Castrol industrial case studies
We help make it happen
Across the industrial sector, we work with businesses to overcome challenges and develop solutions to new problems. Here’s how we help make it happen.
The race for the world championship. We help make it happen
Castrol has worked with Renault Sport F1 for 2 years supplying Hysol XBB and Tribol to help translate marginal gains during the manufacturing process into increased performance on the track.
The mission
Ultimately, the ambition of the Renault Sport F1 team is to win championships. Together, Castrol and Renault are racing ahead to achieve that goal by translating technological and product innovations on the factory floor into success on the track.
Working with Renault to optmise lubricant efficiency, stability, and performance in the manufacturing process was critical in doing that.
The partnership
While Renault’s ambition is to win the world championship, Castrol’s ambition is to give Renault a leading edge by improving the way they manufacture vital components for the F1 car.
The product
The performance
Unearthing the marginal gains needed in the factory to achieve the marginal gains on the track is the focus of the Renault Sport F1 team and Castrol partnership. For example, in the machine shop where many car components are manufactured, the ability to speed this process up and get those components to the track quicker than ever before enables Renault to have an edge in their performance.
The growth of wind
Renewables are here to stay, and so is Castrol
Castrol has been providing gear oils to the wind sector since the early ‘80s, and has played a crucial role in helping it to become the $94.5bn market it is today. And the key to that success has been a stringent focus on research, development, and becoming fully immersed in the wind industry.
The renewables market is only going to grow as companies and countries move away from fossil fuels, and the speed of that growth will owe a lot to wringing efficiencies out of renewable technologies wherever possible.
That’s where Castrol comes in.
Designing products for today and tomorrow
Castrol is passionate about harnessing its relationships with customers, distributors, employees, investors and original equipment manufacturers to figure out the wind sector’s key challenges so that we can come up with the most viable and effective solutions.
Castrol’s research into gear oils revolves around the following core aims:
With the industry continually evolving, it is essential that Castrol designs products that are not only capable of delivering optimal performance today, but can increase the effectiveness of wind technologies going forward.
Optigear Synthetic X gear oil
Much of Castrol’s research in this area has been to understand the value of Optigear Synthetic X, and to discover exactly how it benefits wind turbine operators.
Through the use of a highly accelerated life test (HALT), which can accurately predict a product’s lifespan and its long-term performance levels, it was discovered that Optigear Synthetic X could improve turbine performance by as much as 1% when compared to the nearest competitor.
Real-life benefits
The true value of any product or solution can only be determined when put into a real-life scenario. By working with a large customer, it was quickly established that by using Optigear Synthetic X, wind turbine operators could see savings of as much as $3,700 per year, per turbine.
Supporting the wider issue
As part of Castrol’s dedication to taking a more environmentally-conscious approach to all aspects of its operations, all gear oils are now carbon neutral.
The green revolution is going to continue in the years and decades to come, and Castrol is dedicated to being at the centre of the global shift towards greener, more renewable energy production.
Find out more about Optigear Synthetic X, and discover how it can help your business operate more efficiently
Two companies, one mission: Castrol and ILS Nordic
Castrol’s Swedish partner reflects its commitment to standing out from the competition
A shared commitment to unlock value
Castrol and ILS Nordic are on a mission to realize production efficiencies.
Best-in-class together
Castrol and ILS Nordic share the same commitment to excellence.
Like Castrol, ILS Nordic is committed to being best-in-class. Its roadmap to that objective is based on four core pillars: quality, flexibility, involvement and quick response.
These values dovetail perfectly with Castrol’s and ensure the two companies approach each partnership with a common understanding.
Major gains
One of the partnership’s clearest gains thus far has been achieved by an industrial customer.
The customer had some problems with its tooling life, so Castrol and ILS went in and identified areas for improvement and provided demonstrable evidence that the customer could save on both cost and tooling requirements.
As a result of our partnership’s efforts, the customer has lowered its overall cost and become much more competitive against its rivals.
Real-life benefits
Now the two parties are looking forward to achieving similarly impressive results with other clients.
60 years of excellence: Castrol and Telko
How Castrol helped its distributor become an international leader
A lasting partnership
Telko is among Castrol’s clearest HPL experts
Telko is a lubricants distributor based in Finland, active in 16 countries. Castrol has been working with the company for over 60 years and the two sides have established a particularly close partnership.
More than just a supplier
Telko strives to work with customers as well as for them.
Telko serves a fleet of leading companies across a portfolio which includes:
and Beverage
and Mining
Turbine applications
As Morten Nedergaard, director of Telko’s Denmark and Norway division explains, “the customers Telko is working together with are really leading industrial customers in our market.”
To serve these customers, Telko strives to go beyond the usual supplier relationship and work with customers as well as for them. Instead of simply supplying products, Telko wants to offer holistic solutions. In Nedergaard’s view, “Telko’s strengths is really deep knowledge about the products. We are really a team of specialists.”
A shared commitment
Castrol has helped Telko provide an even better service.
Drawing on its vast experience across a range of fields, Castrol has joined Telko’s mission to over-deliver in its client relationships, working with the distributor to provide an even better service to its customers - considering both industry trends and the wider environmental impact.
A symbiotic relationship
Information-sharing is at the core of the Castrol-Telko partnership.
During their six decades of working together, Castrol and Telko have developed a symbiotic relationship. Telko provides information from the field and Castrol uses it to refine its product range, delivering mutual benefit.
Driving the bar upwards
Telko sees Castrol as vital to its long-term strategy.
Telko says it is committed to continuously improving its service and going even further beyond what the customer expects.
As Morten Nedergaard explains, “when you succeed and you find the right product, and you see that the customer saves money and they really feel they have the right support from the distributor, that is really what keeps us living. That’s what gives us energy.”
The company sees Castrol as vital in its long-term strategy.
Renault engine plant
Driving efficiencies at a massive scale: We help make it happen
Castrol has worked with Motores, one of Renault’s biggest mechanical plants, supplying Hysol XBB and the compatible cleaner Techniclean XBC. These hyper-optimized solutions have enabled Motores significantly reduce their water consumption while also working towards evolving environmental standards.
The Mission
Motores, based in the Spanish city of Valladolid, serves 1.5 million engines a year - 40% of Renault’s entire engine production. This giant plant is constantly looking for marginal gains in its attempt to drive efficiencies, comply with ever-tightening environmental regulations and meet Renault’s relentless demand for self-improvement.
Castrol’s smart lubricants, allied with long-term vision and technical support, have helped meet these challenges.
Anne-Catherine Brieux
MOTORES -Valladolid PowertrainPlant Manager, GROUPE RENEAULT - Spain
The partnership
In its partnership with Castrol at the Motores plant, Renault demands more than just a lubricants supplier. It needs a genuine partner, one that can help anticipate industry changes and keep improving.
In addition to its core lubricant solutions, Castrol has furnished Smart Control machines to remotely monitor the performance of the fluids, backed up by technical support to anticipate problems and find solutions.
Brieux says that the partnership with Castrol “is not a [typical] supplier-customer relationship. Castrol is not expecting the request from Renault, but is very proactive in making new innovation proposals.”
The product
The core products selected for the Motores project are ideally suited to the challenge of minimising waste and environmental footprint.
XBB, free from boron and formaldehyde, complies with the most stringent environmental regulations. XBC, meanwhile, can be recycled back into the coolant system, dramatically reducing water usage and keeping waste to a minimum. The Smart Control system dovetails with these core products by controlling all the key parameters in the coolant and the cleaner 24/7.
The performance
Thanks to Castrol’s innovations Renault has saved 1 million litres of water this year alone, and there have even been savings in the core product. More than that, though, they have found a company which shares their desire for continuous improvement, a partner for the long term.
Maintaining a global machine: Grob and Castrol
Grob can’t afford its systems to go down. Castrol keeps them running
An international pedigree
Grob has earned a global reputation in the industrial systems market
Grobwerke Mindelheim (Grob) has been working in the manufacture of tooling and machine systems for over 90 years. The company’s product line ranges from assembly to electromobility systems and, as the company’s Department Sales Manager Klaus Eberts explains, its reputation is built on “highly innovative production and automation systems.”
The company is active across a range of sectors from medical to automotive, and its consistent excellent is reflected in a list of customers which includes several international brands.
Quick, responsive service
Grob relies on constant technical availability
As Maintenance Manager Alexander Boehm explains, Grob can only serve its global customer roster if it is always on.
This means that Grob needs dependable partners, with global availability.
Martin Demminger
Account Manager
A personal, proactive approach
Grob and Castrol have forged a strong partnership over the past two decades.
Castrol has been working with Grob for the past two decades, supplying a range of products. Today Grob uses the XBB cooling lubricant range, as well as slideway oils and corrosion protection products, applied to machines prior to delivery.
When problems arise, Castrol adopts a proactive approach to their resolution. When Grob recently ran into problems with one of its products, Castrol was able to pour all its resources into finding the right solution.
Instant resolution
Grob is extremely impressed with the way Castrol resolves issues
Grob is full of praise for the speed of Castrol’s service, and views Castrol as an integral part of its own operation.
However, perhaps the real key is the two companies’ shared commitment to innovation. As Boehm says, “it is the permanent further development of products that influences the success of the partnership between Castrol and Grobwerke.”
Castrol’s cutting fluids give gehring a decisive competitive edge
A well-earned reputation for excellence
Gehring Group has been in operation for over 100 years, and has developed a world-class reputation for delivering production systems with high productivity and high precision for the automotive and truck industries.
Gehring uses Castrol’s XBB range of cutting fluids to give customers the high performance they demand today, while also future-proofing their operations.
The Castrol edge
Castrol is the preferred and recommended supplier of cutting fluids for Gehring honing machines. Specifically, Gehring use Castrol’s XBB range, which is free from biocide and Boron, and offers the most sustainable and stable cutting fluids on the market.
As Andreas Osbar, European Industrial Sales Director at Castrol, explains:
“Castrol helps its customers in three ways:
A long-term partnership that delivers real results
Gehring and Castrol are true partners, working together with the same open attitude to innovation and collaboration to deliver the best results.
And it’s a proven partnership thathas been successful for decades.
A recipe for future success
Both Gehring and Castrol are committed to continuous improvement in fluid technology, helping to further refine and enhance the honing process for manufacturers.
Castrol is perfectly placed to help Gehring continue to benefit from competitive advantage, by offering:
Castrol and Leadec deliver end-to-end fluid management offering
A standardised approach to fluid management across europe
Castrol, the leading global lubricant manufacturer, has signed a strategic Memorandum-of-Understanding (MoU) in Europe with Leadec, a global market leader for industrial services.
Leadec is an expert in engineering, installing, automating, and operating factories and buildings, as well as relocating equipment for manufacturing industries. Leadec’s strong roots in the automotive sector are the perfect complement for Castrol’s expertise in lubricants.
The Castrol and Leadec Group partnership combines Leadec’s expertise in industrial services and Castrol’s expertise in industrial lubricants. This unique partnership means that industrial customers can:
A winning combination
Together, Castrol and Leadec will be able to offer a standardised approach to fluid management across Europe, leveraging local expertise and ensuring a consistent, high-quality service for customers.
Contact us at castrolleadec@bp.com to find out more.
$3m in costs avoided. We help make it happen.
Castrol Complete CMS protected Tata Cummins’ revenue in India, thanks to deep technical expertise, operational excellence and technology leadership.
The challenge
Tata Cummins manufactures automotive parts and mid-range engines for commercial vehicles. Expanding operations led to a need for a lubricant partner with deep technical expertise to deliver continuous improvement and stay ahead of stricter environmental standards.
The Castrol partnership
We applied our complete CMS programme to drive major improvements for Tata Cummins.
1. Connect - operational excellence
Using the Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP), we harnessed innovative smart technologies and reviewed areas from procurement management to waste minimisation.
Findings were shared, reviewed and implemented on an ongoing basis, driving up performance and efficiency continuously.
2. Maintain - technology leadership
With the advantage of industry-leading technology, we were able to continually drive marginal gains for Tata Cummins. Not only that, but the risk level across sites was reduced, operational efficiencies were enhanced and lubrication management was simplified.
Tata Cummins was able to:
3. Succeed - Optimising asset Life and performance sustainability
The partnership has enabled Tata Cummins to reduce risks across sites, enhance operational efficiencies, minimise waste and simplify lubrication management. Significant positive results include:
What’s next for Tata Cummins and Castrol?
Castrol continues to be the primary lubricant and CMS expert for TATA Cummins. We’re forging into the future with an eye on several key goals:
- Enabling the full transition to Industry 4.0
- Driving implementation of energy management services
- Further development of predictive maintenance and management techniques
- Providing digitalised data analytics
- Continuously advancing innovative lubricant products
