Caltex Eastern Cape Marketer rebrands
Caltex Eastern Cape Marketer (CECM), the largest franchiseholder and distributor in SA, has a new name — Eyona Energy — after a change in shareholding that increased black ownership to more than 90%.
The Eastern Cape franchiseholder’s name change aligns with the announcement by Astron Energy that the 850 Caltex service stations in SA and Botswana will be rebranded to Astron Energy.
Eyona Energy is the Caltex/Astron Energy master franchiser for the Eastern Cape, under licence to Astron Energy, supplying fuel and support to 111 service stations in more than 50 towns in the province.
It has the second-largest share of the retail fuel market, and has invested more than R600m in 16 years and created more than 800 new jobs.
The name change to Eyona Energy comes along with an announcement by Eyona Energy’s majority shareholder, black-owned investment company African Pioneer Group (APG), that it now owns 78.75% of Eyona Energy shares which, with existing minority shareholdings, takes the company to 98.3% black ownership.
Eyona Energy chair Stephen Dondolo, who is also the founder and CEO of APG, said the new name represented a new growth phase for the company both in terms of ownership and the opportunity to grow its commercial fuel supply business, Eyona Energy Commercial, into national mining, agriculture, manufacturing and industrial markets.
The name change does not affect the ownership of individual Caltex service stations in the Eastern Cape, which will be rebranded to Astron Energy in a phased approach over the next few years, including site refreshes and upgrades.
The company pioneered the Caltex-branded marketer model in fuel retailing in SA in 2005 and has shown significant growth over the past 16 years, growing from an initial 34 sites, mostly in rural areas of the former Transkei, to the present 111 covering the entire province, including Buffalo City and Nelson Mandela Bay.
From an initial target of 60million litres of fuel a year, it now averages more than 300million litres a year and delivered its 3-billionth litre in June.
Dondolo said the renaming to Eyona Energy would allow it “to gear up on an existing trajectory of success by taking our identity beyond a single brand and to explore other opportunities in the energy sector”.
“The Astron network in the Eastern Cape will remain at the core of our business, and as a 100% Eastern Cape-owned company, we will continue our commitment to developing underserved areas of the province where we can contribute to socioeconomic development and job creation, to sourcing goods and services from local suppliers and supporting the development of the communities where we operate,” he said.
At virtual launches this week to company staff and retailers, Eyona Energy CEO Pat Kelly said the name Eyona meant “The One”, figuratively “one who rises above the rest”.
“The new name reflects our stature as a leader in the fuel landscape, a position that we have earned step by step since we were established in 2003 to bid for the Caltex Eastern Cape franchise and went live in 2005.
“Together with our R600m investment in the network infrastructure to support our retailers, we have put our money where our mouth is when it comes to customer service and empowerment.”
Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber CEO Denise van Huyssteen congratulated Eyona Energy on its renaming and renewed position.
“We are proud of its achievements and significant contribution to the local economy, and we wish it well for further growth under the new name,” she said.