When operators invest in automatic tank gauging (ATG) equipment, most assume the hard part is over once the system is installed. Andrew Joyce, founding director of Joyquip, would tell you that is exactly where the real work begins.
Joyquip is Dover Fueling Solutions® (DFS) Australian distribution partner for ProGauge® ATG equipment, from innovative tank gauges and cutting-edge probes to state-of-the-art tank calibration services, as well as leak detection systems. But the company’s role goes well beyond moving equipment. With a background that stretches from commercial fuelling infrastructure to large-scale retail gauging projects, Joyquip has spent years focused on a problem that the broader industry tends to overlook: operators are buying sophisticated systems and not getting close to full value from them.
“The real value in an ATG and leak detection system is in the data,” Andrew says. “If you’re not using the data, you’re not getting the full value. And if you don’t commission it correctly, the data will be useless.”
A Partnership Built on History
Joyquip’s relationship with DFS has deep roots. Andrew’s background in commercial fuelling infrastructure, including early work gauging bulk fuel tanks for major oil companies, eventually led him toward the ProGauge system. When DFS identified that its existing distribution channels were not fully serving the Australian retail market, Joyquip stepped in as the dedicated local partner, investing in stock, technical capability, and long-term support infrastructure.
That was around 2020. Since then, the partnership has matured alongside significant product development from DFS. “In the last two or three years, DFShas put an immense amount of effort into modernising and updating their system,” Andrew says. “Their software is constantly being updated because they’re finding new opportunities for it.”
For independent operators, that ongoing investment matters. Unlike some competitors, where the hardware architecture is fixed, ProGauge takes a modular approach. Components are separate, so operators only pay for what they need. But the software capability is comprehensive from the outset, including continuous statistical leak detection (CSLD), pressure-based real leak detection, and integration with point of sale (POS) systems for automated reconciliation.
The Commissioning Gap
One of Joyquip’s clearest points of difference is its focus on commissioning and the firm view that skipping this step is a false economy.
It is common practice for operators to have their electrical contractor install an ATG system and consider the job done. Andrew has seen the consequences often enough to be direct about it.
“Don’t think you’re saving money by getting your electrical contractor to install your ATG without getting us to commission it,” he says. “Electrical contractors are on tight schedules. They want to be out by Friday. ATG systems aren’t like that.”
Commissioning involves connecting the ATG to the forecourt controller(FCC) so data flows in both directions: fuel levels from the tank, and transaction data from the meters in the pumps. Without that integration, operators are left with a compliance tool rather than a management tool. With it, the system can automatically refine strapping tables, detect overfilling by drivers, identify calibration errors, and generate the reconciliation data needed for SIRA reporting.
“If you connect sales from the POS to the ATG console, it can run automatic calibration. It uses the sales to identify when the chart is wrong and suggests a corrected version. Bit by bit, it gets more accurate,” Andrew explains. “There’s a lot in these systems that people aren’t using.”
Real Leak Detection, Not Just Compliance
One capability Andrew is particularly direct about is what Joyquip calls real leak detection, a feature that operates separately from the compliance-focused PLLD process.
The ProGauge system continuously monitors line pressure and shuts down a pump if pressure drops below a set threshold. It is a safeguard designed for the real world, where busy sites often cannot complete hourly leak detection algorithms because the pumps simply never stop running. DFS originally developed the feature for Shell in Malaysia, where high-frequency, low-volume transactions made conventional detection impractical.
Andrew recalls a recent case where the system flagged a genuine underground leak. The site kept overriding the shutdown alarm, assuming it was a fault. It was not. “Our system kept shutting down the pump,” he says. “They had a real leak under one of the bars.”
Training as Infrastructure
Joyquip runs annual training sessions for its installer network, bringing technical experts from DFS and working through the equipment hands on. Sessions held on the Gold Coast and in Melbourne this year attracted 20 to 30 participants each.
The goal is to build a network of qualified installers who understand not just how to connect the hardware, but how to configure the system so operators can actually use it. “What we like is an installer making money out of our equipment,” Andrew says. “We support the installers, and what that means is they actually recommend us.”
For operators evaluating ATG options in 2026, the Joyquip and DFS proposition is straightforward: the system is only as good as the installation, and the installation is only as good as the commissioning behind it.
Getting the basics right, and then making sure they actually work, is the whole point.