forecourt specialists, D Berry & Co., is at the forefront of providing solutions to help fight fuel crime and curb the multi-million pound black market that has erupted in the UK. Reported last night by BBC Panorama’s programme, The Great Fuel Robbery, Berrys is aware of the white tanker gang that stole £250k of fuel in 6 months, and it is incidents like this that lead industry experts to approach Berrys looking for a suitable deterrent.
Already supplying its unique MONO chamber system to most of the majors, Berry’s solution is a simple procedure to incorporate a locking cover to the existing chambers. The security cover is of a lightweight steel construction that is installed beneath the existing tank chamber cover. It is secured to the chamber by a set of fixings that cannot be accessed without the cover being removed. The unit is then locked with short shanked security padlocks which are positioned so that they cannot be accessed by cutting tools.
Trialled by Morrisons supermarket group, Berry’s security cover is now specified as standard on new builds and retro fits to existing sites. With comments from West Midlands Police Detective Constable, Simon Pittaway saying they are expecting to see a lot more fuel theft, other supermarket groups and oil companies are quickly trialling the cover with the aim of national roll out. Panorama quotes, “For the criminal, every price rise at the pump is an opportunity for them to maximise their illegal profit.” A fact that is facing today’s fuel industry that can be curbed by a simple and economical solution.
What have Forecourt Components and the 1966 World Cup got in common?
The answer is our leading forecourt equipment supplier, Berrys, founded by David Berry in celebration of the England team win. Motivated by the general euphoria of the country, Dave ventured into the brave world of the self employed and rented an old beer and spirits ‘Outdoor’ in Hockley with his first order value of £23.4.2d. In the early days the company supplied the heating and plumbing trade with tube, valves, fittings, flanges and ancillary equipment with a promise that its service level would be quicker and more efficient than its competitors. By 1968, Berrys had moved to a 3000 square foot building on the Middlemore Estate, Handsworth and then further doubled this capacity. By the mid 1970s the company, by Dave’s account “got involved” with the petroleum industry; a move that solidified the Berrys empire that we know today. From ’66 to today Berrys has grown from 1 unit to 11, 3 staff to 25 and a board of Directors with over 100 years of working for Berrys between them. And yet, as time has moved on, the promise of giving the industry a quick and efficient service has remained one of Berrys’ key objectives.
ATLAS components
34 years later and now under the management of son, Martin Berry, Berrys in particular knows a thing or two about forecourt components. Martin comments, “Things changed quite drastically for us and therefore the industry in 2000 with the birth of ATLAS. ATLAS is an Advanced Tank Lid Assembly System and its job is to provide an interface solution between tank and pipework. The system is designed and manufactured by us and is the result of over 30 years of learning, problem solving and the will to offer pro-active solutions for our customers and prospective customers.”
Simple and fast to assemble, the ATLAS is adaptable to all forecourt layouts, is suitable for offset or direct fill, suction or pressure applications, offers maximum protection from water ingress or fuel leakage, and has been the industry standard now for the last decade. Major UK supermarket groups and oil companies are all specifiers.
Martin continues, “We’ve learnt at every step of the way and the collective request from specifiers and fitters is they want products that will help save time during site construction. With this in mind the ATLAS system was designed with modular parts which notably cuts installation and maintenance time to a minimum and improves safety for operatives on sites.”
New product development
“Following the acceptance of ATLAS within the industry we continued with our planned new product development and launched the ATLAS FILLmaster, ATLAS VENTmaster, ATLAS Easy Riser and ATLAS MONO which offers even more solutions to developers.” The ATLAS MONO includes an electrical/gauge entry unit which completely eliminates the ingress of water and a larger chamber that can accommodate a 2 pump (submersible) tank lid layout whilst still providing exceptional working space. It makes access easier and safer. The ATLAS MONO is available for factory fitting as original equipment and as a retro fit (MONO Retro) where the system is welded or bolted to an in-situ tank.
Together the whole ATLAS range brings solutions for pressure or suction systems and offers benefits such as adaptability to all forecourt layouts, precision engineering for durability and performance and flexibility with multiple-outlet options.
Martin continues, “We didn’t set about this programme of new product development on a whim. All of our products offer forecourt solutions to problems and niggles that we have been told about over the years. With our manufacturing capabilities, we are in the unique position of being able to respond to market information. We can even provide systems for unusually shaped spaces. By 2000 we really felt we had hit the nail on the head and the industry was quick to confirm this, but we didn’t rest on our laurels. We continued to ask questions and so the range continued to grow. There are now close to 1000 ATLAS installations across the UK.”
Global links
The developing ATLAS range proves that innovation is a great Berrys’ strength and forecourt fitting and maintenance has certainly benefitted from their continued investment. As everything is prefabricated and installation is simple, international oil companies including Shell and BP have confidently taken on the systems helping Berrys build global links. Martin Berry is also quick to mention their relationships with other suppliers within the business, “Contact with people and businesses within the industry is important to us and I’m pleased to say that we’re supported by world class products such as Durapipe, Fibrelite, Klargester and OPW.”
Moving on
It sounds such a cliché when a company claims that its intention is to offer a good service and be a one stop shop for pipework systems, pump spares and ancillary items of forecourt equipment; but when a company like Berrys gets it right, its something to be admired and they help push us all on into this next decade. When asked how Martin expects the components sector to move forward, he comments, “As well as continuous development of actual component design the industry needs to give consideration to many other factors to meet the joint requirements of quality and cost.” When asked what 2011 has in store for Berrys in particular, he smiles and says, “Watch this space.” There is a hint that new components are currently under development and there is no doubt that whatever they are Berrys, again, is going to take the component sector into a new phase.
ATLAS - Advanced Tank Lid Assembly System
ATLAS MONO
MONO Corbel and Cover, MONO Base
MONO – Safer Working Environment
MONO – Factory Fitted
MONO – Factory Fitted
MONO Retro – The flexibility to fit existing installations
ATLAS Easy Riser
Osborne suggests fuel duty rise may be axed
George Osborne has suggested that the government may be scrapping the proposed fuel duty rise in April.
Plans to raise the fuel duty in April by a further 1 pence could be scrapped according to the Chancellor.
Since the fuel duty rise in January many motorists have been struggling to cope with the increase in prices at the pump. A number of campaigns have been launched to see the price of fuel reduced and to urge the government to scrap the second fuel duty increase which is earmarked for April.
Hope may well be on the way as Chancellor George Osborne has suggested that the second 1 pence rise may be abandoned. When asked whether he is prepared to cut the second rise which was announced in Alistair Darling’s Budget last year Mr Osborne commented: “We can override it, we are looking at that.”
Woman gives birth in petrol station
A woman has given birth to a baby in a petrol station.
The pregnant woman from Hampshire went into labour at a petrol station in Hampshire and gave birth to a baby boy named Tyler.
It is not the most conventional of places to give birth, but for twenty-one year-old Jennifer Hunt a petrol station was to be the place where she would deliver her baby.
Ms Hunt and her boyfriend Chris were driving on the way to the hospital when she started to go into labour. As the baby was on its way, Chris pulled the car into the Total petrol station in Hindhead, Surrey. It was from the 24 hour garage that he then called an ambulance for his girlfriend.
SMMT calls for fuel freeze as prices rise
The SMMT has urged the government to freeze the price of fuel as costs go up.
A plea has been made by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) for the government to consider introducing a freeze on fuel to curb the rising costs.
With motorists struggling to keep up with the prices at the pumps, the support of trade industry organisations is more important than ever when it comes to the campaign for lowering the cost of fuel.
A number of factors from the high price of oil to an increase in fuel duty at the beginning of the year and the rise in VAT have contributed to high petrol costs for drivers.