GP Petroleums helps machine builders save money

March 15, 2017 12:25 pm

The more efficient a lubricant is, the more energy is saved which directly contributes the national agenda of energy savings.

Hari Prakash,
CEO, GP Petroleums Ltd

GP Petroleums Ltd. (GPPL) is a listed company in India and is part of the Gulf Petrochem group, a major player in the petrochemical industry based in UAE. GPPL an ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certified company, specialises in formulating, manufacturing and marketing of industrial and automotive lubricants, process oils, greases and other specialties under the brand name IPOL for more than four decades in India and overseas markets. In an interview with Subhajit Roy, the company’s CEO Hari Prakash explains how a lubricant maker can help machine builders in saving money.

How do you look at the lubricants market in India?
Indian lubricants market is of around 2.2 MMT out of which almost 50 per cent is Industrial lubricants. We offer a wide range of products in the industrial lubricants space and have about 4 per cent of the market share. We plan to increase this share to above 5 per cent by 2020 and have kick-started the initiative of new product series of semi synthetic cutting fluids, launched during the recent IMTEX exhibition in Bangalore. In the automotive space, we have less than 1 per cent market share. GP Petroleums has recently tied up with the Spanish oil major Repsol to manufacture and market Repsol branded lubricants in India which will significantly increase its presence in the premium automotive market.

The company has a well-established network of distributors and dealers across the country. Almost 90 per cent of the business is from industrial sector while remaining 10 per cent from the automotive lubricants sectors. We plan to double the number of automotive distributors in the next financial year, while we will nurture and grow our existing wide network of industrial distributors.

The company has planned for upgrading and refurbishing the plant and lab to meet its ambitious growth plans and to meet global standards and OEM expectations.

How do you help your customers in saving money?
Today the quality variance gap within the leading organised players has narrowed. Technology and service have emerged as the differentiator while decision making depends on optimising Total Cost of Operation (TCO) which delivers value to our customers.

We have highly experienced technical service team who can conduct preliminary studies and work together in identifying the target areas and help customers to achieve the desired objectives of cost reduction.

As you mentioned, is it possible to quantify the assured savings?
Indeed, in any manufacturing process, there is always scope for improvement. Our Chemical Management Services team offer to study the entire plant and can propose total fluid management solutions. Typically the initial savings come out of stopping the existing wastages, leakages and simple fluid management schedules. Further enhancement is achieved through selection of the fit for purpose product (not over engineered), product rationalisation, savings in drag out loss, lower tool consumption, reduction in machine down time and power consumption. These can be documented and audited by the customer and solution provider like us.

It is estimated that the wastage of energy in the manufacturing industry is around US $ 8.9 million. This is where collaboration with OEMs becomes significant. Every machine consumes energy and being a lubricant partner our responsibility is to reduce friction. The smoother a machine runs, the lesser the power consumption. The more efficient a lubricant is, the more energy is saved which directly contributes the national agenda of energy savings.

The type of lubricant, the additives used in blending it plays a major role in its efficiency in reducing friction and also delivering the objectives of the operation, whether it is machining or movement of the machine spindle, slideways or gear transmissions. Our contribution comes in this specific area of technological intervention leading to significant energy savings in the manufacturing industry.

Do you have any partnership with equipment builders?
Yes indeed, this has been our major strength and we are grateful to the OEMs who have reposed confidence in our products and services.

We offer the widest range of products for varied applications. We also cater to customised range of products supported by cutting edge technology, thus placing ourselves as a one-stop-shop for lubricant requirements. Some of the approvals we are happy to share are with the key OEMs like BFW, TAL Solutions, Gole Precision, Suntech Landriani, Precihole, Bemco Hydraulics and Bosch Rexroth. Our customer and OEM testimonials give credibility to these claims and our success has been such referrals by satisfied customers.

In an aim to redefine our business, we are proactively approaching the machine builders to help them saving money by analysing their application areas. Our industrial lubricants tagline “Your Tribology Partner” was aimed at giving the customer confidence in technology and being relied upon as a complete solution provider.