32 BUSINESS SUPERBRANDS

MarketCastrol is widely acknowledged as the world’sleading specialist provider of lubricant solutions.Although most people know Castrol for itsexpertise in developing lubricants for cars andbikes, many are not aware that the company

also produces lubricants for gas and electricityproduction, the transport industry, constructionand earth moving vehicles, refrigeration,metalworking, plastics, the marine sector and forindustry in general.

Castrol came to India in 1919 as the firstoverseas branch office of C C Wakefield &Company, UK. Over the years, it evolved andgrew to become the leading player in the Indianlubricant industry and the market leader in theretail automotive lubricant segment.

The lubricant industry in India is oligarchicwith a few players accounting for over 75% ofthe market share. Broadly, the lubricant industryis classified into three categories – automotive,industrial and marine.

Until 1993, the Indian lubes market wasstrictly regulated, with the market dominated bypublic sector oil companies.The only notableprivate player in the business was Castrol witha market share of 6%. With the opening upof the economy and the deregulation ofthe oil sector, Castrol India has grown tobecome the second largest lubricantcompany with a market share of20% (Source: Internal estimates). Itis the market leader in the retailautomotive segment with a shareof 22% (Source: Internalestimates).

Castrol’s Business to Business(B2B) segment can be dividedinto two parts – automotive B2Bwhich includes on-road and off-road businesses and industrialB2B which includes equipmentmanufacturing and industrialmaintenance.The on-roadbusiness comprises road

freight, road private transport and statetransport undertakings, while the off-roadbusiness includes building and construction, offhighway workshops and quarries.

Equipment manufacturing takes care ofsegments like metals (primary and secondary),transport equipment manufacturers (aerospace,buses, trucks, LCVs, SUVs, passenger cars,engines, auto components, scooters andmotorcycles and other recreational vehicles),machinery manufacturers (bearings,compressors, pumps, mechanical and electricalmachinery and wind power equipment) andfabricated metal goods (refrigeration, fasteners,bar, sheet and wire drawing).

AchievementsIn over 100 years, Castrol hasbuilt one of the world's best-known brands and attainedleadership of the lubricants sector.Its distinctive brand identity isrecognised across the globe. InIndia, it has an unprompted brandawareness of 93% (Source:Internal Brand Health Tracker).

In addition to the excellence ofits products, Castrol’s worldwidefame has been achieved through its long-termsupport of sporting and record-breakingachievements on land, sea and in the air.

In India, Castrol has played a leadership rolein the development of the lubricant industry. Itis the only lubricant company to have acontinuous presence in India for over 85 years.The experience and expertise that the companyhas gained during this period has given it anintimate knowledge and understanding of itsconsumers and the market.The company hasalways taken the lead in launching the latesttechnology and bringing world-class lubricantsto India. Castrol is recognised as the technologyleader and has a number of firsts to its creditincluding the launch of multi-grade diesel engineoils, the first dedicated two-stroke engine oil, thefirst CF4 engine oils etc.The company hasleadership positions in most segments in which

it operates.Castrol India has established

itself as a leading player in theB2B segment,

through its'Product

Plus'

offering, which includes value-added productsand services which are designated Best in Class.The company works closely with its customersto develop products and services, specific totheir unique needs and delivers tailor-madesolutions to each.

The company has a long and successfulrecord of partnerships with most major OriginalEquipment Manufacturers (OEMs). With astrong brand, superior technology and widthand depth of distribution, Castrol has becomethe preferred choice for OEMs who continuallyseek value-added products and services.

HistoryOn 19th March 1899, Charles Cheers

Wakefield set up an oil company inEngland.Ten years later, he

produced a new lubricant thatwould revolutionise transportin the first half of the

twentieth century. Hecalled the new oilCastrol.To this day, theCastrol name issynonymous withpremium quality, highperformance and

leading-edge technology in lubrication.The success of Castrol owes much to the

original philosophy of Charles Wakefield. Hebelieved that success would best be achieved inpartnership with his customers.This philosophyis as relevant today as it was then.

The history of Castrol in India dates back to1910 when certain automotive lubricants fromC C Wakefield & Company made an entry inthe Indian market. Nine years later the companyset up its first overseas branch office in Indiaand commenced operations as a trading unit.

In 1983, the company went public, with 60%equity held by Indian shareholders. In 1994,Burmah Castrol increased its shareholding to51%. Following the takeover of Burmah Castrolby BP in 2000, BP increased its shareholding to71%. Subsequent to the amalgamation of TataBP Lubricants India Limited with Castrol India,BP now holds 71.3% of the paid-up capital ofthe company.

ProductFrom heavy goods vehicles to cargo ships,from farm tractors to earthmovers, from steel mill production lines to passenger buses,there is a Castrol lubricant designed specificallyfor the job.There are over 5,000 Castrolformulations which meet the requirements of different sectors.

Castrol India manufactures and markets awide range of automotive and industriallubricants. It markets its automotive lubricantsunder two brands: Castrol and BP. Many of thecompany's brands are market leaders in the

segments in which they operate –Castrol CRB (in the multi-grade dieselengine oil segment), Castrol Activ 4T(four-stroke motorcycle oils) and

Castrol GTX (multi-gradepassenger car engine oils)

amongstothers.

In theindustrialbusinesssegment too,Castrol hasleading brandslike Alusol,Hysol,Superedge,Almaredge,Cooledge,Carecut,Variocut,Ilocut, Iloform,

Rustilo, Synitlo etc which cater to specificmaterials, applications, processes and speeds toachieve greater performance. Castrol metalworking products are market leaders in thecountry and enjoy a share of more than 16%(Source: Internal estimates).

Partnering with leading manufacturers is a vital and integral part of Castrol’s businessstrategy. In the automotive B2B segment, forinstance, Castrol works closely with itscustomers to improve their performance and cost efficiencies. Castrol's strength liesmainly in the 'Product Plus' package offered toits customers. Besides offering superior qualityproducts, it also offers strong technical supportand value-added services like oil checks andengine diagnostics. Castrol also supports itspartners by providing training in safe materialhandling, storage and road safety.

In the transport businesssegment, Castrol has attained aleadership position by gainingbusiness through demonstratingperformance and business benefits.

Castrol also has long-standingpartnerships with proudmanufacturers like Tata Motors,Tata Cummins, Mahindra &Mahindra Eicher Motors, JCB, L&TKomatsu, L&T Case and Telcon, toname a few.

In the industrial segment, Castrolenjoys strong business partnershipswith market leaders like IngersollRand and Ferromatic Milacron.Theindustrial team also works closelywith top original equipment manufacturers(OEMs) like Maruti Suzuki, Honda, AshokLeyland,TVS, Sundram, Bajaj and Yamaha.

The company also has a leadership supplierposition in the franchised workshop segmentwhich is an important channel of distribution forlubricant sales. Besides providing specialproducts and packs, Castrol's WorkshopDevelopment Team works closely withmechanics and garage owners to create abusiness relationship that improves profitabilityfor them.

Recent DevelopmentsIn July 2000, BP acquired Burmah Castrol. InIndia, the takeover resulted in BP acquiring

71.3% of the company and Castrol became partof one of the largest companies in the world.

The company also restructured itself to fitwith the global strategy of getting closer to thecustomer.The sales organisation, too, has beenrestructured from a generalist to a specialistrole in customer management.

More recently, Castrol has made a foray intofranchised motorcycle service with Castrol Bike Zone.

For the automotive B2B segment, Castrol has a dedicated team of key account specialiststo work with its customers, understand their specific needs and deliver world-classsolutions.This team is present where thecustomer's business is – even in remote areas and locations.

In the building and construction segment,Castrol has achieved breakthrough success in most of the major infrastructure projectsundertaken by the Government in recent times.In the OEM segment, Castrol has recently

signed a series of agreements withleading manufacturers like Tata Motors,Mahindra & Mahindra, JCB and Tata Cummins.

In the industrial segment, customerfocus is becoming sharper and acustomer-centric culture is beingimbued in the work force. Productsfor high-performance applications like aerospace, auto aluminium andtough steels, have been designed toincrease the productivity with lowcycle times. A new CustomerRelationship Management tool –Platinum – has enabled the company to improve its customer interface and measure customer profitability

with key accounts.This tool has been veryeffectively used for making strategicinterventions in value-added customer offers.

PromotionCastrol is a trailblazer in the Indian lubricantindustry, being the first and at that time, the only lubricant manufacturer to advertise and promote engine oils.The company's pioneering'Did You Know' series of advertisementsundertaken in the late 1980s explained the role of lubricants and the art of lubrication to consumers.

Over the years, the company has undertakena series of innovative and eye-catchingadvertising campaigns and sponsorships to

strengthen its brand image.Castrol was the first lubricantsbrand which forayed into therural market with innovative‘video van’ campaigns targeted attractor owners and smallervillages and towns. More recently,Castrol has appointed RahulDravid as its brand ambassador.The brand values associated withRahul Dravid – performance,winning and dependability – are synonymous with the Castrol brand. It has also created a unique property in theCastrol Awards for Cricketing

Excellence – the premier cricket awards forIndian cricketers.

In the B2B segment, the company focuses ondirect communication with its customersthrough seminars, road shows and trainingprogrammes.These are aimed at highlightingawareness of the latest technologydevelopment, environment-friendly andoperator-safe products.The company alsoadvises customers on road safety and safematerial handling practices.

Brand ValuesCastrol is widely acknowledged as the world’sleading specialist provider of lubricant solutions.‘From people and businesses to products andservices, Castrol makes it work better’ is therefrain at the company.The company’s success isdriven by five core brand values: it is passionateabout thecustomers’ success;it is driven byperformance butrespects theenvironment; it hasconfidence thatcomes fromexperience fromaround the world;it challenges thestatus quo andalways gets things done.

The company’sbrand attributesare: technologyleadership, alwayswinning, passionand excitementand superiorperformance.

Underlying the vision and values is Castrol’stotal commitment to working together with itscustomers for mutual benefit.

www.castrol.co.in

33BUSINESS SUPERBRANDS

THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT

Castrol is the only lubricant company in Indiato have a continuous presence in the countryfor over 85 years.

Castrol is the second largest lubricant companyin India with a market share of 20%.

The company has a number of firsts to itscredit including the launch of multi-grade dieselengine oils, the first dedicated two-strokeengine oil and the first CF4 engine oils.

Besides technology innovations, Castrol Indiahas also taken the lead in packaging innovations;it has introduced special sachet packs for two-stroke oils and undertaken a series of initiativesto deliver tamper-proof packaging solutions.

The company recently entered the motorcycleservice segment with the launch of a Castrolfranchised motorcycle service named CastrolBike Zone.

Castrol