Spotlight On…

It started with a degree in Chemistry at York University, and after graduating, I joined BOC, the gas company. I spent my first year in London before moving back up North to work in a new production plant in Immingham. It was a very exciting time as the plant became operational, and the business really took off. The area I worked in was called Electronic Materials, and the company made high-purity gases for the manufacture of computer chips. After a couple of years in the production environment, I moved to a role in R&D. Here, I was able to travel quite extensively, working at new semiconductor plants that our customers were building. My next move was a step away from my chemistry background and into a project management role, which is where I first got involved in logistics. This turned out to be a great fit for me, and I finished my time at BOC as European Operations Manager.

I had been at BOC for around 13 years when the company was acquired by Linde, a German-based business, and all round, it felt like a good time to make the move. I joined Phillips 66 Limited in 2008 as one of two Regional Managers looking after UK road deliveries to our customers. I was based at the Immingham Terminal, and my opposite number was based in Warwick. There have been lots and lots of changes since then, and I am now based at the Humber Refinery, where I look after all of the UK’s road deliveries, product quality, and collections from our terminals.

We make around 40,000 deliveries of fuel per year to our customers from 12 different terminals in the UK. Our two hauliers, Wincanton and Suckling Transport, make deliveries to our JET retail sites, wholesalers, and other industrial customers. We also make LPG at the Humber Refinery, which we deliver using a specialised tanker fleet. My role is to ensure that our delivery service meets the needs of our customers – so that’s fuel delivered on the day they want it, safely, without incident, and at a competitive price.

My role isn’t just fuel deliveries though. I have a small team which consists of James Eatwell, Product Quality Manager, and Mathew Strugnell, Terminal Operations Coordinator, which means I get involved in lots of other parts of the business as well. Working with James forces me to remember some of my long-lost chemistry knowledge, which I secretly quite enjoy! All in all, it’s a challenging and demanding role, which I enjoy!

I’m quite an early riser, so my first job of the day is to walk our two dogs. I then get my son his breakfast—he’s 16 and doing his GCSEs but hasn’t yet learned to use the toaster!—and I’m in the office for around 7:30 a.m. I then check emails to see if there have been any issues overnight which need urgent attention, as our tankers are running 24 hours a day. I have weekly operations meetings with our hauliers to review delivery performance, any customer feedback, HSE incidents, new customers joining, potential supply issues, etc. Our delivery operation is quite significant and involves a lot of people, so having good processes and management systems is absolutely critical. I’m very fortunate that when things go wrong–which unfortunately they sometimes do–I have good people around me to get them fixed.

It’s the variety, the people I work with, and the opportunities within Phillips 66 Limited. I like to learn new things, so over the years I’ve found myself involved in all sorts of projects which have very little to do with my skills and experiences.

Two particular projects spring to mind from when we first went back into owning our own Retail stations. I think it was back in 2018 when we purchased a company which had five petrol stations. I was asked to project manage the transition, which took around six months. During that period, the staff we had acquired were reporting to me, and I quickly learned a lot about running petrol stations! It wasn’t easy. After a lot of hard work, we successfully transitioned the business to our German model with service station operators, and that is how it still runs today.

The other project I’m especially proud of is the redevelopment of our JET Refinery Filling Station. I was project manager for this from the early days through to breaking ground, when it was handed over to my colleagues in our construction team. I worked on the design, the planning application, the award of contracts, changes to the A160 highway, securing environmental licences, and so on. I think I’ve convinced my children that I built it myself, brick by brick!

I’ve played the trumpet and cornet since I was a young lad. My dad was a really good musician and used to teach music in his spare time. I used to be a very enthusiastic brass bandsman up until my 30s, but I’m sorry to admit that I rarely play these days.

I guess the other thing is that the Cufflins are a big football family. My son and I are Grimsby Town season ticket holders. We just missed out on the League Two play-offs this year, but it was still the best season for the club in around 20 years. The family team is Aston Villa, which is all down to my in-laws, who are obsessed with ‘The Villa’.

My son and daughter play for local teams, so I spend most of my weekends cheering them on and trying to avoid running the line…