Balmoral Tanks commentary / industry views

A Balmoral glass fused to steel tank installation

With ever increasing demands on asset life assurances how do our customers know that we are supplying them with products that will continue to meet their expectations?

All we hear is ‘quality this’ and ‘quality that’ from companies who have changed nothing for 30 years. The bottom line is that technology moves on and, for the benefit of our clients and the future of the industry, we stay ahead of the pack through our strategy of investment in people, facilities and products.

Having recently invested some £10 million on a new, state of the art, vitreous enamelling glass fused to steel (GFS) production line, we reviewed the competitive options in the market before deciding what would set us apart from what was already available.

The feedback was unequivocally uninspiring and, in many ways, highlighted the same old ponies pulling the same old tricks.

Now for the scientific explanation of what differentiates Balmoral’s GFS tanks in the marketplace... In traditional GFS production methods, finely ground glass particles are suspended in water using inorganic clays and salts. These form a coagulation network that holds the glass particles in suspension when sprayed onto steel sheets using conventional application systems. The inorganic clays and salts linger in the coating along with the finely ground glass particles.

During the firing process the water remaining within the clay particles is released as a vapour thereby increasing the risk of subsurface voids in the final coating. The salts, having a lower melting temperature than the clays, will decompose and release gases as they heat up during the firing process.

Consequently, by minimising the amount of gases released during fusion, a coating of vastly improved integrity will be produced. We are renowned for pushing technological boundaries at Balmoral so you won’t be surprised to learn that our GFS process utilises the latest vitreous enamel dry powder application system.

This technique deposits finely ground glass particles onto the steel using electrostatic forces that eliminates the need for inorganic clays and salts. Ultimately, and most importantly, this means the Balmoral GFS product delivers superior intrinsic quality and performance capabilities than any of our competitors.

Our message to you is sincere and straightforward: buy better, buy smarter, buy Balmoral and, if you would like to learn more about the benefits of our bulk liquid storage solutions, drop us a line at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

“Once a new technology rolls over you, if you’re not part of the steamroller, you’re part of the road.”
Stewart Brand

Balmoral Tanks building relationships at an exhibition conference

At Balmoral, we are often asked how we’ve managed to build such a good team of partners in our global customer and distribution network.

The answer is simple; we look after our customers and work in collaboration to ensure they feel supported and as much part of our business as we are a part of theirs. The word partner gets banded around a lot, but a true partnership is a mutually beneficial relationship that is built on honesty, trust and transparency.

In 2019 and 2020 we signed several new partnership agreements with established distributors who had been working with our competitors for many years. Their reasons for wanting to change were quite simple as, despite many years of doing business together, they felt unsupported, isolated and on the wrong side of every contractual and financial discussion. Effectively, they were alienated and unwittingly pushed to look for an alternative supplier.

On approaching Balmoral, they were surprised and delighted at how simple it was to negotiate and agree a supply package that gave them the product and support they were seeking, with terms and conditions that were fair and reasonable to both parties.

The most interesting discussions we had were in relation to the Balmoral distribution agreement. It is two pages long, not seventeen, not nineteen, but two.

We were surprised to hear how in our competitors (long) agreements every possible scenario to protect themselves was dealt with in their distribution agreement, and for what reason?

It was clear from what we heard that the distributors were bound, liable and at risk for not only their own actions, but for the manufacturer’s shortcomings too.

The final insult was that the agreements were non-exclusive and even allowed the manufacturer to set up alternative supply channels in the distributors’ territory, take ownership of projects they wished to deal with directly and take control of marketing strategies such as exhibitions and sales lead management. The distributors that were helping to grow the manufacturer were tied into agreements that did not give them anything other than access to an arguably mediocre product.

Allan Joyce, MD of Balmoral Tanks, has a straightforward take on distribution agreements: “If we need to refer to the terms of a partnership agreement, then the relationship is already over. It is up to us, as principal, to keep the relationship positive and ensure that never happens.

“The purpose of the agreement is to provide a framework upon which both parties benefit and join in with mutual trust. It’s not a range of escape clauses for the principal if things get tough.”

We understand that leaving a well-established and well-known manufacturer is difficult and can seem like a high risk strategy, but we promise that working with Balmoral will be like no other partnership you’ve ever been in.

If you’re looking for a new tank manufacturer to service your existing market or a broad portfolio of liquid storage solutions we want to hear from you.

We understand that partnerships require work to succeed, but not paperwork.

Balmoral Tanks: Trusted. Innovative. Collaborative.

Balmoral Tanks Thurnscoe manufacturing facility

Keeping abreast of your competitive horizon is vitally important, but are you being blinded by the sun?

If you, as a business, are constantly staring at the ‘shiniest’ competitor and being consumed with what they are doing you might find that your own business, and its reputation, is suffering because of it. My advice would be, pay attention, but do not pay the ultimate price.

In the tank industry, like most sectors, we find ourselves operating in close proximity to our key competitors. So, to find our competitive angles it is important we understand what we are competing against. How would we know how to win if we didn’t understand what we had to beat?

Therefore, we take time to understand what our competitors’ offer but firstly, and most importantly, we focus on our own strengths. That is key – our strengths are unique and ours alone.

For example, our new £20 million state-of-the-art manufacturing facility is a strength; our focus and core values connected to customer service is a strength; our acquisition strategy is a strength; our in-house Leadership Academy is a strength. You should see a common thread running through those strengths – the keyword being ‘our’.

Recently, at an exhibition, we were visited by a competitor’s business development and marketing representative. Besides the usual chat, we got talking about a more specific point, that being his company’s constant obsession with what Balmoral Tanks is doing. Was that an awkward conversation? Not really.

His response was surprisingly honest in so much as he told us he was already communicating information back to his Board, even before we had spoken.

Drilling down on this further, being preoccupied with your competitors must surely be an indirect way of saying to yourself and your business: “We are not as good as them.” It reflects a fundamental commercial insecurity.

Our message to our competition is simple: be the best you can be, but be you. Please, don’t try to be us.