Valvoline Cummins to increase thrust on OEMs

June 21, 2011 12:15 pm

Sandeep Singla, AVP Marketing, Valvoline Cummins India talks about maintaining a double digit growth aiming to be among the top two brands in the market
 
Brief us about the performance of Valvoline Cummins in Indian market.
In the past few months, Valvoline Cummins has seen some strong recovery in terms of its growth across the globe and is very optimistic about the future. Looking at the current market size of lubricants in the country, Valvoline Cummins business is over 1.7 million metric tonne and for any foreign brand like ours, accessibility is close to 50 per cent. The industry is projected to grow at a rate of 3.9 per cent on a year on year basis by 2013.  There will be lot of technology shift, as customers will upgrade to long drain lubes offering enough scope for companies like Valvoline Cummins to grow.
 
What are your growth plans for India?
Valvoline Cummins began its operations in the year 1998 in India as a joint venture between Valvoline Inc. USA and Cummins India Ltd. Since then, the company grew in leaps and bounds and emerged as one of the fastest growing foreign brands in the country.
 
The road ahead looks bright for the company. With a commitment to maintain its double digit growth, Valvoline is all set to gain the second position as an independent foreign brand in the country. Driven mainly by strong distribution in the after market and off highway segment, the company is experiencing phenomenal growth. With a strong base of 42 stock points, Valvoline Cummins delivers products and services to more than 600 distributors and close to 3,000 institutional customers. Focusing on increasing its retail footprint across the country with more than 50,000 resellers, the company plans to increase the thrust on OEM and speciality lubes business leading to exceptional growth in the recent years. Additionally, the company is exploring opportunities to exploit the existing relationships Cummins has with the customers. 
 
Could you tell us about your recent initiatives? 
Today, customers are constantly looking for value, brands have to offer. Valvoline has the expertise and experience in developing and marketing high performance oils in more than 140 countries. The company is in the process of testing the next generation CJ4+ oils in India, as the latest engines are becoming more and more environment friendly and the lubes deliver results as per latest norms for either Euro IV or BS IV.
 
With a strong retail presence and reach available for the customers, Valvoline has to make its presence felt in the market as a superior brand and bringing customers closer by demonstrating superior value compared to other players present in the market. Keeping these factors in mind, Valvoline is sure to be amongst the top two foreign brands in the market soon.