Astron Energy rolls out new look for petrol stations in South Africa

Source: Supplied

Source: Supplied

The first Astron Energy sites to feature the new brand include:

• Chuenespoort along the R37 in Limpopo
• KwaMakhuta in Amanzimtoti, KwaZulu-Natal
• Nandi in eThekweni, KwaZulu-Natal
• Macs in Brooklyn, Cape Town

The entire network of more than 850 Caltex sites in South Africa will be rebranded over the coming months, followed by those in Botswana.

Added to this mammoth task, the company’s Cape Town refinery, lubricants manufacturing plant in Durban, 15 terminals, 180 commercial and industrial sites, as well as corporate facilities will be rebranded.

This will make the rebranding initiative one of the largest logistical undertakings in South Africa’s recent history.

A total of 20 regional teams will be working simultaneously across the country to rebrand forecourts to Astron Energy. In the process, the team will:

• lock an estimated 741,888 resource hours on site
• install 1.3 million LEDs
• manufacture 63 shipping containers or 27 soccer fields worth of orange and charcoal forecourt canopy cladding, covering a total of 192,796sqm
• utilise 6,224 holding down bolts for forecourt pylons

Astron Energy CEO Thabiet Booley said: “Our ambition as Astron Energy is clear and our new brand allows us to step confidently into the future, one in which we aim to welcome customers to our exciting new-look forecourts and experiences.”

Astron Energy CEO Thabiet Booley | Source: Supplied

As part of the new brand, Astron Energy is launching:

• A new rewards programme as part of a move towards gamification
• New Astron Energy Quartech Fuel four-in-one technology

Customers will still be able to earn and redeem Standard Bank UCount rewards points, while simultaneously participating in Astron Energy’s new rewards programme.

In addition, the change to the new brand will see all Astron Energy service stations place emphasis on bathroom facilities and lighting. In customer engagement surveys, clean, fresh and safe bathroom facilities were right at the top of what consumers expect when pulling into a forecourt. This was followed by proper lighting and the associated security benefits.

"The brand’s bold colours were specifically chosen to allow Astron Energy to stand out in a largely undifferentiated market which tends to stick to the traditional colours usually associated with fuel brands," Astron said in a statement.