has been in existence since 1940 when the company was known as British Empire Coal Supply Co. Located in Toronto, the company was once owned by Bert Ewell’s parents who came to Canada from England. In 1964-65, property on Hwy. 36 south in Bobcaygeon was purchased and large holding tanks for bulk fuel were placed there and in 1967, Bert and Ruth Ewell moved to Bobcaygeon and brought the company north from Toronto. In February of 1981, the successful company was purchased by Ross and Madeline Whyte, who have lived in the area all of their lives. Ross’s vast experience in the heating business helped the business grow and as the years passed, their children joined them in 1990. Ross was quoted in April 1994 to say “they are a customer based business – which means your customers come first”. They are very proud to be a locally owned family run business and to this day it remains the same. Their sons, Rob and Greg are currently running the operation of the business today. In 1987, the storage tanks were moved from the Hwy. 36 south location to the now Hwy. 36 north location on the edge of Bobcaygeon in Galway Cavendish Harvey Township(now the Municipality of Trent Lakes). At the same time, two more storage tanks were purchased, to make a total of 50,000 gallons of on sight storage. In the summer of 1988, the original building was constructed, completing the move of their operation. In December of the same year, another storage tank was placed on the site, with a capacity of 15,000 gallons – now equaling a total of 6 storage tanks on sight. In June of 1991, a propane filling station was added with the addition of the first 18,000 gallon propane storage tank. Over the years the demand for propane has increased substantially, so a second storage tank was added in 2002. Time moves on and British Empire Fuels keeps growing and growing. In 1998, the new addition to the office was constructed to help accommodate our growing staff. In the summer of 2000, it was time for the upgrade to our bulk fuel storage plant and the installation of a dyking system to accommodate our large storage tanks. It was a large undertaking but it brought our plant up to the current standards and codes required for a storage facility. This made our storage facility cleaner and environmentally sound. We currently have a storage capacity of 75,000 gallons for bulk fuel storage for home heating oil, coloured diesel, stove oil, clear diesel and gasoline and 36,000 gallons for propane storage. card lock system and a propane filling station on sight as well as metered coloured diesel and stove oil. Our company services Cambray, Cameron, Rosedale, Fenelon Falls, Coboconk, Burnt River, Kinmount, Minden, Bobcaygeon, Buckhorn, Dunsford and the surrounding areas. We are active members of the Canadian Propane Association (www.propane.ca). This enables us to keep up-to-date with the ever changing technologies that apply to the heating and cooling industry.
