Across the fuel retail sector, unmanned and hybrid forecourts are rapidly gaining traction. Driven by the need to optimise overheads, combat rising labour costs, and navigate ongoing recruitment challenges in remote or night-time operations, operators are increasingly turning to automation.Unmanned models allow networks to maintain 24/7 service provision securely and efficiently without the logistical burden of staffing isolated locations around the clock.

However, changing to a site without on-site personnel places an entirely new level of importance on physical infrastructure, robust safety compliance, and immediate access to emergency controls.

This is why STA Technical’s custom emergency cabinets align with this modern shift.

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Every great workshop innovation starts with a simple challenge. For Essex-based PFS Fueltec, the problem was practical: they needed a way to move a heavy, bulky coiler safely and easily around their workshop floor.

So, instead of an off-the-shelf compromise, they brought their challenge to STA.

Working collaboratively with STA’s CAD engineer, a custom frame was designed, approved and fabricated precisely to the coiler's exact weight and dimensions.

With the frame and coiler now in action, pipework feeds smoothly from a master drum, while the machine safely and effectively counts and coils it. Best of all, the entire system packs away neatly when not in use, keeping the workspace clear.

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We’re delighted to welcome Louie to the team as our second Level 3 Welding Fabricator apprentice. As a company, we’re passionate about nurturing talent when we can, and Alex, our first apprentice, who is now an exceptional welder, is proof that the apprenticeship system not only creates opportunities but helps develop the skilled people our industry needs.
We’re looking forward to seeing Louie learn, develop, and hopefully follow in Alex’s footsteps. 

We took this opportunity to ask Louie why he felt the apprentice route was right for him.

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Congratulations to Oscar Goodman (third from left) who left STA at the end of July to go on to very exciting things. With over 300 applicants applying for a Level 6 Engineering Apprenticeship at Airbus in Stevenage, Oscar is just one of 17 successful applicants. With the STA team wishing him every success in his new role, Oscar said, “It’s been a great nine months working at STA and I’ve learnt many life and work skills that will stand me in good stead for all that’s ahead of me.”

As an SME that has successfully applied for grant funding, we’ve seen first-hand the difference it can make. The opportunities are out there, and we would strongly encourage other SMEs to seek them out, invest the time in completing applications, and gather the necessary quotes. While the process can be time consuming, it’s absolutely worthwhile. If successful, the funding can have a real and tangible impact on growth, capability, and in our case with the banners, how we present ourselves at exhibitions.

With two of our longest-standing clients just over an hour away from each other in Scotland, I stopped making excuses for getting out on the road and headed north to pay Petroassist UK and TSG UK Solutions a long overdue visit.

Thanks to everyone for the collaborative conversations, the enthusiasm that greeted us and the working relationships we never take for granted.

Using the trip there and back to reconnect with businesses and spark new connections, this three day road trip was a powerful reminder that whatever the size of your business, trust and transparency is what it's all about. And nothing beats getting out there and talking.

Engineering is a trade learned by doing, a fact STA Technical’s MD, Warren Peters, knows only too well. Having started his own career as an apprentice back in his native New Zealand, STA has been built with the goal of keeping that practical mentorship alive. 

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With a range of funding opportunities available for small busineses we were thrilled when our bid was successful. Receiving funds to support new photography and video, marketing materials and two much-welcomed additions to the workshop - a chop saw and a welding extraction fan - thanks go to the Suffolk Small Grant Scheme.

Receiving customer postivie customer feedback is what it’s all about. Here's what Karl Orton of Steve Williams Construction West Midlands had to say about our bollards.
"As part of a recent project, STA fabricated over 100 bespoke bollards to exact specifications for installation on our site. Every unit has arrived precisely as ordered and on time no matter where the destination may be, allowing our team to complete the installations smoothly and to the highest standards. The result? A fully protected, professional finish that has delivered exactly what the client required, and a very happy customer. A big thank you to the STA team for their excellent service and craftsmanship."

How did that happen?! Ten years already. We're excited to see where the next chapter takes us, but for now, a massive thank you to everyone who’s been part of our journey — our clients, partners, and suppliers. And of course, the biggest shoutout goes to the team here as it’s their passion, hard work, and teamwork that truly set us apart. 

With our spray booth busier than ever, the STA team is starting work on 80 bollards ordered by a client for forecourts across the country.

A big thanks to Darren Horspole of Gilbarco Veeder Root for delivering a second Tool Box Talk. This time the insightful session was all about working in confined spaces. Darren also used the visit to check up on the progress of a project we were doing, a dosing cabinet heading to Sweden.

With over 350+ emergency cabinets delivered for a supermarket client of GVR in 2022/2023, it’s great to be working with the Gilbarco team again, and fulfilling an order for another of its clients.

STA Technical’s client, Fuel & Forecourt, says of the newly fitted bespoke crash barrier: “As always with STA, when you share a problem, they come up with the solution. The crash barrier fitted like a dream and was even supplied with packers to mitigate the unevenness of the OSF.”

Great to be the focus of a full page spread in the local paper. Thanks to the East Anglian Daily Times for sharing news about all we’ve been up to recently.

Insite’s Spring 2023 celebrates STA’s grant success and how the items funded will enable the engineering company to adapt to the market’s evolving needs

Insite Magazine also shares details of STA’s innovative fuel tank lid revamp

Small Business Grant enables STA Technical to increase capacity and diversify the company’s service offering with a dedicated paint spray booth and welding fabrication bay.