Gulf Oil International and Boss Oil Ltd. started a lubricant distribution operation in Poland through Gulf Polska, a new joint venture.
Gulf Polska will take over the operations of Oil Trading Poland, a currently licensed distributor for Gulf lubricants in the European country, and will aim to expand the old distributors operations, the companys director, Rob van den Bosch, told Lube Report.
First we will act as an importer and deliver through a network of distributors in Poland, he said. We also plan to develop a chain of Gulf fuel stations in the country. It will help us to further increase the brand awareness in Poland.
The company is not planning a lubricant production facility in Poland, Bosch said. At this point there is no plan to set up a blender. All the products we sell in Poland are now produced at the Q8 plant in Antwerp, Belgium.
Kuwait Petroleum International, known by the Q8 brand, markets lubricants and other petroleum products and has two blending plants in Europe – one in Antwerp and another in Milan, Italy. In June last year, Gulf Oil International said it was tying up with Q8Oils to supply finished lubricants in Europe, with Gulfs lubricants to be produced at Q8Oils blending plant in Antwerp.
This will represent a major step forward for Gulf in Poland, Camille Nehme, Gulf Oils vice president for Europe, said in a news release. We have ambitious plans in the country, and a strong presence in Poland is a key part of Gulfs growth in Europe, which in turn forms part of Gulfs major international growth plans.
Bosch said the company is expecting to deliver to Polands retail chains by the end of this year. However, we will not deliver where there is an official Gulf distributor in the neighboring countries, he said.
Consultant Geeta S. Agashe, president of Geeta Agashe & Associates LLC, told Lube Report, Our estimates indicate the Polish lubricants market to be at around 240,000 to 250,000 metric tons in 2016. About 55 percent of that is industrial lubricants consumed primarily in machinery manufacturing, iron and steel, coal mining, chemicals and ship building industries. The other 45 percent is automotive.
Agashe noted that PNK Orlen and Grupa Lotos account for a significant market share, with ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, Total and other major oil companies also present. Petronas Lubricants is a player as well, given their close ties with Fiat, she said. Fiat and VW have the leading market share in car vehicle sales.
Oil, fuel and lubricant marketer Gulf Oil International is part of Indias Hinduja Group conglomerate.