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Mobil's drive to be back in the top four
REINVESTMENT
MOBIL has not wasted any time re-entering the SA lubricants market and is setting itself some very ambitious targets - to become one of the top four players in the market within three years. Mobil left this country in 1989 and was restrained from re-entering by Gencor/Engen until July of this year. John Pototsky, who will spearhead the re-entry, says a team came immediately to investigate the potential for Mobil in SA. It recommended Mobil enter the field of lubricants only during an initial phase, although it could include fuels later. "Our estimates are that the South African market for lubricants is the equivalent of 2.2-million barrels, which realise $70 a barrel (approximately R720-million a year). The top six companies have 80% of the market and our intention is to become one of the top four within three years." Pototsky says Mobil's head office will be in Johannesburg, because most of the customers are in the area, with offices in Cape Town and Durban. "We will bring a total of 14 high-powered technical and specialist staff from Mobil's operations in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, America and Africa, with the intention of back-filling the expatriate complement as South Africans are trained to take over their roles. There will be a total staff of 60 and Mobil will begin local recruitment in time to start up properly in the new year," says Pototsky. Mobil is the largest US oil company and second in the world. Pototsky, who was based at Mobil's Africa head office in Paris, says Mobil is the world leader in synthetic lubricants which are put together specifically to meet engine manufacturers' requirements. "They save on engine wear and reduce exhaust emissions. Our tests using a BMW driven for a million miles show that the engine is still like new because there is basically no friction in Mobil's lubricants." The domestic lubricants market divides evenly between automotive and industrial applications such as in mining, steel making, marine and aviation. These users will be the big target market for Mobil. Mobil products will not initially be available at garages, as it has not yet entered a distribution agreement with a fuel retailers, but they will be on sale in autospares shops and supermarkets.
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