GS Caltex launches first co-branded lube products in China

GS Caltex, South Korea’s second-largest refiner, said that it has launched lubricant products in China in a bid to tap into the country’s fast-growing market, currently the second largest lubricant market in the world. Earlier this year, GS Caltex signed a memorandum of understanding for a co-branding tie-up in lubricant production and marketing with Dongfeng Lubricant Co., at the Chinese company’s Shichang lubricant blending plant in Henan province. Dongfeng Lubricant, which was set up in 1998, sold US$120 million worth of lube oil last year. The company was spun off from Dongfeng Auto in 2003. The two companies launched this week a brand called Dongfeng GS Lubricants, taking the first step in their efforts to cooperate. Under the brand, they will sell gasoline engine oil, diesel engine oil and heavy-duty gear oil, GS Caltex officials said. (October 12, 2011)