Tristar eyes strong growth with major expansion

Tristar Group experienced strong growth last year, and Group Founder and CEO Eugene Mayne is confident about 2025 and beyond. With ambitious expansion plans in place, the company expects further revenue growth in the coming years.

 “Tristar has historically grown at a CAGR of more than 15 per cent, and we expect no different in 2025. To some extent though, growth this year will mirror global economic activity highly dependent on inflation and global monetary easing policies,” Mayne explains. “We have a robust pipeline of growth opportunities, especially in infrastructure capacity building, but revenues increase will materialise in a couple of years.”

The robust pipeline of growth opportunities that Mayne talks about are largely related to their maritime and fuel storage businesses.

“We are scheduled to sign some new ship-building contracts which will augment our maritime business. Concurrently, we will commence construction of a large marine fuel terminal in Europe. We also expect to complete the roll-out of a retail fuel station network in Sri Lanka with 150 Shell-branded stations, which will deliver this project to full potential,” Mayne says.

Since the retail fuel business in Sri Lanka commenced last year, the company has been leveraging its relationship with its local partner to ensure success in the region.

In Sri Lanka, Tristar Group is rebranding a country-wide network of 150 retail fuel stations, under a 2023 contract awarded by the Sri Lankan Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, for an initial period of 20 years.

“This strategic partnership marks a milestone in Sri Lanka’s energy sector, as it brings together RM Parks’ extensive experience in fuel distribution and Tristar’s strong logistics and supply chain capabilities, under the Shell brand. This collaboration will advance the national fuel retail landscape with the introduction of global best practices, superior service standards, and innovative energy solutions that directly benefit Sri Lankan consumers,” he says.

This collaboration appears to be a winning combination for all involved, especially since Tristar is an esteemed organisation that is about more than simply the bottom line. Not least because the Tristar Group hold an annual Safety at Sea conference with the mental health of seafarers at its core.

Safety and sustainability

“Tristar’s Safety at Sea initiative has continued to grow in size, scale and scope every year since inception, and reach an ever-widening audience. We continue to attract speakers of eminence who are recognised experts in their fields of maritime safety, and thereby be more effective in sharing best practices across industry. This year’s conference is scheduled to be held in Dubai on November 10, and is already attracting keen global interest,” says Mayne.

The company not only considers the mental wellness of seafarers, but the team is also keen to ensure that high standards of safety are met throughout its worldwide operations.

“For us, safety is a top-down approach,” says Mayne. “Even as every employee is trained to uphold the highest health, environmental and compliance standards, leaders across all our geographical locations play a vital and ubiquitous role in enforcing safety operations across all levels.”

Tristar’s Group Safety Framework is built on unified policies, golden rules and principles, and serves as the foundation for all its operations in line with globally recognised safety standards. In addition, the company always adopts local and regional regulations to ensure full compliance, without compromising on any of its core safety values.

With its mindful approach, Tristar is also strategically developing an emission roadmap, which is aligned to Science Based Target Initiatives (SBTi) and complies with the requirements of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and other global climate standards. 

Mayne says, “We aim to reduce 30 MT of CO2e annually through various decarbonisation initiatives that include construction of the GCC’s first hybrid electric bunkering vessel which will be launched in the second quarter of 2025, and using 5 per cent biofuels in 20 per cent of our UAE road transport fleet. In 2024, our biofuel usage was instrumental in reducing 435 t CO2e.”

Despite so many considerations and maintaining a large-scale operation, Tristar manages to provide a localised approach in over 30 countries it operates in.

“Tristar offers end-to-end energy logistics solutions to blue-chip clients that include national and international oil companies and intergovernmental organisations in five continents. Our core expertise is the ability to safely store, transport, and distribute all types of retail fuels, lubricants, chemicals, petrochemicals and liquid gases – by road, sea or air. Drawing on our long-standing relationships, we can expand, modify and diversify our service offerings, either to suit client requirements or in response to market needs,” explains Mayne.