Steve Bullman

More than a decade since he first started using aspen Alkylate fuel in his tree surgery business, The Arborist Ltd, Owner Tony Gascoyne says he’s never looked back. Having originally switched for the health & safety benefits for him and his team of operatives, he notes the reduction in mechanical failures and simplicity of bulk delivery and invoicing has brought a new efficiency and convenience to his operation. Tony founded the Mansfield-based business 23 years ago after a period spent working in Stockholm, with the majority of his day-to-day workload made up of domestic tree and hedge maintenance. “Everyone in this industry knows the unpleasantries of working with 2-stroke fuel - the haze, the smell and the overarching health concerns of breathing in those hazardous emissions everyday” he explains. “Despite it being a Swedish brand, I didn’t actually come across aspen during my time in Sweden, but instead got into conversation with them at a trade show roughly 10 years ago.” “It was really the health benefits for the operator that appealed to me, but based on the other claimed USP’s such as reduced engine component failure and the extended shelf life I gave it a go and it has really delivered on every front.” Being free from ethanol and most of the other hazardous hydrocarbons traditionally found in unleaded petrol from the pump, aspen Alkylate fuel burns cleaner, reducing the negative impact on the operator, machinery and surrounding environment. “One thing that became apparent very early on was the reduction in problems we were having with carburettors. And with aspen being pre-mixed, you eliminate the variability of having to mix in 2-stroke oil so you get guaranteed consistency in every can.” Tony explains that aspen is used in all their 2-stroke engine equipment, primarily chainsaws – some of which, at the larger end of the scale, are used fairly infrequently. “Our 088 chainsaw for example might only come out once a month, and it doesn’t seem to matter how long it’s been sitting in storage, it’ll always start first time with aspen.” Further labour savings are also found with the safe and simple bulk delivery of aspen to site. “We get one delivery and one bill a year which keeps everything simple and means we’re not repeatedly making trips to the forecourt. The fireproof Transbank storage container holds 60 five litre cans so we pop one in the truck, and a spare, and off you go.” He concludes, “When you start to add up the savings from fewer servicing bills combined with the convenience angle, it starts to stack up in a commercial sense as well as a safety one.”