For the fifth consecutive year, the consultancy Kline & Company has named Shell the number-one global lubricant supplier. With more than 13% share of the market in volume terms, we sell more lubricants than any other company in the world (source: Kline & Company, 2011).
We make and sell a wide variety of lubricants to meet customer needs across a range of applications. These include consumer motoring, heavy-duty transport, mining, power generation and general engineering. Shell’s portfolio of lubricant brands includes Pennzoil, Quaker State, Shell Helix, Shell Rotella, Shell Tellus and Shell Rimula. Shell also owns Jiffy Lube® franchised service centres, with more than 2,000 franchised service centres in North America, serving approximately 24 million customers each year. Jiffy Lube pioneered the fast oil change industry in 1979 by establishing the first drive-through service bay, providing customers with fast, professional service for their vehicles.
Our lubricants are marketed in approximately 100 countries. We have leading positions in both mature and emerging markets. Shell is the top supplier by volume in the USA – the world’s largest lubricant market – and the top international supplier by volume in China – the world’s fastest growing lubricant market.
We continue to expand in emerging markets. We have an oil-blending plant in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China. Associated with this, we opened Shell’s first Lubricants Technical Service Centre in Zhuhai in August 2011. The construction of Shell’s largest grease manufacturing plant is ongoing on this same site. Shell was also the first international oil company to build an oil-blending plant in Russia.
We have leading lubricants research centres in Germany, Japan (in a joint venture with Showa Shell), the UK and the USA.
We invest significantly in technology and work closely with our customers to develop innovative lubricants. Our focus is on developing products and services for our clients that provide both superior protection and efficiency. One of the ways we push the boundaries of lubricant technology is by working closely with top motor racing teams, such as Scuderia Ferrari. These technical partnerships enable us to expand our knowledge of lubrication science and transfer cutting-edge technology from the racetrack to our commercial products.
