Suresh Kalra, GM, Commercial & Industrial, Valvoline Cummins Ltd, talks about the company's endeavour to be positioned as number two amongst the international lube brands present in India. What is the present market in terms of size and its potential for growth? The Indian lube market is around 1.7 Mt; positioned as the third largest lubricant market in Asia and the fifth largest in the world. As per market intelligence reports, this demand would be over 1.9 Mt by the year 2013. Of the total, transport lubricants is around 53 per cent, the balance being industrial oils, grease and other grades. The growth in the lubricant industry is synchronised with the GDP growth rates as also the structure of the finance available in the market. We have also observed an exponential growth in the infrastructure, mining and power-gen sector. How has the downturn impacted the growth of this segment in general, and your company's performance in particular? Valvoline is one of the fastest growing lube brands in India. The lube market off-late witnessed a slowdown in its pace; companies withdrew their operations from India and few big ones had a volume dip. However, Valvoline was able to constantly grow which was primarily due to the constant evolution in our product portfolio. We brought in more global products to the Indian markets, grew our network and also built OEM partnerships as key marketing initiatives. What is your take on the present challenges of this segment? We are the youngest of the players entering the Indian lube market and we perceive every challenge as an opportunity. Our six sigma initiatives are also a reflection of our passion to improve our processes and provide better quality and value for money to our end customers. Our biggest challenge would still be to create an even bigger brand equity and increase the recall value of customers. Tell us about Valvoline-Cummins and its core competencies? Valvoline has a heritage of over 145 years in the lube business globally. We are the only lube company which has a partnership with Cummins, the largest diesel engine manufacturer in the world. This is a key leverage that we use on our product testing before we role them out in the market; our products are technologically backed to ensure 'customer delight'. What are the solutions offered by Valvoline-Cummins? Valvoline offers a range of on-highway and off-highway lube solutions as also industrial oils. We focus on our key segments of mining, construction, power-gen and the retail consumer markets. What makes Valvoline-Cummins stand apart as a leader in this segment? We have always added value to both our channel partners as well as our customers. On offer are a range of value added services like that of lube dispensing equipment, technical seminars for our customers, driver training programmes, safety campaigns, economy driving training programmes, lube surveys etc. Most of our customers consider us as a solution provider and not merely a lube seller. This helps us build a long term relationship with our external and internal customers. Tell us about the potential for export and to what extent Valvoline-Cummins has geared up to meet the challenges in the international markets? We have export activities active in a few South East Asian countries from India. Our products meet global performance platforms and this is also the reason we not only export but also import quite a number of products from US and Europe for our domestic consumers, like the fully synthetic grades. Tell us about your manufacturing facilities and service network? We have a production facility at Panvel. However, the exponential growth that we have witnessed in our lube business has prompted us to set up a green field plant project on a 10-acre property, located in the Ambernath industrial area near Mumbai. We plan to build a Valvoline lubricant blending plant with an initial production capacity of 100 million litre per year. For equipment applications, we are serviced though a network of Cummins dealers and strong Valvoline technical sales support team. Another five years down the line, where do you place Valvoline-Cummins? In another three to five years, you would clearly see us holding the number two position amongst the international brands present in India. Tell us about the biggest strength of your division.Our strength is our passionate workforce. As we proudly say it in Valvoline, 'We are in it to win it!' (Communication by the management of the company) Achromatin dido flexibilizer ineffectual! 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