Bizol is a German engineering company manufacturing innovative and effective motor oils, additives and lubricants. As a manufacturer, it has engine oils approved from OEMs like MB, BMW, VW, Volvo, MAN among others. The company who has presence in 70 countries with a lot of experience in specifying the best oil, believes in the right mix. As each country has different environmental conditions and especially the quality of the fuel supplied in the market getting the best from the oil is dependent on many factors.
“An example is the oil specified for BMW. In Europe the oil drain interval for a 530d is 30,000km or two years. However, in India with the same engine and oil the drain interval is 13,000 km or 6 months”, said Mr. Mark Mathias, Chief Sales Officer, Bizol India.
The use of Group III and Group IV oils makes a huge difference but the additive package is of equal importance. “The oil must be made to suit the environment that the vehicle operates in. At BIZOL, this is something that we take very seriously with our R&D department developing specific formulations to protect the engine in these harsh environments. The trend is for small bore engines with higher KW output. In order to manage this only Group III or IV oils can do this especially as manufactures are moving to 0W-16 and R&D departments are looking for 0W-8 oils,” informed Mr. Mathias.
Innovative products
BIZOL has developed new oils to deal with urban driving where the motor continues to work (but the vehicle is immovable) in a traffic congestion. He added, “Think about your vehicle stuck in traffic and crawling along, as well as stopping and starting. Driving in such conditions put a great strain on the engine and oil. BIZOL Green Oil has been specially made to protect the engine with a boosted package of extra detergents and dispersants and more-anti wear additives and friction modifiers to cope with viscosity change from urban driving. BIZOL have recently launched a new oil called Green Oil Plus which has all the advantages our Green Oil has, but has been especially formulated for Hybrid and the new Start-Stop engines.”
Coming to greases, Bizol Grenvo’s grease range is an interesting space for the German brand in its premium positioning in India. “Our TLX 10 is a next generation grease with a life of 1,00,000 kms and tailor made to add value to fleet owners eliminating mechanic’s decision making in the process. During our market surveys in India, we found that the mechanics are never too keen on promoting a better product with an enhanced life as their earnings are directly proportional to the number of times they change the product. Therefore, in a country like India, general purposes greases better known as AP3 or MP3 still enjoy a huge market. At Bizol, we always believe in bringing the VOC (voice of the customer) back to our VOS (voice of the scientist) to innovate and develop solutions,” he revealed.
The company, after extensive preliminary meetings with fleet owners, was convinced that long life is a segment that they could disrupt. “That’s how we developed a one of its kind 1,00,000 kms grease for India. With an enhanced mechanical stability as well as roll stability, and supremely high dropping point and weld load, this product indeed is a gem. Before launching we tested the products at the lab level in the High temperature wheel bearing life performance test (ASTM 3527) and also conducted field trial data in 22 trucks for almost a year and only after correlating both the data found in the labs and in the field, we decided to commercially launch the product in 2014,” he explained.
Addressing drain life & quality
A critical feature of a lubricant is the time required before it needs to be changes, this feature known as drain life is gained through the quality of the lubricant. The improvement in the drain life is expected to contribute to a slower growth of replacement demand in the future. It is even observed by Indian as well as Europeans workshops managers and dealers. To overcome this, the workshop was made to offer other services that offer greater opportunities for more profitable work. “Mineral oil changes have become a low margin service and takes up time preventing other more profitable work to be carried out. With a longer oil drain interval, the inspection pits or the lifts are freed up. With these free lifts, other maintenance work can be carried out. It should also not be forgotten that a synthetic oil change will have a different price tag to a mineral oil change. The filter will also be expensive as will the oil. The workshop will also be able to offer new services that will help the vehicle owner protect and keep their vehicle longer on the road. A little imagination and with BIZOL additives the workshop can increase their income and increase their customer base. It really is an opportunity not a disadvantage,” concluded the Chief Sales Officer.
“Bizol Grenvo is doing exceptionally well in both Automotive and Industrial domains. The brand has covered 15 states as of now providing best quality synthetic lubricants to the end user and also our channel partners” said Mr. Hemant Bhatt, Marketing Manager Bizol Grenvo-India.