Our History

The origin of Crown Oil

In 1928, Crown Oil’s founder Harry Greensmith began selling household goods such as firelighters, candles and lamp oil (kerosene) door-to-door from his wooden cart. After World War 2, Harry expanded his product range to include the bulk supply of fuels, oils and lubricants. In 1947, his enterprise was named Silver Crown Oil Distributors.

Ten years later, Harry’s son David Greensmith joined the family business and acquired new premises in Heywood. The distribution of fuels and lubricants then became Crown Oil’s primary purpose, with red diesel making up the majority of the fuels sold.

In 2007, ownership was passed down once again onto the third generation of Greensmiths, as David’s son Matthew became the new company director. Today, Matthew continues to drive the business forward as one of the UK’s leading fuel and lubricants suppliers. This success has been shaped by our commitment to providing unrivalled service from order through to delivery and beyond.

Crown Oil’s sustainability history

Sustainability is at the heart of our business. Over the last few years, our efforts have rapidly increased to cover a wide range of areas, including supplying alternative alternative fuels, investing in our community and addressing our own emissions in every way we can.