Welcome to About Rix
History
About Rix Petroleum
Rix Petroleum is one of the oldest remaining family-owned, independent fuel distributors in the UK. We distribute and retail petroleum products to homes and businesses from our local branches located throughout Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Mercia, Midlands, North East, East Anglia and Essex. We also have three fuel depots throughout Scotland, in Grangemouth, Aberdeen and Montrose.
2019
Rix Petroleum expanded its network by purchasing a number of family business, Stones in the Malton area and Oakleys Fuels based in Telford and Tamworth.
2015
In 2015 we were ranked 38th in the Sunday Times’ Top Track 250, the 10th year we have received this amazing accolade.
2014
A group of Rix employee’s helped to raise over £17,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support, our national group charity by taking part in the 262 miles, Tour De Rix bike ride. We continue to support this amazing charity and regularly hold fund raising events throughout the J R Rix & Sons group of companies.
2012
Rix Sea Shuttle was founded in 2012 to provide high-speed crew transfer boats for wind farm personnel and equipment from the east coast of the UK to offshore wind farms in the North Sea.
2012
In May 2012 J.R. Rix and Sons Ltd launch its latest ship at William Wright Dock in Hull at a ceremony attended by Lord Haskins, chairman of the Humber Local Economic Partnership. The Lerrix – named after family memeber Lucinda Emily Rix – is a £6m steel marine bunkering vessel which will be used to refuel larger ships along the Humber estuary and East Coast.
2011
Victory Leisure Homes, JR Rix & Sons luxury holiday home manufacturer relocates to a 23-acre state of the art office, factory and storage premises in Gilberdyke, East Yorkshire. The new site will accommodate Victory’s exciting growth plans.
JR Rix & Sons invested £300,000 to expand its Jordans car dealership to become the first dealer owned Fiat Group supercentre in the UK. Jordans is now able to offer its customers all the marques from the Fiat group including, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler and Jeep.
2008
Fuelmate Ltd is established in 2008 to offer our customers a wide range of Fuel card solutions from some of the biggest names in the industry; including BP, Shell, Texaco, UK Fuels & Key Fuels.
2008
The Rix maritime tradition continues to this day with a fleet of coastal dry cargo vessels trading across the North Sea and into the Baltic. In the autumn of 2008 Rix also launched its brand new 2000 tonne oil tanker, the LizRix, named after Elizabeth, the daughter of JR Rix and Sons Managing Director, Tim Rix.
There has been further investment in our petroleum business, with the opening of dry & wet depots in Mercia, Alnwick, Bramall, The Midlands, Spalding and Aberdeen.
1990-2004
Already a substantial business in the Ridings of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the North Midlands, Rix consolidated its East Scotland presence with the acquisition of John Walton & Son in April 2000. This further reinforced Rix’s position in the domestic, agricultural, haulage and retail sectors.
1970’s
In 1977 J.R. Rix & Sons Ltd bought the Paull-based shipbuilder J.R. Hepworth & Co (Hull) Ltd and formed a new company, Hepworth Shipyard Ltd, which built small craft such as trawlers and tugs at its location on the north bank of the Humber.
1960’s
In the early 60’s Rix Limes Ltd was formed to supply lime to the Scottish agricultural market through an extensive network of inland depots serviced by road/rail from Montrose where it was imported on Rix dry cargo ships. This lime was sourced from Humber quarries and transported by rail to Hull docks for forwarding to Montrose where it was discharged by J. M. Piggins Ltd, later to become Piggins Rix Ltd, the Rix Group’s first owned interest in Scotland.
Shortly after this, an opportunity arose to build a fuel depot in Montrose servicing the extensive offshore industry and this in turn soon developed into Rix’s domestic heating oil, agricultural and haulage sectors.
1950’s
Rix enjoyed another major growth surge during the 1950’s and 1960’s, brought on by the popularity and low cost of oil-fired central heating and an increased demand for diesel from the ever-expanding road transport industry. Rix Shipping Co Ltd was formed on 23rd March 1950.
1940’s
The company’s first major expansion occurred at the end of the Second World War with the easing of wartime restrictions on the sale of oil and petrol. On the 1st January 1947 Robert Rix’s eldest son John Robert Rix, the Grandfather of the present Chairman, formed J. R. Rix and Sons with a working capital of £7,000 and one motor ship. Supplying agricultural and commercial diesel customers throughout Yorkshire’s East Riding; “old man Robert” as he was fondly called also established petrol filling stations in the Hull area.
1920’s
The Rix success story started in 1927 with Robert Rix and Sons importing tractor vaporising oil for the post-war agricultural revolution. Lamp oil, packed in oak casks was also carried from Russia to the Humber on Rix ships.
1900’s
Robert Rix & Sons took delivery of two pairs of steamships, which for the first time bore the family name. These were the Magrix, Robrix, and Jarrix and Ebbrix and they set the precedent by which all Rix ships would be named from then on.
1873 – Where it began
Rix dates back to 1873 when a sea Captain and Merchant Adventurer called Robert Rix traded out of the Port of Hull. Robert Rix started in business as a shipbuilder, building small coastal craft on the south bank of the River Tees in Stockton.