Over many decades mineral based lubricating oils have been developed to meet the demands of the increasingly sophisticated engineering involved in todays equipment. Originally oil was just what it said on the can, a straight mineral oil virtually the same as it came out of the ground. Gradually as demands increased additives were developed to control wear, corrosion and the acidity produced in the combustion process. In the case of transmission lubricants there were extreme pressure (EP) additives to prevent metal to metal contact between gear surfaces.
Todays highly sophisticated long drain mineral based engine oils have additives to control emmisions (E5/E7) as demanded by the current Euro 4 and 5 designs which will become increasingly common. These oils also incorporate extended drain properties which give economies to fleet operators plus added safety margins for high mileage vehicles operating on heavy duty applications.
However mineral oil technology has probably reached its zenith in terms of development for the very latest vehicles particularly cars and light commercials engaged in frequent stop start short journey applications that generate the worst possible engine operating conditions. Over the past few years it has become increasingly clear that the old faithfuls – e.g 15/40 and 10/40 mineral based lubricants that had been the bedrock of lubrication for so long were becoming outclassed by the emerging synthetic grades.
Having had an easy life selling a small range of mineral based oils that catered for virtually all comers the advent of synthetics suddenly made our stocking needs a lot more sophisticated. We have with the benefit of the excellent training facilities offered by Exol our sole supplier readily adapted to the exciting prospect of, with the advent of online marketing, potentially selling large volumes of synthetic lubes to compliment our significant existing lubricants business.
One of the commonest customer perceptions is that synthetics are “expensive”, compared with, say, a gallon of unbranded “glug” 15/40 peddled by so many outlets it may appear to be so. However with the damage that the “glug” product might potentially inflict on an expensive engine the superior product begins to look like an absolute bargain. The old addage that “oil is cheaper than spanners” has never been more true than today.
As synthetic volumes increase across the board market forces are driving prices down to a level that actually delivers remarkable value for money when the benefits derived from their use are taken into consideration. Many suppliers seem to be injecting the usual mystique into their products to justify very high prices but as usual it all comes down to very careful selection of the correct specification for the particular application which is becoming increasingly specific.
Our first experience of synthetics was with racing two stroke several years ago, initially we could not shift it for love nor money we had a job to give it away in spite of the fact that many of our lubricant customers who were so reluctant to try it were perfectly happy with our other products. Some of thes guys (and a feisty gal) were competitive bike and quad riders in their spare time. On enquiring it was established that they were actually paying four to five times our asking price for brands that fostered mystique as a devastatingly effective but cynical marketing ploy. The much lower price we were asking for our product conveyed the impression that it was somehow infereior, they were scared to try it because, basically, they had been brainwashed by heavily promoted expensive brands.
The breakthrough came when we were appoached for sponsorship by a young local rider competing in motorcycle trials at national level increasingly successfully. He had been using an eyewateringly expensive two stroke oil supplied by a firm with a £6,000,000 advertising budget that promoted the concept of “liquid engineering”. We were happy to offer sponsorship in the form of fuel and lubricants which were two of the main cost of competing.
The youngster used our oil, his bike did not fall to bits, but his success rate increased which meant we could capitalise on his hard won success, this coupled with giving away several cases of litre cans to dozens of doubters to try out soon ensured that the stuff started to fly off the shelves as the savings became apparent and bikes performed superbly well.
Like all good business this does not happen overnight or as a result of a hard sell, the trick is to make a good offer and let satisfied customers who have gained confidence in the product through experience do much of the leg work for you, to save money without compromising on quality or performance rapidly generates repeat orders and further new orders from recommendations. As always steady organic growth built off an established platform of reliability and value for money is a cornerstone of survival in difficult times.
Oil prices have risen sharply on the back of the weeekly US Government stock reports news that crude stocks declined by 4.7 million barrels last week. This is due to a slowdown in imports but is countered by coresponding gains in gasoline and distilllate stocks. The weak dollar also contributed to the rise
It is also reported that OPEC may cut production further to match expected demand falls next year.
Brent crude stands at $68.35 + $2.16 on the day.
The pound is currently worth $1.6503.
