Calor
Encyclopedia
- Calor is the Latin word for 'heat': In medical teaching, 'calor' is one of the four classical signs of inflammationInflammationInflammation is part of the complex biological response of vascular tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. Inflammation is a protective attempt by the organism to remove the injurious stimuli and to initiate the healing process...
. 'Calor' is also the Latin name for two Italian rivers.
Calor Gas is a brand of bottled butane
Butane
Butane is a gas with the formula C4H10 that is an alkane with four carbon atoms. The term may refer to any of two structural isomers, or to a mixture of them: in the IUPAC nomenclature, however, butane refers only to the unbranched n-butane isomer; the other one being called "methylpropane" or...
and propane
Propane
Propane is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula , normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as a fuel for engines, oxy-gas torches, barbecues, portable stoves, and residential central...
which is available in Britain and Ireland. It comes in cylinder
Gas cylinder
A gas cylinder is a pressure vessel used to store gases at above atmospheric pressure. High pressure gas cylinders are also called bottles. Although they are sometimes colloquially called "tanks", this is technically incorrect, as a tank is a vessel used to store liquids at ambient pressure and...
s, which have a special gas
Gas
Gas is one of the three classical states of matter . Near absolute zero, a substance exists as a solid. As heat is added to this substance it melts into a liquid at its melting point , boils into a gas at its boiling point, and if heated high enough would enter a plasma state in which the electrons...
regulator
Flow control valve
A flow control valve regulates the flow or pressure of a fluid. Control valves normally respond to signals generated by independent devices such as flow meters or temperature gauges.Control valves are normally fitted with actuators and positioners...
.
Calor was formed in 1935. Calor is the UK's leading supplier of Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). It is currently servicing around 4 million homes and businesses, supplying LPG to power gas appliances from central heating
Central heating
A central heating system provides warmth to the whole interior of a building from one point to multiple rooms. When combined with other systems in order to control the building climate, the whole system may be a HVAC system.Central heating differs from local heating in that the heat generation...
and hot water, to cookers, fires and barbecues. The company predominantly supplies LPG to homes in rural areas where there is no mains gas supply. In the United Kingdom, Calor is part of the SHV Gas Group, a private Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
company. Calor originally dealt only with cooking and heating appliances, but now covers a whole range of products ranging from barbecues to golf buggies.
Calor provides LPG for three main areas: home, business, and automotive fuels.
History
The company had its origins in the Modern Gas & Equipment Company Limited formed in 1935.In 1934, Ritchie Gill, a Cornishman who had been working in the US, returned to
England. He spotted an opportunity for a product successfully used in America – Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). Gill coined the name Calor Gas and in January 1935 he set up the Modern Gas & Equipment Co. Ltd, based in London.
In August 1935 the trade was transferred to the Calor (Distributing) Co. Limited.
The business expanded as people in rural areas of the UK realised the benefits of this new fuel - LPG. So by 1939 the company had six offices in the UK: a head office in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and five regional offices. Calor (Scotland) had been founded and in Ireland, Calor gas was being distributed by Messrs. McMullen Ltd., which was later purchased by Calor.
In 1947, there was an exceptionally hard winter which led to a major change in the way that Calor was distributed. Up to this point Calor had been relying upon rail transport for the distribution of the LPG. Calor signed a contract with PX (Carriers) Ltd., to deliver cylinders by road.
The first wholly owned filling plant was built at Saxham, near Bury St. Edmunds
Bury St. Edmunds
Bury St Edmunds is a market town in the county of Suffolk, England, and formerly the county town of West Suffolk. It is the main town in the borough of St Edmundsbury and known for the ruined abbey near the town centre...
, Suffolk and a further two filling plants were built in the 1950s so it give Calor an even wider coverage. These two plants were at Millbrook near Southampton (1956) and Port Clarence near Middlesbrough (1959). The Millbrook filling plant was closed in 2001, however the sales and service centre remains selling gas heaters.
The 1950s saw the introduction of the Flavel B500 cooker, which used Calor gas; it became a great success story with caravan owners and smaller households.
1956 saw the birth of Calor's industrial division and installation of the first 'bulk propane' tank at the Meredith & Drew biscuit factory in Newmarket.
In 1963 Calor Ltd. was formed. 1966 saw a new head office being acquired in Slough
Slough
Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
, which led to over 300 employees moving into this location.
In 1967, Calor was granted a Royal Warrant
Royal Warrant
Royal warrants of appointment have been issued for centuries to those who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the royal family, so lending prestige to the supplier...
for the supply of liquefied petroleum gas to Her Majesty the Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
. The company was later granted a second Warrant, this time for supplying Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
In 1969 the Imperial Continental Gas Association
Imperial Continental Gas Association
Imperial Continental Gas Association plc was a leading British gas utility operating in various cities in Continental Europe . It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...
acquired all the shares in the Company that it did not already own.
From the early 1970s onwards sales of cabinet heaters, and with them sales of butane in cylinders, escalated enormously, beginning with Super Ser which rapidly replaced the paraffin heater as the nation's number one choice for spot heating. In a decade, the market for cabinet heaters and the gas they burned grew from nothing to £100 million p.a. This led to increasing demand for storage space, which led to Calor investing in the two largest storage facilities. The first was purchased in 1976: a 30,000 tonne refrigerated storage tank at Felixstowe
Felixstowe
Felixstowe is a seaside town on the North Sea coast of Suffolk, England. The town gives its name to the nearby Port of Felixstowe, which is the largest container port in the United Kingdom and is owned by Hutchinson Ports UK...
in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. The second was a joint venture with Conoco to excavate a vast underground cavern on South Humberside, capable of containing some 100,000 tonnes of gas supplied from an adjacent sea terminal. This facility, opened in 1985, gave Calor the ability to overcome short term supply difficulties and to cope with major changes in demand brought on by extremes of weather.
During the 1980s, Calor's domestic central heating and industrial markets continued to expand and in 1982 the company's head office moved to a 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) site near Slough.
Despite great efforts to establish a nation-wide network of outlets, Calor Autogas (vehicle propane
Propane
Propane is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula , normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as a fuel for engines, oxy-gas torches, barbecues, portable stoves, and residential central...
) never quite reached expectations, due largely to the Government's inability to recognise its considerable environmental advantages by reducing duty. However, the fuel did become very popular for fork lift trucks, helped greatly by the launch, in 1989, of Calor's exhaust purification system, EPS2000, which enabled vehicles to be used both indoors and outside.
In 1986 the Company's parent, Imperial Continental Gas Association
Imperial Continental Gas Association
Imperial Continental Gas Association plc was a leading British gas utility operating in various cities in Continental Europe . It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...
plc, rejected a bid from Gulf Resources & Chemical Corporation, a company controlled by the Barclay brothers
David and Frederick Barclay
Sir David Rowat Barclay and Sir Frederick Hugh Barclay are British businessmen. The identical twin brothers have very substantial business interests primarily in media, retail and property. The Sunday Times Rich List of 2007 estimated their wealth at £1.8 billion...
. Instead in 1987 Imperial Continental Gas Association broke itself up into Calor Group and Contibel (now owned by Tractebel).
In 1988 the privately owned Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
company, SHV became a significant shareholder
Shareholder
A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or institution that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a public or private corporation. Shareholders own the stock, but not the corporation itself ....
, acquiring 40% of Calor Group's equity.
In 1991, a joint venture company involving Calor, SHV and Primagaz (in which SHV holds a 50% stake) had been started in both Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
. This was then followed with Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
in 1992. In 1997 SHV acquired the rest of Calor's shares.
In 2002 Calor opened 12 Customer Operations Centres at Grangemouth
Grangemouth
Grangemouth is a town and former burgh in the council area of Falkirk, Scotland. The town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkirk, west of Bo'ness and south-east of Stirling. Grangemouth had a resident population of 17,906 according to the 2001...
, Port Clarence
Port Clarence
Port Clarence is a small village now within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It is situated on the north bank of the River Tees, and hosts the northern end of the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge.-History:...
, Stoney Stanton
Stoney Stanton
Stoney Stanton is a village in the Blaby district of Leicestershire, England, with a population of over 3,454 in 2001. It constitutes a civil parish. The village is on a rocky outcrop and was the site of a quarry, which was closed in 1958...
, Elland
Elland
Elland is a market town in Calderdale, in the county of West Yorkshire, England, south of Halifax, by the River Calder and the Calder and Hebble Navigation. The area of Elland was called Elant in the Domesday Book...
, Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port is a large industrial town and port in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated on the south border of the Wirral Peninsula on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal, which in turn gives access to the River...
, Coryton, Cranbrook
Cranbrook, Kent
Cranbrook is a small town in Kent in South East England which was granted a charter in 1290 by Archbishop Peckham, allowing it to hold a market in the High Street. Located on the Maidstone to Hastings road, it is five miles north of Hawkhurst. The smaller settlements of Swattenden, Colliers...
, Saxham, Fawley
Fawley, Hampshire
Fawley is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. It is situated in the New Forest on the western shore of the Solent, approximately 7 miles south of Southampton. Fawley is also the site of an oil refinery, operated by Exxon-Mobil, which is the largest facility of its kind in the United...
, Neath
Neath
Neath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001...
and Newbury
Newbury, Berkshire
Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF...
.
In December 2005 The Canvey LNG project was announced which commenced with a feasibility study into the development of a strategic LPG import and regasification facility at the existing Calor LNG terminal at Canvey Island
Canvey Island
Canvey Island is a civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames estuary in England. It is separated from the mainland of south Essex by a network of creeks...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
UK. The project is led by Calor Gas and also includes LNG Japan Corporation, (Joint Venture of Sumitomo Corporation
Sumitomo Corporation
Sumitomo Corporation is one of the largest worldwide trading company , and is a diversified corporation. Sumitomo is headquartered in the Harumi Island Triton Square Office Tower Y in Chūō, Tokyo, Japan...
and Sojitz
Sojitz
is a trading corporation based in Tokyo, Japan. It operates in many industries, including construction, forestry, plastics, chemicals, mining, petroleum, textiles, and international trade. Sojitz also participates in joint ventures with foreign companies in Japan....
Corporation). Following this study Centrica
Centrica
Centrica plc is a multinational utility company, based in the United Kingdom but also with interests in North America. Centrica is the largest supplier of gas to domestic customers in the UK, and one of the largest suppliers of electricity, operating under the trading names "Scottish Gas" in...
has now been selected as a gas supply partner and would hold equity in the facility, together with capacity rights enabling it to deliver supplies to their British Gas
Centrica
Centrica plc is a multinational utility company, based in the United Kingdom but also with interests in North America. Centrica is the largest supplier of gas to domestic customers in the UK, and one of the largest suppliers of electricity, operating under the trading names "Scottish Gas" in...
customers from a range of international sources. A full scale planning application and project plan is now being developed.
Products
Calor provide gas both for use in bulk tanks (which may be stored above or below ground) and in smaller gas cylinders.Bulk tanks
Calor can provide a variety of sizes in both above- and below-ground formats. Underground tanks are sometimes chosen so as not to detract from areas of natural beauty. Tanks are available with a "Think Tank" monitor, which automatically informs Calor when stocks are low so that the gas can then be refuelled without intervention by the tank's owner.Gas cylinders
Smaller 4 x 47 kg gas cylinders are able to supply central heating systems of up to 30 kW as well as cookers and fires. When one pair runs low the valve automatically switches to the second pair so that the supply is continuous.For leisure use such as caravanning and barbecuing, Calor retail butane
Butane
Butane is a gas with the formula C4H10 that is an alkane with four carbon atoms. The term may refer to any of two structural isomers, or to a mixture of them: in the IUPAC nomenclature, however, butane refers only to the unbranched n-butane isomer; the other one being called "methylpropane" or...
, propane
Propane
Propane is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula , normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as a fuel for engines, oxy-gas torches, barbecues, portable stoves, and residential central...
and Patio Gas (an alternative brand name for propane) cylinders, all of which come in a number of sizes. A new Calor Lite cylinder, produced from lightweight steel, released in 2008, was targeted at the caravan market.
For business customers, Calor also provides LPG.
Autogas
Calor is involved in the supply of the automotive fuel, AutogasAutogas
Autogas is the common name for liquefied petroleum gas when it is used as a fuel in internal combustion engines in vehicles as well as in stationary applications such as generators. It is a mixture of propane and butane....
(also known as liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG). There are 115,000 vehicles already in the UK that run on LPG, which emits 20% less carbon than petrol, and produces 120 times less harmful particulates than diesel.
Calor Village of the Year
Calor fund and organise the Calor Village of the YearCalor Village of the Year
The Calor Village of the Year comprised 4 annual competitions organised by gas provider Calor to identify the villages that best met the following criteria: "a well-balanced, pro-active, caring community which has made the best of local opportunities to maintain and enhance the quality of life for...
competition in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which over 1,000 villages enter every year.
Calor is a member of the Business in the Community 'PerCent Club' investing more than 1% of its pre-tax profit in community projects.
The first Calor UK Village of the Year 2008 was announced on 2 December 2008 as the Isle of Barra in the Western Isles of Scotland.