Balmer Lawrie unveils plan to double market share; will upgrade Kolkata lube blending plant

Balmer Lawrie plans to double its share of India’s lubricants market over the next five years, according to Chairman and Managing Director Viren Sinha.

Currently, the state-owned company has a 2% market share of this roughly 1.5 million tonne lubricant market.

“The major focus would be on automotive retail business, which will drive growth and profitability and this will be done by leveraging and rapidly expanding the distribution network in focused markets and effective brand building,” Sinha said.

Balmer Lawrie plans to invest around INR 265 crore (USD 41.6 million) on its lubricants and warehouse businesses in the next few years. It will spend INR 100 crore (USD 15.7 million) to revamp its specialty lubricants business, primarily in the Kolkata plant, and INR 165 crore (USD 25.9 million) to build seven temperature-controlled multi-product warehouses in two phases.

“The speciality lubricants for high-end uses in automotives and industrial products are currently drawing the manufacturing focus of the company. We are involved in improving the processes and revamping our research and development efforts towards this segment,” he said.

The company has already invested INR 150 crore (USD 23.6 million) upgrading its 50,000 tonne-per-year lube blending plant in Silvassa. It is also looking into expanding its retail distribution network for specialty lubricants and improving its brand visibility and supply chain.