Lubricants company retains top spot for tenth year

10th February 2017

Lubricants supplier Shell Lubricants was named the number one global lubricants supplier at the end of last year, following its retention of an 11.6% market share, as indicated in business process management consultant Kline & Company’s ‘Global Lubricants Industry: Market Analysis and Assessment 2016’ report.

Shell South Africa (SA) direct sector business to business marketer Tendani Ndwamise comments that Shell Lubricants products were designed with cost saving in mind to maximise equipment efficiency, prolong vehicle life and reduce downtime, resulting in companies spending less on the maintenance of engines, as they operate longer.

“The country goes through tough economic times and companies are facing growing price tags for their equipment maintenance; all eyes are on reducing costs and increasing machine run time,” he stresses.

Ndwamise notes that product sales estimates by Kline & Company indicate that Shell sold between 4 400 kt and 4 600 kt of finished lubricants in 2015 – 36% in the consumer automotive, 34% in the industrial and 30% in the commercial automotive sectors.

The report further states that Shell Lubricants is the market leader in the Philippines at 30%, with Malaysia at 27%, the UK at 18% and the US at 12%. Shell Lubricants is also the market leading international oil company in South Africa boasting 20% of market share, with Thailand at 18%, Canada 13% and China 8%.

Shell Lubricants was also the market leader in the passenger vehicle sector in the US at 22%, the Philippines (32%), Malaysia (31%), Canada (19%) and China (14%).

The report further indicates that Pioneering gas-to-liquid (GTL) technology-based premium passenger car oils – manufactured from natural gas at Pearl GTL, in Qatar – have been one of the key drivers for success. Since the 2014 launch, the Shell Helix Ultra with PurePlus Technology products have seen double-digit growth and are available in over 100 markets around the world.

Additionally, according to the Kline & Company report, premium penetration of Pennzoil Platinum since 2012 increased to 155% in North America, boosted by Shell PurePlus Technology. These products have also pushed the boundaries of performance on the extreme test-bed of various motorsport racetracks around the world.

Shell has also built successful commercial relationships with key global original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs), including automotive companies BMW, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Group, Hyundai, Renault-Nissan, Toyota, General Motors, Daimler, Suzuki, Ducati, MAN, ZF and multinational power generation conglomerates General Electric, Aggreko, Siemens and various Chinese OEMs, including automotive manufacturing company Geely and automobile company Faw.

Additionally, Shell provides lubricant solutions for a variety of industrial machinery, including wind turbines, heavy-duty mining equipment and manufacturing machinery.

Ndwamise comments that Shell’s research has shown that buying low-quality lubricants can create a false sense of saving. On average, lubricant costs can be as little as 2% of total ownership costs.

“We focus on providing performance products that can help reduce maintenance requirements and our services are designed to improve overall maintenance and business practices, thereby lowering costs,” he concludes.