Petronas lubricant arm poised to seize pole position in Malaysia

Petronas's global lubricants manufacturing and marketing arm, Petronas Lubricants International Sdn Bhd (PLI), is set to seize the top position in Malaysia's lubricant market, leveraging technological advancements incorporated in its recent product, Petronas Sprinta with Ultraflex.

According to researches, Petronas Sprinta with Ultraflex, a new motorcycle oil, is 41 per cent better as it gives higher shear to prevent oil thinning, prevents oil thickening when exposed to high temperature of 150 degrees Celcius and enables 55 per cent reduction in deposit build-up.

The new range of Petronas Sprinta lubricant will be made available globally, in phases, from the second quarter of 2017 in Malaysia and Vietnam, Thailand in the fourth quarter and Indonesia next year.

PLI Asia Pacific Regional Head, Mohd Khalid Mohamed Latiff, said PLI currently ranks second in the Malaysian lubricant market, however, it was poised to build its brand to be the leading player in the country.

"Petronas Sprinta with Ultraflex is globally competitive, cutting edge lubricant, and we want to bring it into the Malaysian market as we believe it's going to be one of the best products, (compared to) those that are available in the market," he told reporters here recently.

For the Malaysian market, PLI will offer four variants, namely mineral F300 for the mass market, semi-synthetic F500, semi-synthetic F700 and its flagship F900 fully synthetic variant.

Mohd Khalid said PLI currently holds a 23 per cent market share in Malaysia, and motorcycle oil was an area that the company had not fully capitalised on.

"A lot of our growth in Malaysia is achieved through key original equipment manufacturer (OEM) relationship, and some of that are the spillover from our relationship with global and local OEMs.

"In September last year, we launched our commercial lubricant, Petronas Urania, equipped with a brand new formulation right at the forefront of technology. We are seeing very good traction in the market, this is a growth area that we would want to expand," said Mohd Khalid.

The second pillar of growth is through PLI's representation in outlets and workshops as it had shown promising growth potential in that segment last year, he added.

"The third growth pillar is the motorcycle oil segment... this is an area that we are going to focus on moving forward, as Petronas Sprinta with Ultraflex will rejuvenate our proposition that we take into the market," he said.

Mohd Khalid said PLI also planned to engage consumers through its activation plan, revolving around those who wanted to try and experience the products.

Established in 2008, PLI manufactures and markets a full range of high-quality automotive and industrial lubricants in over 100 markets globally.

Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, PLI has over 30 marketing offices in 26 countries, managed through regional offices in Kuala Lumpur, Turin, Belo Horizonte, Chicago and Durban. --Bernama