Lubrication in Sweden, the same but different!


The dynamics of the lubricants market in Sweden has undergone considerable changes over the past years. In contrast to most other parts of Europe, the biggest share of branded lubricants is supplied by the major oil companies rather than by independent blenders. This is somewhat difficult to analyse however since many of these large international companies have chosen to supply their products via distributors rather than approach the different industries themselves. When statistics were more clear and easier to obtain, almost 90% of all lubricants sold in Sweden were supplied by the Major Oil Companies (MOCs).


Now, why should this be? To begin with, Sweden does not have a huge population. In fact only 9 million souls live in a land the size of California. From our location in Gothenburg, we are actually closer to Milan in Italy than we are to the northern parts of Sweden. And this means that the resources needed to cover the entire country are bigger than most companies are willing to invest compared to the potential profits involved. Reliable statistics have proven to be difficult to collect in an ever increasingly globalised marketplace but the general consensus is that the market size and segmentation have been reasonably stable for quite some time now. The total consumption of lubricants in Sweden is estimated to be somewhat short of 200,000 metric tonnes per annum with a rough product segmentation split as follows: Nothing particularly spectacular here!


Local report


and the coastal strip of Siberia. In fact, 90% of all people living north of the 60th latitude live in Scandinavia. And Sweden is by far the biggest country there. In addition, we can discuss whether or not the populations in Canada and Siberia are actually “living” there or if they are there to work, to extract the natural resources, oil, minerals etc. In the Southern hemisphere, there is absolutely nothing south of the 60th latitude apart from Antarctica! So a populated Scandinavia is somewhat unique.


The 60th Latitude (source http://en.wikipedia.org)


Historically speaking, the quality of lubricants required for Swedish conditions has been determined by three significant factors, the Arctic winter, the relative sophistication of Swedish industry and consideration for the natural environment. Sweden is in a very strange place in a global perspective. Rather than looking at a conventional map of Europe, have a look at a globe from a bird’s eye perspective over the North Pole. If we consider the world north of the 60th latitude, we see that not many people live there. Apart from Scandinavia, you will find Iceland, Greenland, the North West Territories of Canada, part of Alaska


Anyhow, living or working in such an environment demands functionality at extremely low temperatures and lubricants have to work under these harsh conditions, no matter whether they are used in special equipment for mining operations or regular passenger cars for normal families. Everything has to work, even in winter. Many of the global car manufacturers have chosen to run trials in the north of Sweden and this includes, of course, how lubricants perform in such an environment. Sweden has continually been (and still is) at the forefront of technical innovation and this has also put a high demand on the quality of lubricants. Within the automotive industry, in mining and metallurgy, bearings and gears, paper and pulp, hydro-electric power, forestry, electronics, telecommunication, to name just a few, Sweden has been able to boast about its world class industries. The demand for peak performance products rather than commodity lubes has therefore been a high priority in both the finished products and their production processes, and concepts such as preventive maintenance were introduced in Sweden well in advance of most other places. And last but not least, interest in protecting the natural environment has been high on the agenda for Swedes, both at work and in their private habitats. Environmentally ‘friendly’ lubricants were


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LUBE MAGAZINE NO.123 OCTOBER 2014


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