BUSINESS Family recruit looks forward to bright future I


T IS a company with deep and his- torical roots in Argyll but Oban Coal Company is very much looking to the future as it adapts to an ever-changing heating fuels marketplace.


Having formed in the early part of the last century, Oban Coal Company has been in the MacPhee/ Lane family since 1962 and Matthew Lane, the third generation of this family to join the compa- ny, is now helping his father, George, to run the business. Matthew’s appointment comes as the business embraces another change - the move to alterna- tive heating fuel sources. Matthew, a former social worker, explains: ‘Our premium plus coal is still the backbone of the business but we are finding that people are in- stalling stoves in place of an open fire.


‘Because of that we have become a one-stop shop for multi-fuels, be it wood, briquettes, kin- dling or kiln-dried logs.’


The father and son business delivers to a large area, with regular customers as far afield as Ap- pin and Tarbert, Mid Argyll. George took over the business from his uncle, Alec MacPhee, around 20 years ago, having worked alongside him from 1980. Matthew added: ‘We’re proud of the fact it is a family business. My two brothers and I have all worked on the coal lorry in the past - we did the odd shift in winter as soon as we were old enough to lift a bag! ‘We have learned the importance of being there for our customers come all weather and I would like to think we are known as a reliable, prompt service.’


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