Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) Karnataka state office conducted an All India Servo Auto OEM meet in Bengaluru recently. With the theme 'Driving the Xtra Mile', the meet was aimed at sharing and deliberating the latest developments in emission norms, fuel technology, lubricant technology, greener fuels, vehicle technology and after treatment devices. The purpose of this programme was to strengthen relationship with valued customers and other stake holders and to position Servo as one-stop solution for all applications in auto industry.

Sekhar Viswanathan, Vice Chairman and Wholetime Director, Toyota Kirloskar, was the Chief Guest on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, he said, 'IndianOil is one institution that stood tough times in India.'

Vishwanathan inaugurated the Servo All India Auto OEM meet in the presence of KL Murthy, Executive Director (Lubes), IOC, S Varadachari, Executive Director, KASO, IOC, Dr SK Majumdar, Executive Director (RT), IOC R&D, and delegates from automotive industry across India.

In his welcome address, Varadachari thanked the dignitaries and delegates from all over India for attending the meet. He said, 'Euro-VI is on the cards, GST impact is yet to unfold and exciting times are ahead of us to work closely. I hope this meet will be an ideal platform to meet, debate and exchange views and expertise.'

'IndianOil is one institution that stood the tough times, especially during the 1991 economic crisis which marked a watershed in India's history and still it continues to command in the market! It's an honour for me to be present here today,? said Viswanathan, in his inaugural address.

Raising his concerns over the ambitious plan of making India an electric vehicle country by 2030, Vishwanthan urged the government to encourage public transportation and pollution-free hydrogen vehicles. He exhorted the participants (OEMs) to bring rationale for existence of all creating job opportunities as well as combating pollution should be of paramount importance. He also added, 'OEMs should gear themselves to meet the advent of GST and promote cashless transactions.'

Before the meet kicked off, all the dignitaries, delegates and IOCians pledged to conserve and use petroleum products efficiently towards achieving twin objectives of better health and environment and securing availability of oil and gas for future generations.

Panel discussion
The meet commenced with the first panel discussion on 'Clean Disruption - Reforming the Energy Vision'. The distinguished speakers of the session included K L Murthy, Executive Director (Lubes), IOC, Dr Vijayakanthan Damodaran, EGM (R&D), General Motors, and Dr SK Majumdar, Executive Director (RT), IOC R&D. The session was moderated by S Varadachari, Executive Director, KASO, IOC.

The electric mobility took the centre stage in the inaugural session of the meet. 'IndianOil is keen on tie-ups for setting up of electric charging stations at retail outlets to cater to the ambitious target set by government,' said Murthy. Talking about BS-VI, he said, 'We are already ahead of set target - April 2020, as Mathura refinery has despatched BS-VI to two auto companies to test viability and compatibility as cleaner environment will always be our major focus.'

Addressing the OEMs , Murthy highlighted the role of gas in clean energy system. He said, 'With LNG terminal at Ennore and tie-up with Petronet LNG, IndianOil is ahead of time to meet the increasing domestic gas requirements.' About the challenges faced by base oil and lubricant manufacturers, he mentioned, 'IndianOil Haldia Refinery is producing Group-III base oils and all these years, we never compromised the quality of our products and we will not in the future. We always endeavour to meet our customers' expectation who is the ultimate king.'

Taking the discussion forward, Dr Majumdar announced that IndianOil's R&D team is working on augmentation of Group IV polyalphaolefins (PAOs) base oils and new category Group VI base oils. He also added, 'Aggressive vertical research will also be carried out soon on the storage capacity of the battery and solar panels on loco automotives. Right now, our attention is focussed on the raw material which comes from refinery.' He also shared an interesting anecdote on waste management, 'In the future, waste will become our precious and valuable commodity. We can see people filing cases against his/her neighbour for collecting wastes!'

Dr Vijayakanthan focussed on future of vehicles in India and challenges for lubes sector. He said, 'In the coming years, we will see more of hybrid vehicles which will also occupy major chunk of locomotives. It's imperative to re-look at some of the lubricants so as to lead the competition in the market. Electric mobility has a long way to go. One major concern is the cost of the battery which is very high right now. But interesting trends are likely in the market like shift from lube oil to gas segment and it is time for the OEMs to gear up for the challenges.'

Technical Sessions
After the initial panel discussion, the meet continued with Technical Sessions and topic covered during these sessions focussed on Technology Drivers for BS-VI norms, Smart oils for smart machines, Exploring the unexplored - Case studies, Nanotechnology etc. The technical sessions were covered by eminent speakers from KOEL, VECV, TENNECO, MSRTC, TAFE, BEML, M&M, TVS Motors, Evonik, Ashok Leyland, and IOC R&D and Marketing division.

The meet saw participation of who's who of auto industry from Maruti Suzuki, M&M, Tata, Honda, Hyundai, Hero Motocorp, Toyota Kirloskar Motors, Tata Hitachi, TVS Motors, Volvo Constructions, TAFE, Ashok Leyland, BEML, Bosch, VECV, Leeboy etc. More than 100 customers from different OEMs across India participated in the event. The meet ended with the networking dinner and cultural programme.

New platform
A special Servo Auto OEM Meet 2017 website/mobile app - complete information repository, was launched during the occasion. All the queries posted during the technical session by the participants in the app were answered by the panellists during the day. The programme was well appreciated from all the customers. An overall rating of 4.6 out of 5 was received through the app for the event.