AXEL’s Swedish grease plant on a cold winter’s day
therefore introduced and the concept of sustainability developed at a very early stage. Products offering long component life, reduced friction and/or containing renewable raw materials help Swedish industry live up to their environmental quality standards and targets. Swedish industry was also one of the first to consider recycling both when it comes to products and packaging.
In the past, only the big international oil companies had the knowledge and resources to be able to develop the peak performance products required in Scandinavia. They also had offices in every single Scandinavian country and they were able to provide the products, the logistics and the services to meet the needs of all the individual industries. And they communicated in the local languages. Today, it is quite different! These oil companies have changed their modus operandi quite significantly. More often than not, they have one main office and one central warehouse in Western Europe. Some of them have even moved their service organisation and call centres into Eastern Europe. The Swedish market is perhaps too small to warrant local resources. Many of them have exited the fuels market, selling off their petrol stations and developed a series of distribution channels to supply their lubricants to industrial customers. So, at the end-user interface, instead of ‘famous name oil companies’, you now find different, more ‘local’ operations such as, Statoil, Preem (Chevron/Texaco), OK/Q8 (Kuwait Petroleum), Nordic Lubricants (BP/Castrol), Univar (Shell), G.A. Lindberg (Mobil) etc. But make no mistake, the great majority of the products themselves are still MOC technologies and more often than not still promoted under their original brand names.
And so, even be it less obvious today, the Swedish lubricants market is still dominated by the big global players. However, because of their change in attitude, there should be considerable opportunities for the more entrepreneurial independent company. There are already a number of interesting independent
players making a name for themselves where most of them have chosen to concentrate on specific markets, foodstuffs, agriculture, mining, whatever. There are also a number of specialised international independents trying to expand their geographical markets and setting up shop in Sweden. So the market is changing. With high quality products able to perform in cold climates and which can contribute to sustainability in one way or another, most Swedish industries are willing to listen to a good story. The total cost of operation rather than the cost per litre of the lubricant is the key to success. A good night’s sleep rather than a can of cheap sticky stuff!
These changes mean that there should be a considerable opportunity for UEIL to increase their influence of the Swedish market. There will be more independents providing a more stable base for a possible local organisation. Today, there are only three members: Nynäs, Binol and Axel Christiernsson, all active in their own specific area. Nynäs specialises in naphthenic base oils, Binol in vegetable based lubricants and Axel Christiernsson in lubricating greases. Sweden is, of course, part of the European Union and Swedish companies are dependent on legislations and rules dictated by the central powers and help from the UEIL to monitor and affect the political decision making process should be interesting and valuable. Likewise with the technical specification bodies, CSR issues, etc. Opportunity knocks!
Graham Gow,
Business Development Manager, Axel Christiernsson International AB, Nol, Sweden
graham.gow@axelch.com
LINK
www.axelch.com
LUBE MAGAZINE NO.123 OCTOBER 2014
57
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