Astron Energy helps to drive the SA economy

Fuel remains the currency that drives much of the economic activity in South Africa and the country’s criss-crossing network of roads is the lifeblood of its economy.

Government is working hard to overhaul the functioning of our rail system and ports, which are both key to the import and export of goods. But for the time being, road freight transport remains key to how we transport goods, with an estimated 80% of goods in SA moved by road.

South Africa’s total road network is estimated at 750,000km, making it the longest road network on the African continent and among the longest in the world. South Africa consumes around two billion litres of fuel a month and the number of vehicles on our roads is estimated at around 12 million. 

As a key player, Astron Energy supplies a network of over 850 Astron Energy and Caltex-branded service stations and has a rich legacy spanning more than a century as a trusted player in the fuel space in the country. We are currently rebranding our entire retail network from Caltex to Astron Energy and recently completed the 268^th site rebrand.

Our boldly rebranded forecourts are the most visible expression of our long-term commitment to South Africa, its people, our industry, and our customers.

We furthermore committed to, and have overseen the safe restart of, our crude oil refinery in Milnerton, Cape Town, preserving several thousand direct and indirect jobs, as well as ensuring critical security of supply to the southwestern part of South Africa and to key markets.

With a daily processing capacity of 100,000 barrels of crude oil, our refinery produces petrol, diesel, jet fuel, and LPG. Post-restart we have also added the production of very low sulphur marine fuel and, in so doing, become South Africa’s only local production source of this important fuel for local and international sea-going vessels that meets new customer and global environmental requirements.

Our lubricants plant in Durban produces innovative and flagship brands, as well as specialised lubricants for industrial, commercial, and consumer markets.

We have an outstanding legacy in this country which has made us a trusted player in road transport – and other sectors such as aviation, agriculture, marine, construction, and mining – for more than 80 years. We are committed to partnering with all our key customers, including members of the critical Road Freight Association of South Africa (RFA), to understand their challenges in a difficult operating environment and to co-create solutions.

We are focused on delivering innovative solutions using our decades of commercial business experience. We understand the impact that downtime can have on a customer’s operations, be they in the road freight, aviation, maritime, agricultural, or mining sectors. If you are looking to maximise uptime or unlock new ways to solve business problems, then Astron Energy is the partner for you. We are committed to supporting customers through tailored and bespoke solutions, understanding that all customers have unique needs and that there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

Our portfolio of transport solutions considers the holistic operations of our customers and identifies areas where we can add value along their value chain. We partner for long-term sustainable growth of customers’ businesses and the South African economy.