SUNOCO has more than 130 years of history. It had many twists and turns. But SUNOCO remains a specialist in oil refining and a leading North American supplier of fuel for internal combustion engines. The company's oil and lubricant business has been running parallel to the large oil and fuel business for years. Today, SUNOCO oils, lubricants and antifreezes are produced at plants on three continents. In Europe, it is a division of Sun Oil Espana, operating since 1981, located near Madrid. Where I went to see how the European product line of this legendary brand is produced. I was seconded by the Ukrainian representative of the SUNOCO brand – Sunoco Trading company, and hosted by Pablo Gomez Defarges, head of the commercial department of Sun Oil Espana. But first, the official history of the company and brand.
History of the brand
The brand's history begins in 1886 in the USA and spans more than 130 years. The history of SUNOCO is a history of outstanding achievements and continuous development. The company was founded in the years when the first cars appeared, which required fuel, oils and lubricants.
After just a few years of its founding, Sun Oil Company (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) has become one of the region's leading raw oil suppliers. As the oil company grew, it expanded into ancillary services and subsidiaries. In 1916, the Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company was founded. The following year, she launched her first ship - just as the United States entered World War I. Its main products were tankers, but looking ahead, the company also built many other types of vessels during its 70-year history. Sun Shipyard used welding instead of riveting to build ships, thus saving significantly on steel - one of many technical innovations initiated by management.
Already having a significant number of oil fields and oil refineries, in 1920 Sun opened its first gas station.
On the photo: Newspaper ad for SUNOCO motor oil, 1922.
In 1929, the company engaged in the production of oil industry equipment, consolidating its leadership positions in the oil field.
In 1937, Sun Oil Company launched the world's first large-scale commercial catalytic cracking unit, using Eugene Goudrey's technology, at a plant in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. Catalytic cracking technology, in comparison with thermal cracking, makes it possible to obtain higher quality fuel and significantly speed up the process. It was a revolutionary event in the field of oil refining. The facility in Marcus Hook is still in operation today, it is used to process fuel for racing cars. The plant was recognized as a memorial.
In 1941, the corporation established the Cordero Mining Company (Nevada) to supply mercury for its engine oils. This metal proved vital to the US military in World War II. During the war, Sun participated in the US government's emergency shipbuilding program and became a pioneer in the development and processing of aviation fuel and lubricants. In years of the war, the Sun shipyard was the largest in the world and employed 35,000 workers. Later during the Cold War, the company would be part of the US aerospace industry.
In 1953, Sun Oil Company went international. An oil refinery with a capacity of 15,000 barrels per day was launched in Canada. In Venezuela, starting in 1957, the Venezuelan Sun Oil Company produced more than 1 billion barrels of oil from Lake Maracaibo before ceasing operations in 1975 when the Venezuelan government nationalized the company's assets. In 1967, the company creates Great Canadian Oil Sands Limited to extract hydrocarbons from the Athabasca oil sands.
Today, the company's representative offices are in many countries of the world.
In 1956, Sun Oil Company developed and began using an innovative fuel-dispensing system at its gas stations. It allowed filling five grades of gasoline with different octane numbers from one complex. Sunoco gas stations offered up to eight grades of gasoline from their Dial A Grade pumps, including 102 octane gasoline. A model of the fuel dispenser is now on display at the Smithsonian Institution.
Since the 1960s, the SUNOCO brand has been represented at auto and motorcycle competitions. In total, the company's sports history includes 1,300 brilliant victories in NASCAR races alone, as well as 5 national and 59 individual records in National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) races. Thus, for more than 50 years, SUNOCO has been supplying the best teams around the world with high-quality fuels, honed for the maximum performance of racing cars.
In 1983, the company once again made a breakthrough in the fuel market, releasing Sunoco ULTRA 94 - unleaded gasoline with the highest octane number (it successfully remained on the market for 22 years).
In the late 1980s, Sun Company, Inc. began rebranding its gas stations as SUNOCO to match the gasoline name.
The active development of SUNOCO as a trademark was the objective reason for changing the name of the company from Sun Company, Inc. to the world-famous name Sunoco, Inc., which took place in 1998. The company continues the tradition of sports victories - in 2004, Sunoco became the official fuel of NASCAR (and later - IndyCar, NHRA, SCCA, IHRA, PASS, SVRA and Trans Am).
On the photo: SUNOCO fuel supply truck at 2010 NASCAR race.
In 1981, Sun Oil Espana SA was founded to produce lubricants and technical fluids under SUNOCO brand mainly for the European continent.
All facilities at which SUNOCO brand products are produced in the world are certified in accordance with the requirements of the international management system standards ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.
In general, today SUNOCO oils, greases and antifreezes are represented not only in 50 US states, but also in almost 70 countries of the world.
Since 2020, the SUNOCO brand has been represented in Ukraine by the Sunoco Trading company, which is the exclusive official importer of SUNOCO lubricants and is responsible for the marketing and distribution policy of the brand. SUNOCO products are supplied to Ukraine directly from factories in the USA and Spain.
The assortment includes engine, transmission, hydraulic and gear oils, greases for cars and trucks, agricultural and special equipment, as well as a wide list of specialized lubricants for industrial use. All products meet American and international quality standards, as well as the requirements of the world's leading manufacturers of machinery and equipment.
On the photo: Of course, there is a RACING OIL line in the SUNOCO range for demanding car owners.
Special attention should be paid to resource-saving SUNOCO engine oils, which meet the strict requirements for the operational properties of the most modern API SP and ILSAC GF-6A categories. Due to carefully selected synthetic base oils and the latest additive packages, they provide less resistance to moving parts of the engine, reduce friction, shorten the warm-up time at low temperatures, and therefore - help the engine to work with high performance with less fuel consumption.
SUNOCO from Madrid
The history of SUNOCO on the European continent is, of course, not so long, but it is no less interesting than on the American one. In the USA there are even mini-museums of the brand, you can buy brand symbols on the Internet. SUNOCO gas station, sports, souvenirs... Cult directly!
The company came to Europe at a time when the global oil and fuel business of the corporation needed more attention than the business of production and sale of oils and technical fluids.
I personally knew the SUNOCO brand for a long time, it even "came" to Ukraine, but it did not take root the first time. Now, as I can see, know and feel, the brand has already built a solid foundation in Spain, and a team that does not make mistakes has taken over it in Ukraine. So... my visit to the plant in Madrid on a car that has been using exclusively SUNOCO oils for a long time is a confirmation of this.
Pablo Gomez Defarges, head of the commercial department of Sun Oil Espana, our factory guide, has been with the company since 2015 and all his production experience has also been related to oils and technical fluids. Pablo competently answered absolutely every oil-related question I could think of.
- Pablo, please tell us in a little more detail than the official available history of the brand, the history of the emergence of SUNOCO on the European continent.
- To begin with, I will say that today SUNOCO brand oils are produced in the USA (plant in Pennsylvania), in Spain and in Japan. Each factory has different packaging, as local preferences are considered. In the USA, there is a different capacity of canisters, measured not in liters, but in gallons and quarts. Metal containers are popular in Asia. In Europe - containers in liters and other classifications.
The European division of the American corporation, with the aim of producing oils, lubricants and technical fluids, was founded in Spain in 1981. And the company introduced its own European line of oils in 1989. Oils began to be made in Spain at a plant near Madrid.
From 1991 to 2015, SUNOCO oils were also produced at the Belgian partner enterprise. At that time, this factory became the main producer of SUNOCO oils for Europe. At the same time, part of the products for the Spanish market continued to be produced in Spain under the control of the Belgian plant.
In 2015, the partnership with the Belgian company was terminated. The entire European line of SUNOCO products was once again produced exclusively in Spain, at a single, modern plant near Madrid.
In 2020, we opened another location, also near Madrid, in the Algete city. There is an office, part of the bottling production facilities (all types from 1 to 200 liters) and a warehouse for everything that is packed here. This was done for speed, because the main, large production, is not as mobile in matters of packaging as we sometimes need. In this symbiosis, we reached a new, higher level of customer service.
All shipments of goods to distributors to European countries, to Middle East and to Africa go only from Spain.
- In how many countries are SUNOCO oils from Spain sold?
- To Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Libya, Egypt, Morocco, Serbia, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine and even to Ecuador.
- How many varieties of SUNOCO oils are produced at the Madrid plant?
- 250 formulas. From passenger to industrial.
- How quickly do oils for the newest cars appear in the assortment?
- From 4 to 6 months. If we are talking about new formulas and new technologies.
- Are oils made at the factory according to the formulas and recommendations of additive manufacturers?
- For typical car oils, we often buy formulas from additive manufacturers. But, for example, we often develop industrial ones.
- Then why do new car oils appear only after 4-6 months?
- We test in the laboratory, in cars, check that the product meets all quality parameters. We conduct so-called field tests with laboratory verification. It takes about this time.
- Are there any plans to cooperate with car manufacturers and supply oils for the first filling? For example, with Seat.
- We have Mercedes, Volkswagen, Volvo, Renault approvals. But this is an expensive and time-consuming process. And there are no plans to pour our oils on the car production conveyor.
- Are you planning to expand to locations in Algete?
- At the moment, no. Production capacity is sufficient to satisfy customer requests.
- How many employees work in the Algete office?
- 12 people. They are engaged in marketing and sales of the SUNOCO brand.
- Pablo, are you related to the supply of products to Ukraine from a factory in the USA?
- No. I am not responsible for the American assortment. The importer in Ukraine works directly with SUNOCO in the USA.
- As an oil specialist, do you think that the Ukrainian market also needs oil from the USA, as there are many cars from the North America in Ukraine?
- It’s a hard question. I think that the Ukrainian representative office has great potential. But in any case, from the point of view of marketing, this is better.
I believe that, in general, the Ukrainian market today has a great potential for oils, because many companies that worked earlier have stopped working in Ukraine today. I mean primarily Russian companies.
- How do you choose the products for approvals?
- Approvals are very expensive. Therefore, the company's policy is to concentrate on obtaining more approvals for fewer products. But we always have an alternative product without approvals. It's the same product! Yes, this is marketing... If the buyer of oil has money and is ready to pay for approvals - please. There is no money or desire - you can buy a product of the same quality, but without approvals.
- Which technological products are currently the most popular on the market?
- Synthetic engine oils and ATF. They have recently undergone the greatest changes and demands. The European Union asks for products that help reduce emissions. We produce engine 0W-20, 0W-16 oils - they help reduce fuel consumption and reduce exhaust emissions, respectively.
- What trends can be noted in the oil market - where are consumer requests headed?
- Few people know enough about car oils. Most are not looking for the best oils, but for the lowest price. Only those who like the car and know about it and understand engine oils are sensitive to high quality. It is difficult to explain to an ordinary consumer that it is more important to use a high-quality and high-tech product.
- At the same time, what can be said about the owners of car services? What do they want to promote?
- There are two types of car services. There are those who prefer to promote products of the highest quality - these are car services with a high reputation. And small car services often sell cheaper oils.
- Is it possible to note the difference between different countries in the advantages?
- Yes. Different markets prefer different products. Different markets prefer different packaging. It is very important to have a local partner who is an expert, who knows the market, its advantages and nuances.
- If your distributor orders a product, is it usually available in your assortment? How fast can you produce and ship it?
- Approximately instantly if we have developed and tested such a product.
- What trends are planned in the development of the SUNOCO brand range? What will appear in the future, what can already be said?
- Currently, we are actively investing in industrial products. More than in automotive products. For example, we invest in fluids for metalworking. The line of products for refrigeration units has been completed. We are also working on increasing the range of lubricants.
- Do you have the same prices for different countries?
- The same. Special prices are available only when the volume of orders is very large.
- Who do you consider to be a price competitor?
- On the Spanish market – Shell, Mobil, Castrol, Texaco, Q8. In terms of quality, we are at the same high level.
- After the transfer of production from Belgium to Spain, did you have a new development strategy in the European market?
- Yes. We began to focus more on industrial oils than automotive oils. In automotive oils, we already have a lot of experience gained earlier.
- Does the Ukrainian importer have such a task?
- I think so. But they started with automotive products because that is the first, logical step for them.
- Lyrical retreat. Can we say that after the pandemic production is "returning" from China to Europe?
- Unfortunately, we do not notice such a trend. Although we wanted it... It will strengthen our economy, reduce unemployment. And, of course, will give us more work.
Plant
We started our acquaintance with the production enterprise, as it usually happens for some reason, from the laboratory. It is equipped with the most modern measuring equipment, which allows you to control the composition of additives. In the laboratory, both the control of all production processes and the development of new oils, greases and coolants are carried out.
Laboratory tests all the materials - both base oils and other components. When a truck with base oil arrives, we check all the technical documentation and technical characteristics - viscosity, purity, alkalinity, infrared spectrum and other parameters.
На фото: Не підписуємо кожен лабораторний прилад, бо професіоналам і так ясно. І, звісно, нам не дозволили сфотографувати всі апарати...
Constantly under development at the enterprise are about 60 formulas of new products.
Base oils of all groups are used exclusively from the world's most famous manufacturers. Additives (both packages and separate components) are purchased from almost all well-known global manufacturers, their list is well known.
The plant produces oils ranging from oils for passenger cars to oils for heavy-duty industrial machines, for example, for the mining industry.
Antifreezes. Water cannot be mixed with oils. Therefore, the zone where they work with water (production of antifreeze) is separated by a control system from the zone where oils are produced.
Greases. This is a separate business logic. All technological lines are of our own development. In fact, this is a trend - each manufacturer makes its own equipment for the production of greases. Therefore, it is strictly forbidden to take photos. To anyone. Equipment for the production of greases is constantly updated. The zone has 5 reactors that produce 95 types of greases.
Oils. The area of their production has 7 mixers installed with a total volume of 100 tons. The maximum capacity of the workshop is 100,000 tons per year or 8-10 thousand tons per month. Real loading is 2-3 thousand tons per month, because the company produces a large assortment of oils and needs to be adjusted often.
All processes are fully automated, control and management of them are transferred to a single remote control.
The most important issue in production is the control of all processes, as well as regular sampling. All checked parameters are saved on the computer.
Samples of base oils are stored after incoming inspection from 2 months to 2 years. And samples of ready-made oils and greases are stored for 3 years.
The total amount of article numbers of products produced at the enterprise is 2,500.
The volume of containers for storing raw materials for antifreeze production is 360 tons. And another 100 tons of containers for storing finished products.
The amount of stored base oils is 2.7 million liters.
The workshop for the production of oils is served by 12 people. In the grease area - from 4 to 6 people. On antifreezes - from 2 to 4 people. On three automatic packaging lines - 2 people per line, for control. Plus loaders.
This plant is the sixth in the list of the largest oil production companies in Spain and the first in terms of capacity in Spain - among plants that produce all three types of products - oils, greases, coolants.
Currently, production works in one and a half shifts - 12 hours a day. The planned development of the plant was slowed down by the pandemic (before it, the plant was expanding every year). But the land is there, the plans are ready, there will be development! Why - read the next paragraph...
Oleksander Kelm
information agency autoExpert-Consulting
Kyiv - Madrid - Kyiv
.
History of the brand
The brand's history begins in 1886 in the USA and spans more than 130 years. The history of SUNOCO is a history of outstanding achievements and continuous development. The company was founded in the years when the first cars appeared, which required fuel, oils and lubricants.
After just a few years of its founding, Sun Oil Company (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) has become one of the region's leading raw oil suppliers. As the oil company grew, it expanded into ancillary services and subsidiaries. In 1916, the Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company was founded. The following year, she launched her first ship - just as the United States entered World War I. Its main products were tankers, but looking ahead, the company also built many other types of vessels during its 70-year history. Sun Shipyard used welding instead of riveting to build ships, thus saving significantly on steel - one of many technical innovations initiated by management.
Already having a significant number of oil fields and oil refineries, in 1920 Sun opened its first gas station.
On the photo: Newspaper ad for SUNOCO motor oil, 1922. In 1929, the company engaged in the production of oil industry equipment, consolidating its leadership positions in the oil field.
In 1937, Sun Oil Company launched the world's first large-scale commercial catalytic cracking unit, using Eugene Goudrey's technology, at a plant in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. Catalytic cracking technology, in comparison with thermal cracking, makes it possible to obtain higher quality fuel and significantly speed up the process. It was a revolutionary event in the field of oil refining. The facility in Marcus Hook is still in operation today, it is used to process fuel for racing cars. The plant was recognized as a memorial.
In 1941, the corporation established the Cordero Mining Company (Nevada) to supply mercury for its engine oils. This metal proved vital to the US military in World War II. During the war, Sun participated in the US government's emergency shipbuilding program and became a pioneer in the development and processing of aviation fuel and lubricants. In years of the war, the Sun shipyard was the largest in the world and employed 35,000 workers. Later during the Cold War, the company would be part of the US aerospace industry.
In 1953, Sun Oil Company went international. An oil refinery with a capacity of 15,000 barrels per day was launched in Canada. In Venezuela, starting in 1957, the Venezuelan Sun Oil Company produced more than 1 billion barrels of oil from Lake Maracaibo before ceasing operations in 1975 when the Venezuelan government nationalized the company's assets. In 1967, the company creates Great Canadian Oil Sands Limited to extract hydrocarbons from the Athabasca oil sands.
Today, the company's representative offices are in many countries of the world.In 1956, Sun Oil Company developed and began using an innovative fuel-dispensing system at its gas stations. It allowed filling five grades of gasoline with different octane numbers from one complex. Sunoco gas stations offered up to eight grades of gasoline from their Dial A Grade pumps, including 102 octane gasoline. A model of the fuel dispenser is now on display at the Smithsonian Institution.
Since the 1960s, the SUNOCO brand has been represented at auto and motorcycle competitions. In total, the company's sports history includes 1,300 brilliant victories in NASCAR races alone, as well as 5 national and 59 individual records in National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) races. Thus, for more than 50 years, SUNOCO has been supplying the best teams around the world with high-quality fuels, honed for the maximum performance of racing cars.
In 1983, the company once again made a breakthrough in the fuel market, releasing Sunoco ULTRA 94 - unleaded gasoline with the highest octane number (it successfully remained on the market for 22 years).
In the late 1980s, Sun Company, Inc. began rebranding its gas stations as SUNOCO to match the gasoline name.
The active development of SUNOCO as a trademark was the objective reason for changing the name of the company from Sun Company, Inc. to the world-famous name Sunoco, Inc., which took place in 1998. The company continues the tradition of sports victories - in 2004, Sunoco became the official fuel of NASCAR (and later - IndyCar, NHRA, SCCA, IHRA, PASS, SVRA and Trans Am).
On the photo: SUNOCO fuel supply truck at 2010 NASCAR race.
In 1981, Sun Oil Espana SA was founded to produce lubricants and technical fluids under SUNOCO brand mainly for the European continent.
All facilities at which SUNOCO brand products are produced in the world are certified in accordance with the requirements of the international management system standards ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.
In general, today SUNOCO oils, greases and antifreezes are represented not only in 50 US states, but also in almost 70 countries of the world.
Since 2020, the SUNOCO brand has been represented in Ukraine by the Sunoco Trading company, which is the exclusive official importer of SUNOCO lubricants and is responsible for the marketing and distribution policy of the brand. SUNOCO products are supplied to Ukraine directly from factories in the USA and Spain.
The assortment includes engine, transmission, hydraulic and gear oils, greases for cars and trucks, agricultural and special equipment, as well as a wide list of specialized lubricants for industrial use. All products meet American and international quality standards, as well as the requirements of the world's leading manufacturers of machinery and equipment.
On the photo: Of course, there is a RACING OIL line in the SUNOCO range for demanding car owners.
Special attention should be paid to resource-saving SUNOCO engine oils, which meet the strict requirements for the operational properties of the most modern API SP and ILSAC GF-6A categories. Due to carefully selected synthetic base oils and the latest additive packages, they provide less resistance to moving parts of the engine, reduce friction, shorten the warm-up time at low temperatures, and therefore - help the engine to work with high performance with less fuel consumption.
SUNOCO from Madrid
The history of SUNOCO on the European continent is, of course, not so long, but it is no less interesting than on the American one. In the USA there are even mini-museums of the brand, you can buy brand symbols on the Internet. SUNOCO gas station, sports, souvenirs... Cult directly!
The company came to Europe at a time when the global oil and fuel business of the corporation needed more attention than the business of production and sale of oils and technical fluids.
I personally knew the SUNOCO brand for a long time, it even "came" to Ukraine, but it did not take root the first time. Now, as I can see, know and feel, the brand has already built a solid foundation in Spain, and a team that does not make mistakes has taken over it in Ukraine. So... my visit to the plant in Madrid on a car that has been using exclusively SUNOCO oils for a long time is a confirmation of this.
Pablo Gomez Defarges, head of the commercial department of Sun Oil Espana, our factory guide, has been with the company since 2015 and all his production experience has also been related to oils and technical fluids. Pablo competently answered absolutely every oil-related question I could think of.
- Pablo, please tell us in a little more detail than the official available history of the brand, the history of the emergence of SUNOCO on the European continent.
- To begin with, I will say that today SUNOCO brand oils are produced in the USA (plant in Pennsylvania), in Spain and in Japan. Each factory has different packaging, as local preferences are considered. In the USA, there is a different capacity of canisters, measured not in liters, but in gallons and quarts. Metal containers are popular in Asia. In Europe - containers in liters and other classifications.
The European division of the American corporation, with the aim of producing oils, lubricants and technical fluids, was founded in Spain in 1981. And the company introduced its own European line of oils in 1989. Oils began to be made in Spain at a plant near Madrid.
From 1991 to 2015, SUNOCO oils were also produced at the Belgian partner enterprise. At that time, this factory became the main producer of SUNOCO oils for Europe. At the same time, part of the products for the Spanish market continued to be produced in Spain under the control of the Belgian plant.
In 2015, the partnership with the Belgian company was terminated. The entire European line of SUNOCO products was once again produced exclusively in Spain, at a single, modern plant near Madrid.
In 2020, we opened another location, also near Madrid, in the Algete city. There is an office, part of the bottling production facilities (all types from 1 to 200 liters) and a warehouse for everything that is packed here. This was done for speed, because the main, large production, is not as mobile in matters of packaging as we sometimes need. In this symbiosis, we reached a new, higher level of customer service.
All shipments of goods to distributors to European countries, to Middle East and to Africa go only from Spain.
- In how many countries are SUNOCO oils from Spain sold?
- To Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Libya, Egypt, Morocco, Serbia, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine and even to Ecuador.
- How many varieties of SUNOCO oils are produced at the Madrid plant?
- 250 formulas. From passenger to industrial.
- How quickly do oils for the newest cars appear in the assortment?
- From 4 to 6 months. If we are talking about new formulas and new technologies.
- Are oils made at the factory according to the formulas and recommendations of additive manufacturers?
- For typical car oils, we often buy formulas from additive manufacturers. But, for example, we often develop industrial ones.
- Then why do new car oils appear only after 4-6 months?
- We test in the laboratory, in cars, check that the product meets all quality parameters. We conduct so-called field tests with laboratory verification. It takes about this time.
- Are there any plans to cooperate with car manufacturers and supply oils for the first filling? For example, with Seat.
- We have Mercedes, Volkswagen, Volvo, Renault approvals. But this is an expensive and time-consuming process. And there are no plans to pour our oils on the car production conveyor.
- Are you planning to expand to locations in Algete?
- At the moment, no. Production capacity is sufficient to satisfy customer requests.
- How many employees work in the Algete office?
- 12 people. They are engaged in marketing and sales of the SUNOCO brand.
- Pablo, are you related to the supply of products to Ukraine from a factory in the USA?
- No. I am not responsible for the American assortment. The importer in Ukraine works directly with SUNOCO in the USA.
- As an oil specialist, do you think that the Ukrainian market also needs oil from the USA, as there are many cars from the North America in Ukraine?
- It’s a hard question. I think that the Ukrainian representative office has great potential. But in any case, from the point of view of marketing, this is better.
I believe that, in general, the Ukrainian market today has a great potential for oils, because many companies that worked earlier have stopped working in Ukraine today. I mean primarily Russian companies.
- How do you choose the products for approvals?
- Approvals are very expensive. Therefore, the company's policy is to concentrate on obtaining more approvals for fewer products. But we always have an alternative product without approvals. It's the same product! Yes, this is marketing... If the buyer of oil has money and is ready to pay for approvals - please. There is no money or desire - you can buy a product of the same quality, but without approvals.
- Which technological products are currently the most popular on the market?
- Synthetic engine oils and ATF. They have recently undergone the greatest changes and demands. The European Union asks for products that help reduce emissions. We produce engine 0W-20, 0W-16 oils - they help reduce fuel consumption and reduce exhaust emissions, respectively.
- What trends can be noted in the oil market - where are consumer requests headed?
- Few people know enough about car oils. Most are not looking for the best oils, but for the lowest price. Only those who like the car and know about it and understand engine oils are sensitive to high quality. It is difficult to explain to an ordinary consumer that it is more important to use a high-quality and high-tech product.
- At the same time, what can be said about the owners of car services? What do they want to promote?
- There are two types of car services. There are those who prefer to promote products of the highest quality - these are car services with a high reputation. And small car services often sell cheaper oils.
- Is it possible to note the difference between different countries in the advantages?
- Yes. Different markets prefer different products. Different markets prefer different packaging. It is very important to have a local partner who is an expert, who knows the market, its advantages and nuances.
- If your distributor orders a product, is it usually available in your assortment? How fast can you produce and ship it?
- Approximately instantly if we have developed and tested such a product.
- What trends are planned in the development of the SUNOCO brand range? What will appear in the future, what can already be said?
- Currently, we are actively investing in industrial products. More than in automotive products. For example, we invest in fluids for metalworking. The line of products for refrigeration units has been completed. We are also working on increasing the range of lubricants.
- Do you have the same prices for different countries?
- The same. Special prices are available only when the volume of orders is very large.
- Who do you consider to be a price competitor?
- On the Spanish market – Shell, Mobil, Castrol, Texaco, Q8. In terms of quality, we are at the same high level.
- After the transfer of production from Belgium to Spain, did you have a new development strategy in the European market?
- Yes. We began to focus more on industrial oils than automotive oils. In automotive oils, we already have a lot of experience gained earlier.
- Does the Ukrainian importer have such a task?
- I think so. But they started with automotive products because that is the first, logical step for them.
- Lyrical retreat. Can we say that after the pandemic production is "returning" from China to Europe?
- Unfortunately, we do not notice such a trend. Although we wanted it... It will strengthen our economy, reduce unemployment. And, of course, will give us more work.
Plant
We started our acquaintance with the production enterprise, as it usually happens for some reason, from the laboratory. It is equipped with the most modern measuring equipment, which allows you to control the composition of additives. In the laboratory, both the control of all production processes and the development of new oils, greases and coolants are carried out.
Laboratory tests all the materials - both base oils and other components. When a truck with base oil arrives, we check all the technical documentation and technical characteristics - viscosity, purity, alkalinity, infrared spectrum and other parameters.
На фото: Не підписуємо кожен лабораторний прилад, бо професіоналам і так ясно. І, звісно, нам не дозволили сфотографувати всі апарати...
Constantly under development at the enterprise are about 60 formulas of new products.
Base oils of all groups are used exclusively from the world's most famous manufacturers. Additives (both packages and separate components) are purchased from almost all well-known global manufacturers, their list is well known.
The plant produces oils ranging from oils for passenger cars to oils for heavy-duty industrial machines, for example, for the mining industry.Antifreezes. Water cannot be mixed with oils. Therefore, the zone where they work with water (production of antifreeze) is separated by a control system from the zone where oils are produced.
Greases. This is a separate business logic. All technological lines are of our own development. In fact, this is a trend - each manufacturer makes its own equipment for the production of greases. Therefore, it is strictly forbidden to take photos. To anyone. Equipment for the production of greases is constantly updated. The zone has 5 reactors that produce 95 types of greases.
Oils. The area of their production has 7 mixers installed with a total volume of 100 tons. The maximum capacity of the workshop is 100,000 tons per year or 8-10 thousand tons per month. Real loading is 2-3 thousand tons per month, because the company produces a large assortment of oils and needs to be adjusted often.
All processes are fully automated, control and management of them are transferred to a single remote control.
The most important issue in production is the control of all processes, as well as regular sampling. All checked parameters are saved on the computer.
Samples of base oils are stored after incoming inspection from 2 months to 2 years. And samples of ready-made oils and greases are stored for 3 years.
The total amount of article numbers of products produced at the enterprise is 2,500.
The volume of containers for storing raw materials for antifreeze production is 360 tons. And another 100 tons of containers for storing finished products.
The amount of stored base oils is 2.7 million liters.
The workshop for the production of oils is served by 12 people. In the grease area - from 4 to 6 people. On antifreezes - from 2 to 4 people. On three automatic packaging lines - 2 people per line, for control. Plus loaders.
This plant is the sixth in the list of the largest oil production companies in Spain and the first in terms of capacity in Spain - among plants that produce all three types of products - oils, greases, coolants.
Currently, production works in one and a half shifts - 12 hours a day. The planned development of the plant was slowed down by the pandemic (before it, the plant was expanding every year). But the land is there, the plans are ready, there will be development! Why - read the next paragraph...
Electric cars and oils, an interesting opinion of professionals: "Electrification of transport is walking around the world." However, this will not be a problem for oils producers for another 20 years. And in general, it is unlikely that the European Union will achieve the goals set today in this matter. There are many reasons for that."
Let's wait and see. The plans are all written down).
Let's wait and see. The plans are all written down).
Oleksander Kelm
information agency autoExpert-Consulting
Kyiv - Madrid - Kyiv
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