Stringent emission norms have forced Raj Petro Specialities to launch premium automotive lubricants to meet the needs of the latest engines. Raj Petro is fully ready to meet the challenge and offers competent solutions based on two fully equipped plants in western and southern India, says Francis Joseph Xavier, DGM - OEM & Business Development, Raj Petro Specialities. Excerpts from the interview.

How has Raj Petro Specialities responded to the high regional growth opportunities?
The Indian lubricant industry has grown to 1.5 MMT in 2012 and Raj Petro Specialities has invested heavily in launching a premium range of automotive grades and specialities to meet the high-end requirements in terms of manufacturing facilities, testing equipment and people.

What is your assessment of the evolution of the lubricants industry?
The lubricant industry has developed to meet the specifications of technology advancement in automotive industry.

Today, the new generation additives used in lubricants help to meet the stringent requirements of every industry. Raj Petro Specialities, with its global sourcing, has imported the latest base oil technology into India and formulates products with the same.

To what extent is Raj Petro geared to meet the challenges?
Raj Petro Specialities is prepared to offer the advanced lubricants which offer extended drain interval for the construction and off-highway equipment to meet their current requirements. It also offers speciality greases to increase the productive time of the equipment. Raj Petro Specialities is ready with premium automotive and industrial lubricants combined with speciality greases to offer total solutions to the customer.

How do you ensure that OEMs and users are using the right lubricants?
Additive manufacturers form the link between lubricant manufacturers and OEMs in developing new products. At Raj Petro, special care is taken in recommending the right lubricants for the applications based on OEM specifications. In case of OEM specs not being available, after a thorough study, lubricants are recommended based on conditions of load, speed, temperature and operating conditions.

Brief us on the implications of stringent emission norms.
The stringent emission norm has forced Raj Petro Specialities to launch premium automotive lubricants to meet the needs of the latest engines. Raj Petro is fully ready to meet the challenge and offers competent solutions based on two fully equipped plants in western and southern India.

How do you view the increasing impact in the hardware design due to environmental regulations?
The change in hardware design by OEMs would necessarily have an adverse impact on the performance of the lubricants. However, Raj Petro is geared to meet those challenges through additive technology and offer value-for-money solutions.

What is your take on issues like the devaluation of rupee?
The company has been seriously looking at the impact of rupee devaluation, funding and increase of raw materials cost through continuous reverse engineering and developing cost-effective formulations to meet customer expectations.

What are the major challenges facing Raj Petro?
Today lubricant manufacturers face four major challenges: unavailability of quality base oils for manufacturing lubricants; cut-throat competition from local companies, unavailability of trained manpower, and many government PSUs not being open to private oil companies.