ExxonMobil to expand industrial lubes business in India

ExxonMobil Lubricants is set to concentrate on its industrial lubes business in India by offering a wider range of its global products. The company also sees its synthetic oils gaining momentum.
New segments are slowly but steadily moving towards the use of more efficient synthetic lubricants, said Rupinder Singh, general manger, ExxonMobil Lubricants in India.
Part of the world’s largest Fortune 500 global corporation, the Indian subsidiary of ExxonMobil conducts business with a manufacturing facility at Mumbai and provides synthetic oils imported from its facilities in the U.S. and France.
He said Mobil industrial lubricants are extensively used in the industrial market sectors, including power generation and wind turbines, general manufacturing, cement and the paper industry.
The industrial lubes business segment is estimated to be about 5-6 million barrels against the overall 15-16 million barrels a year lubes market in the country. The industrial segment has been growing at a steady pace, Singh explained.
However, the automotive segment, which has been growing at double-digit rates in the past, has registered lower growth during the year, which impacts industrial productivity and the overall consumption of lubricants in the country.
For ExxonMobil in India, the automotive sector accounts for 60% of its business, while 40% comes from the industrial sector.
In the immediate foreseeable future, this trend is likely to continue, Singh felt.
Long-drain synthetic oils are getting popular in many industrial segments, including areas such as wind turbines.
“These days we have wind turbines being set up at much higher heights and those who run and manage them do not want to frequently change oils. Therefore, they prefer synthetic oils,” Singh said.
(April 22, 2013)