GS Caltex, headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, is a leader in the petroleum, lubricant and petrochemical businesses. GS Caltex India is a 100% owned subsidiary of GS Caltex Corporation and was incorporated in 2010. The company is currently into high quality premium lubricants manufactured from Group II plus and Group III base oils, imported from its own refinery in Yeosu, South Korea. We had an opportunity to talk to Mr. Rajesh Nagar, MD & CEO, GS Caltex India, on the upcoming BS-VI shift.
Excerpts:
Impact on lubricant industry
There are many factors which are currently influencing the mobility sector globally as well as in India; the lubricant industry has been always at the forefront in adopting to the fast-changing automobile technologies. One of the main change drivers in India at present is the forthcoming implementation of BS-VI norms from April 2020. It will definitely have impact on the buying behaviour of consumers especially in diesel vehicles and economy-segment vehicles and it is expected to see a considerable increase in price, which may impact the sales in the near term. However, the BS-VI implementation is a very desirable step by the government which will have long-lasting benefits in reducing the vehicular pollution and moving towards greener vehicles.
GS Caltex’ readiness
GS Caltex is fully aware of the legislative and the technological changes in the industry; our R&D team is working closely with global companies as to what efficiencies they are bringing in their vehicles and processes, and how we can add value to complement their work. In the coming years, development of more advanced technology will have greater implications and we are fully geared up to meet those challenges. As a global technology leader, we see these changes as an opportunity to showcase our strengths and play a meaningful role as a lubricant company.
We are fully equipped and prepared to meet the requirements arising out of the shift to BS-VI norms. In the engine oil and transmission segment, we are moving towards latest specifications and more efficient products. In the engine oil, we have developed the latest CJ4 and CK4 specification oils and already supplying CJ4 to a leading global OEM in India. We had launched the latest CK4 grade oil in bC India (bauma) 2018 held in Delhi. Parallelly we are also moving into synthetic zone in the gear & transmission oil segment which are more efficient and will complement the efforts in bringing down the emissions.
Challenges
Rapid changes in the engine technology and powertrain designs are surely impacting the market including lubricant manufacturers. Due to such changes in market dynamics, OEMs and industry users are demanding high performance lubricants made from high quality base oils and latest additive technology.
Though the shift from conventional Group I base oils to highly-refined Group II and Group III base oils had started long back in 1990s, the same has taken full throttle in the last decade. Group I base oils simply cannot be used in most lubricants designed for modern passenger-car and diesel-truck applications which generally require formulations using Group II or III base oils.
Technology has further progressed so much that modern manufacturing techniques and newer advanced additives have improved properties for modern Group III base oil to outperform even Group IV base oils in some cases. GS Caltex Kixx Lubo Group III base oils can surpass Group IV base oils in terms of lubricity, solubility and anti-wear properties in selected applications. With Kixx as its representative brand, GS Caltex manufactures more than 180 types of lubricants to satisfy its automotive, industrial and marine customers across the globe. GS Caltex produces high-quality environment-friendly lubricants in India by using its own Group II & Group III base oils, using cutting-edge hydrocracking technology in its most modern Yeosu Refinery in South Korea.