THE NEW NAME FOR GULF IN CHINA

Gulf’s programme for growth in China has reached another landmark stage, with the redefining of its operations in China under a new name: Gulf Oil (China) Co Ltd.

Gulf’s has had a presence in China since 1995, when a joint venture was set up between Gulf Oil International and the Yantai Chemical Company, under the title Gulf Oil (Yantai) Co Ltd. Yantai, in the Shandong Province, was chosen because of its development zone status and it being a convenient location for air, land and sea transport.

Having established its Chinese headquarters in Yantai, Gulf built a new 50,000 tonne per annum blending plant to service its Chinese needs, which opened in November 2006. The ultra modern, computer controlled, facility, with its automated blending tanks, was a major statement of intent by Gulf of the growing importance of China in its global strategy.

Since then, the Chinese market has grown rapidly and Gulf has now moved into the next phase of its development in China, of which this change of name is a further important reflection.

With growth very much in mind, Gulf has expanded its Chinese operations through the opening of two new key regional Chinese offices this year – one in the key commercial hub of Shanghai and the second, only last month, in the nation’s capital city, Beijing.

“As a long-established global lubricant brand, we understood the need to have a dedicated presence in China’s major commercial centres,” explains Jan Trocki, Gulf Oil International Vice President of Operations. “With the opening of these new offices we are able to provide much better service for Gulf’s growing distributor network in China. They will help drive and implement new sales, marketing and product strategies. As these come to fruition we will also look to add further to the infrastructure of Gulf’s operations in China.”

Gulf’s blending plant and administrative hub will remain in Yantai, but the opening of the new offices has already led to an increase in Gulf’s distributor network in China and a resultant increase in product blending levels at the Yantai plant as Gulf primes itself for a significant growth in sales in the country.

The importance of the Chinese market to Gulf is such that the brand chose to launch its new global packaging in China recently, several months ahead of its appearance in the rest of the world.

Gulf has also set up a dedicated OEM Team to focus on developing OEM business with the major automotive manufacturers in China – a move which is already paying dividends.

According to Arthur Liu, general manager of Gulf Oil (China) Co Ltd., “Gulf is planning for significant growth in the Chinese market. Our distribution network has increased by almost 50% since the beginning of the year and our OEM team has already achieved breakthroughs with the likes of Jincheng Motorcycle, Sinotruk and Dongfeng-Nissan.

“Gulf is committed to an increasing investment in innovative product research and development so that we can deliver new product solutions. With a strong global brand, that has a reputation for high quality products & service levels and an outstanding value proposition – now backed up with a strengthened infrastructure – we feel we have all of the building blocks to make a real mark for the Gulf brand in China.”

For more information contact Sam Cork at Gulf Oil International: [email protected] or telephone +44 (0) 207 321 5531 Or Simon Maurice at Chicane: [email protected] or telephone +44 (0) 1923 269490