North Yorkshire-based businesswoman Janet Kettlewell, owner and director at independent fuel oil supplier, Kettlewell Fuels, was inaugurated as the 33rd President of the UK and Ireland Fuel Distributors Association (UKIFDA) on 24 June 2020, during the trade association’s first virtual AGM.

As UKIFDA President, Janet’s role will involve supporting UKIFDA CEO Guy Pulham and running both the Executive Council and Management Committee meetings. These provide the opportunity for members and management to discuss strategic ideas and move activity forward.

Kettlewell Fuels has been a member of UKIFDA since 1996 and Janet an active committee member for five years now, previously holding the positions of UKIFDA Vice President and regional representative for Yorkshire and the North.

Experienced and knowledgeable in the sector, Janet started out in liquid fuels when she joined the Ripon-based family business in 1996. She recently undertook a Management Buy Out of Kettlewell Fuels with husband Trevor taking ownership of the business outright from the Kettlewell family.

Janet explains: “Taking sole control means we will be in a position to focus the company’s energies on offering our domestic, agricultural and commercial customers a service that suits their changing needs. This includes building a more digitally driven business to serve the demand for online ordering and to provide an even more personalised customer relationship.”

Commenting on her new appointment Janet Kettlewell said:

“What a fantastic opportunity to help drive our industry forward. The liquid fuels industry is changing, and I see it as an interesting time to be involved. I’m confident we’ll make progress and continue to advance industry standards.

“I’ll be working hard to raise awareness of UKIFDA and its benefits to ensure liquid fuel buyers whoever they are, make UKIFDA members their first-choice provider. It’s a great team at UKIFDA and I can’t wait to see what the next two years bring.”

UKIFDA Chief Executive Guy Pulham adds: “We all warmly welcome Janet as our new President. She will prove a fantastic asset and a great advocate for UKIFDA, our members and the 1.5m heating oil consumers in the UK and 686,000 in Ireland who are not on the gas grids.