Major Independents Make a Move |
Two of the leading independent lubricant
manufacturers announced price increases on
Monday. The first to move was Smitty's
Supply. Smitty's advised its marketers that
effective July 27, 2009 the price of its
Super S, Sureguard, TriStar and all other
private label brands (in bulk and packaged)
will increase by $0.40 a gallon. At the same
time, its grease prices will increase by
$0.05 a pound.
Smitty's attributed the price increase to the
higher price of raw materials.
Warren Oil Company, Inc, arguably the largest
independent lubricant manufacturer in the
United States, announced a similar price
increase on its finished lubricants on Monday
as well.
These price increases have many marketers
asking the same questions; WHY and Will the
majors move?
The easy question to answer is WHY? As
Smitty's and Warren said, it's due to the
higher cost of raw materials. And in
JobbersWorld's view, it should be no surprise
that when some independent lubricant
manufacturers
are reportedly selling PCEO for under
$3.30 a
gallon in bulk (paper-thin margins),
something has to
give when the price of base oil moves up
$0.20 to over $0.35 a gallon.
Now the big question is, will the majors
move? With demand for lubricants still
significantly down from last year, it will be
interesting to see if the majors are willing
to see their margins compressed in an effort
to retain, and in some cases, regain business.
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ExMo Bumps Up Base Oil Prices |
On July 9, 2009, ExxonMobil announced
it will increase the bulk wholesale price of
selected lubricant base stocks from $0.10 to
$0.35 a gallon, as shown below:
- Americas Core 100, up $0.26
- Americas Core 150, up $0.35
- Americas 330, up $0.25
- Americas Core 600, up $0.30
- Americas Core 2500, up $0.10
- EHC 45 and 60, up $0.20
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PetroCard Systems Acquires Estacada Oil and Northwest Petroleum |
PetroCard, a leading fuels and lubrication
distributor in the Pacific Northwest,
announced the acquisition of Estacada Oil and
Northwest Petroleum. The acquisitions allow
PetroCard to extend its lubricant
distribution service area into northern and
central Oregon as well as offer new services
to its existing customers in Washington state
and Idaho. Estacada Oil's bulk fueling and
cardlock services are now part of the
PetroCard network and Northwest Petroleum's
expertise in commercial and industrial
lubrication products will be integrated into
PetroCard's existing operations.
Estacada Oil and Northwest Petroleum were
owned and operated by John and Karmen Bresko,
who have completely divested their financial
interest in the two companies as they move
into retirement. All current
Estacada/Northwest Petroleum employees will
remain employed by PetroCard in order to
continue the high level of service current
customers have grown to know and appreciate.
Both Estacada Oil and Northwest Petroleum
will now operate under the PetroCard brand name.
"The people and products of Estacada Oil and
Northwest Petroleum are the perfect
complement to our current fuel and
lubrication distribution services throughout
the region," said Steve Tolton, CEO of PetroCard.
PetroCard Systems currently sells lubricants
to many different classes of trades such as
retail chains, wholesale operations,
automotive installers, commercial and
heavy-duty fleets out of its two offices
located in Arlington and Spokane Washington
and now Clackamas Oregon. PetroCard is the
largest ExxonMobil distributor in Washington
state. In addition to lubricants, PetroCard
also offers fuel services primarily via three
methods: "cardlocks" or unattended,
self-serve fueling stations, delivering to
bulk fuel tanks, either unbranded or branded
fuel and via "Mobile Fueling" services, in
which commercial vehicles parked at depots or
other lots are fueled overnight or when not
in use. PetroCard is one of the largest
cardlock operators in the Pacific Northwest.
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CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY UPGRADES TURBINE OIL PRODUCT LINE |
ConocoPhillips Company announced two
significant upgrades to its turbine oil
product line, a tri-branded offering
featuring the Conoco, 76 Lubricants and
Phillips 66 brand imagery. To address
increasing performance demands on modern
turbines and provide a proactive solution to
new cleanliness and varnish concerns,
ConocoPhillips Lubricants enhanced its
baseline Turbine Oil to offer a TOST (Turbine
Oil Stability Test - ASTM D943) rating of
15,000 hours as opposed to the previous 7,500
hours. Simultaneously, ConocoPhillips
Lubricants introduced Ultra-Clean Turbine Oil
featuring a guaranteed cleanliness level of
ISO 18/16/13 and a TOST rating of 15,000
hours. These two new oils join best-in-class
Diamond Class Turbine Oil in a comprehensive
line that addresses the needs of industrial
turbine operations, according to Tim
Langlais, director of industrial products.
"Greater demands on the power grid have
altered the operational profile of industrial
turbines, creating the need for turbine oils
that better address growing varnish and
cleanliness concerns," explains Langlais.
"Power trips due to varnish formation can
result in costly, unplanned downtime.
ConocoPhillips Lubricants is raising the bar
on cleanliness, oxidation control, varnish
resistance and service levels to help our
customers improve reliability in industrial
turbines."
The new ConocoPhillips Lubricants tri-branded
turbine oil product line includes:
- Turbine Oil: This upgraded version of
the existing product now offers a TOST rating
of 15,000 hours, and is ideal for customers
operating steam, geothermal and hydroelectric
turbines that are less sensitive to issues
surrounding oil cleanliness.
- Ultra-Clean Turbine Oil: This new oil is
specifically designated for application in
gas and steam turbines and is rated at 15,000
hours TOST life. Additionally, this oil is
delivered at a guaranteed cleanliness rating
of 18/16/13. Ultra-Clean Turbine Oil best
serves customers concerned with oil
cleanliness whose scheduled drain interval is
fixed at 15,000 hours or less.
- Diamond Class Turbine Oil: This
best-in-class product is designed for use in
direct drive gas, combined-cycle and
co-generation gas turbines. Rated at an
impressive 35,000 hours TOST life, Diamond
Class Turbine Oil is ideal for customers who
want it all - documented varnish control,
guaranteed cleanliness rating of 18/16/13 and
maximum drain intervals.
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