A family-owned business is today celebrating the birth of its 65-year history in the fuel industry and marking the 85th birthday of its founder.
About 500 guests will converge at the Novotel Entertainment Centre. This is to mark Supreme Fuel Fiji Limited’ and sister company Autocare (Fiji) Limited’s operations and honour Ramesh Bhai Patel.
Supreme Fuel has a long history in the fuel industry, having secured distribution rights of the then Shell Oil Company until its shares were bought by French-owned TOTAL (Fiji) Limited.
Supreme Fuel managing director, Rajesh Patel said the company has been through a lot in five generations but it will continue to invest and remain here in years to come.
“This is a milestone achievement for us. To survive all these years in the industry is big achievement.
“We are celebrating it where with the family, friends and community we started from in Rakiraki and Tavua and as far as those who have gone to live in the United States.
“This is also a celebration of greater things to come for our company in Fiji and I thank the Government of the day for making all this possible.”
Mr Patel’s brother, Kalpesh Patel is the managing director of Autocare Fiji.
Background
Mr Patel’s grandfather had initially started a small canteen business in Rakiraki where it served the sugarcane farmers and villagers in the area.
His son, Bhai Patel, then joined the family business and this was where the idea of distributing fuel was born.
In that time only a handful of retailers managed to secure fuel retailing rights and as years went by and with due diligence, the once small canteen operation became more focused in fuel distribution.
Over the next 50 years since 1949, Supreme Fuel was one of the most known fuel distributors in the country.
It went through a series of name changes and it was only in 2003 when the current name was chosen to help market the brand and businesses associated with it.
Its services became centralised with its main office at Mead Road, Nabua.
Today the company has 12 service stations in, some of which are operating under the franchise of TOTAL (Fiji) Limited service stations. It is the main distributor of TOTAL fuel. Mr Patel added of further plans to expand.
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