60 | UK Enterprise Awards 2023 Apr23409 Best Wood Fuel Products eTailer 2023 There’s a strong market for wood fuel products. With the camping, glamping and excursion industries only seeing an ever-increasing interest from those eager to escape the working world on the back of the COVID-19 pandemic, HS Solid Fuels was well-placed and well-positioned to be a pacesetter in this new world of opportunity. That’s not to say that this industry hasn’t been marching at a consistent pace for some time, but the future is looking ever-so promising indeed. But what did the company’s past look like, and what exactly are the products that HS Solid Fuels offers? Well, Henrikas explains more in his opening comments. “We understand the need for comfort, simplicity, and time importance in everyday life. Our mission is to supply products, which are premium quality, time-saving and easy to store. We offer a range of quality wood fuels such as wood pellets, different types of RUF briquettes, Nestro heat logs, recently started to sell log cabins, hot tubs, and saunas. We carefully research and select manufacturers, to work with, to bring our customers high quality products – the best price ratio. Happy customers are our number one priority.” With a strong product line that adapts and evolves to customer expectations and requirements, HS Solid Fuels has earned a significant reputation in this niche but competitive environment. Equally, the company operates on a strong foundation defined by values, commitments and goals that shape all aspects of the team’s processes and operations, as Henrikas moves on to discuss in more detail. “We clearly define our individual and team goals and always ensure they are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. Having a clear target will provide us with a focus and direction. We always encourage individual and team growth through continuous learning, as well as stay updated with the latest industry trends, acquire new products, and seek opportunities for professional development. - “Happy clients and good, safe products are our number one priority.” Henrikas Samoska, Director of HS Solid Fuels “Our most important goal is to source the best products in the market from all over Europe and the UK, and present them to our customers. We recently noticed a rise in briquettes being manufactured in the UK, this will help with global warming as most of the briquettes are imported by ships from all over the world. We welcome this step and encourage it. We are very happy to be based in the UK as here we have an easy-to-work infrastructure, our business has a good pallet distributor network which we can rely on. Also, having a big customer base and strict regulation on our products helps us to provide the best products to our customers.” It would be remiss to gloss over the fact that the company also specialises in building log cabins and saunas – a ‘no brainer’ market expansion that fully utilises their existing network to create best in class examples of those products. These log cabins and saunas also make use of the company’s solid fuels to heat them, creating a long-lasting partnership with the client. It’s a smart move that seems to epitomise HS Solid Fuels’ approach to business – constantly seeking for organic ways to sustain and accelerate growth. In much the same vein, as Henrikas concludes, the company is aiming to make the move to a digital-first operation entirely, allowing easier access to non-Northern Ireland clients, among many other benefits. “Our business wants to move from retail to online working which we will find more convenient. Our plan is to build a new site for our products and work from the site area, we hope on starting that site area soon and work online instead of retail working. We see ourselves working online and having a larger amount of new and returning clients buying our quality products. Currently, 2023 has been successful, and expecting more sales in the future, and experience a variety of more clients arriving and being satisfied with our quality products.” From the outset, it would be easy to conclude that HS Solid Fuels operates in an environment that is relatively niche, and potentially only narrowing further. A closer inspection proves the opposite to be true, with a number of smart business decisions under the team’s belt to help secure natural expansions of all varieties. Already an impressive entity in online retail, it plans to capitalise further to reinvigorate their sales process to new, more international regions. All in all, it’s easy to see why HS Solid Fuels has seen the success it now enjoys, but Henrikas is not resting on any laurels. The rest of the year, and beyond, looks to be a time of further opportunity and, undoubtedly, further achievement. It perhaps goes without saying, but watch this space. Henrikas and the team have great plans for the future. HS Solid Fuels Contact: Henrikas Samoska, Director Email: info@hsfuels.co.uk Website: www.hsfuels.co.uk Established in 2018 in Northern Ireland, HS Solid Fuels is a thoroughly family-owned affair, with all of the benefits of that foundation firmly in place and present here. On the back of the company’s well-deserved recognition in the awards programme, we spoke with Director Henrikas Samoska to discover more about how it has thrived in its industry.
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