OIL

LAUNCH OF GOODYEAR GROOVE

Sunil Khanchandani, Managing Director of Alonsa Electric Group, unveils details about the new product range by Goodyear

Alonsa Electric Group (a member of Al Tara Group since 1978) revealed at Automechanika 2022 a comprehensive portfolio of Goodyear engine oils throughout the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, totalling to 72 kinds of lubricants with over 300 SKUs. Moreover, Goodyear is one of the world’s largest tire companies which strives to develop state-of-theart products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry.

Could you please brief us on this new range of oils and lubricants? Goodyear Lubricants has been developing fluids for electric cars, such as coolants, brake fluids, transmission fluids and greases for heavy industrial applications. We launched Goodyear Groove at Automechanika 2022 last month on the traditional front. It is a range of fully synthetic SP-grade gasoline engine oils for high performance in a new series of engines.

How are these new ranges of oils and lubricants produced and manufactured? The petroleum-derived lubricating oil is made up of a mixture produced by atmospheric and vacuum distillation of selected paraffinic and naphthenic crude oils. Afterwards, chemical changes may be required to refine the product’s properties.

We go through a stringent quality control departmental process with our multinational blending partners to ensure our lubricants are up to the mark with ongoing market trends.

What unique elements are adapted in the new range? The new range of fluids and greases is catered to the electric vehicle segment. We forecast a lot of light vehicles entering the logistics segment over the next two years. Many companies will transition to electric trucks for distribution needs, and at Goodyear Lubricants, we are starting very early to ensure we have a complete range of electric vehicle fluids for the light commercial vehicle segment.

What unique technology is used to produce this range? We have technology transferred from well-known multinational R&D centres to meet the market’s lubricant grease and fluids requirements. The demand for optimized fluids requires ensuring performance in thermal management, energy efficiency, corrosion resistance, and oxidative stability, amongst other factors. Group 3|4 & 5 synthetic-base oils help formulators achieve these impressive performance goals. It is essential to develop optimized formulations to meet the needs of the growing market.

What are the particular oil components that can help maintain a car? Engine oils are composed of two essential components: base oils and additives. The base oils constitute 70-90% of the total and are created from natural gas or crude oil, while additives round out the remaining 10-30% and can be various things. The right mix of the above two ensures the smooth function of any vehicle.

Fluids are composed of water-based glycol chemicals. Goodyear Lubricants are planning on investing in R&D to strengthen its foray into this - the future of mobility fluids.

Logistically, how are you planning to supply this product range in the region? We intend to cater to the light vehicle commercial electric market as soon as it starts being launched and growing market share in the region. Are you planning to advance the supply chain operations in the GCC? We intend to stock our product varieties with key 3PL across the region for faster delivery to the end markets.

What is your opinion on the growing automobile industry in the Middle East? Despite a slowdown in recent years brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic and disruptions in global supply chains, 2022 saw the automotive industry adapt and move forward on several fronts.

As the need for more extraordinary technology in the automotive industry increases, we are dedicated to building cleaner and greener options as we harness innovations being made globally.

“WE GO THROUGH A STRINGENT QUALITY CONTROL DEPARTMENTAL PROCESS WITH OUR MULTINATIONAL BLENDING PARTNERS TO ENSURE OUR LUBRICANTS ARE UP TO THE MARK WITH ONGOING MARKET TRENDS.”