Deepak Tiwari, Vice President - Infra Mining & Fleet Business, elaborates on their customized business model, application-specific approach, and other factors that have made the company a forerunner in the lubricants market.
How is Gulf Oil keeping pace with market developments and technological advancements, and how is it serving the demand for superior quality lubricants in the CE Industry?
India is the 3rd largest and fastest-growing lubricant market after the USA and China. India’s lubricant market is expected to reach US$ 48.22 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 4.77 percent. Broadly, Indian infrastructure development can be categorised as urban infra, ports, irrigation, civil aviation, roads & railways, shipping, and other segments. The ambitious National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) has set India’s target to achieve US$ 5 trillion in GDP by investing over US$ 1.4 trillion in the infrastructure sub-sectors.
This has further elevated the equipment technology being deployed in the sector as witnessed by the spurred-up demand of technologically sophisticated Tunnel Boring Machines & Piling Rigs (among others). We at Gulf Oil have also been keeping pace with the market developments and technological advancements to offer the recommended lubricant products. We have always followed a unique and customized business model for infrastructure & mining sector. With a CAGR of 36% since inception of our business (infrastructure & mining), we have been a forerunner and have always served this sector with our world-class and ever evolving products. Road infrastructure development is the prime focus of our government, and we see the road sector as our business strength where our 18% market share bears testimony.
What sustainable and value-added products is Gulf Oil offering the CE Industry of India?
There is a growing demand for value-added products like hydraulic systems to perform in water and muck, such as equipment working in quarries or on harsh construction sites. To cater to all kinds of demand, we follow an application-based lubricant solution approach. We also enhance and customize our product portfolio as per the specific requirement of application, working site environment, and the equipment. Our world-class R&D division ensures highly engineered product offerings, representing the next-generation of lubricants.
With more than 5,500 lubricant formulations, we have a comprehensive range of lubricant products from Hydraulic Oil, Engine Oil to speciality lubricants. Our oils and lubricants exceed the industry’s performance and emission norms, thereby increasing the life and reliability of capital-intensive construction and mining equipment.
We have always been a step ahead in gauging the working condition and business environment before suggesting the right products. Our range of Hydraulic Oil serves well for the increased life of equipment, be it the rugged mining application, or working in water (ZF - Zinc Free series); all our hydraulic oils have good demulsibility.
Our Gear Oils are crafted to work in heavy-duty, high load conditions, with better wear resistance. In our Engine Oil series, we offer previous generation CI4+ as well as new generation CK4, all with extended drain intervals and at par with existing emission norms.
For Greases, we offer heavy-duty mining greases as well as generic EP series, with good water repellent property and which can sustain high temperatures. We have recently launched a range of wire-rope greases to improve the life of cranes and related equipment.
Keeping in line with sustainable developments, we have launched AdBlue Ecopro – an environment-friendly product for the construction and mining industry. For AdBlue manufacturing, we have approved VDA licence issued by the German Association of the Automotive Industry – VDA. Looking forward to the upcoming requirements of AdBlue, we have also started IBC – Intermediate Bulk Container facility in order to streamline our supplies.
Our e-mobility efforts are reflected in our partnerships with Indra Renewable, a smart charging solution company, and Electreefi, a SaaS-based e-mobility solution. We have also launched a range of EV fluids to cater to the upcoming requirements of electric vehicles.
How is Gulf Oil serving the growing population of Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) in the Indian construction sector?
With infrastructure development as the prime focus of our Government, we have seen a lot of technological advancements in this field. Introduction of Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) in the Indian construction sector was one such major advancement. We foresaw the upcoming population of TBMs being deployed in India and put our focus on working with the top TBM manufacturers.
Tunnel Boring Machines are a very sophisticated and premium equipment that enable safe construction of underground metro railways, and save a lot of time and money. Our range of heavy-duty products, especially Hydraulic Oil, Gear Oil, and Greases, complement the TBMs with their high load working conditions. Keeping this in mind, we took a step further by developing high viscosity premium Hydraulic Oil - exclusively for TBM operations.
Our journey began with a successful field trial 5 years ago in one of the TBMs deployed at the Chennai Metro. Here, we could showcase our capability beyond the product offerings, taking full ownership of the lubricant requirement of the entire working site. Currently, we are one of the major lubricant suppliers to The Robbins Company (a leading TBM manufacturer) for their India operations. Our range of lubricants, specially developed for TBMs, have enabled us to fulfil the lubricant requirements of the entire TBM industry in India.
What are the manufacturing capabilities of Gulf Oil’s facility in Chennai?
Our Chennai manufacturing plant is the latest addition to our global manufacturing capabilities and a testament of the company’s strengths in technology and sustainability. The plant boasts of India’s first of its kind customer experience centre. Its Global R&D centre is the Group’s biggest facility globally.
It includes AdBlue manufacturing capacity of 18,000 KL with VDA license from QMC Germany, Simultaneous Metered Blender (SMB), Automated Batch Blender (ABB), completely piggable manifold, Drum Decanting Unit (DDU), and advanced Automatic Storage & Retrieval System (ASRS).
The factory holds the IGBC Gold Certification for its environment friendly design with 100% provision for solar power, rainwater harvesting, and natural lighting. It has been awarded key certifications like the ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, IATF 16949:2016, and ISO 45001:2018.
How has the company progressed and what customer support and services is it extending to its customers in the CE Industry?
With a legacy of 120 years and a presence in more than 100 countries, Gulf Oil has been the forerunner in the lubrication space. Our focussed approach towards Construction & Mining industry has positioned us as a ‘Reliable Partner’ for all kinds of lubricant requirements in the Construction & Mining sector. With our direct distribution approach and a strong network of warehouses, we are currently serving 7500+ sites (including the remotest of places in the country) – the highest for any lubricant brand. Our customer service and last mile operations, continue to enhance our capabilities in this direction.
Our infrastructure business has progressed to serve almost all the sectors – Roads, Railways, Metro, Bridges, Tunnelling, Crushers etc. We serve customers with our end-to-end lubricant solutions, taking complete ownership of their business requirements. Our Port business is catering to all the major port operators and logistics suppliers.
We have a decent presence in the country’s mining industry and have gradually progressed to become a prime lubricant partner for major mining operators in India - both MDOs and OB Removal contractors - by understanding their business environment and the criticality of product supply at various mining sites.
We have partnered with some of the OEMs in India and abroad and have become their prime lubricant supplier for their factory operations as well as for their after-market needs. Through our esteemed OEM associations, we have developed application-based lubricant products for all the major equipment categories – Doosan Bobcat (Backhoe Loader), Liugong (Excavator), Putzmeister (Concrete Pumps), L&T (Wheel Loaders), Robbins (Tunnel Boring Machine), MAIT (Piling Rig). We have leveraged our OEM associations and approvals for all the major equipment categories, to become a prime lubricant supplier for the extended market of construction & mining equipment.
Courtesy: Infra Construction & Equipment Magazine |
