Fridlington Farms have recently praised their newly fitted Merridale fuel and tank management system for helping to prevent fuel theft during a break-in at their premises in Sutton-on-the-Forest, Yorkshire.
The family-run business, which supplies potatoes to the likes of Walkers, McCain’s & Mercian, initially invested in the Merridale MX-M with FuelWorks web-based software to monitor fuel usage and track the economical output of their 25 machines and vehicles.
"The week after installing the system, we had a break-in at the farm. They managed to get away with tools and equipment, but they couldn’t get to the diesel as the system prevented them from activating the pump.
Callum Stark, Fridlington Farms
However, not long after installation it became clear that their investment would benefit them in more ways than just as a useful reporting tool.
"The week after installing the system, we had a break-in at the farm. They managed to get away with tools and equipment, but they couldn’t get to the diesel as the system prevented them from activating the pump. If they would have been a week earlier, we'd have had no way of stopping them from emptying the tank.” assistant manager Callum Stark told us.
“I even found that the software had sent an alert to my phone warning me of irregularities as the attempted theft was happening, but I unfortunately didn’t have it with me so couldn’t take action at the time."
Prior to the installation they didn’t have any form of management system in place and with an average fuel consumption of 20,000 litres a month, rising to 40,000 during busy periods, they needed to be sure they were getting a reliable package.
Speaking of why he chose Merridale, Callum said “A friend of mine had the system installed on his farm and recommended them to me, so I was confident Merridale were the right people to go with. I know he would have put every company through their paces before making a decision, so to have a system installed with him showed me how good Merridale must be."
"My key requirement when investing in a fuel and tank management system was having the ability to monitor our spend on fuel, but FuelWorks does so much more than just that. I can now compare each tractor's efficiency and see if any are under-performing economically or if any drivers are taking out more diesel than they need. With ever-rising costs and fuel theft being a constant threat, these kinds of features are vital."
To find out how a Merridale fuel and tank management system could benefit your company, contact Merridale on 01902 350 700 or visit www.merridale.co.uk.
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