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related services to automotive, industrial, marine, oil exploration and production customers across the
world. Headquartered in the UK, Castrol operates directly in over 40 countries, and employs
approximately 7,000 people worldwide. Third party distributors market and sell our products locally in
nearly 100 other markets. Our delivery network extends throughout 140 countries, covering 800 ports
and partnering with over 2000 distributors and agents.
In 1899 Charles Cheers Wakefield left his job at Vacuum Oil to start a new business at Cheapside in
London under the name of CC Wakefield & Company, selling lubricants for trains and heavy
machinery. He was a persuasive man who could articulate a vision and eight former colleagues joined
him in his new venture. Early in the twentieth century, Charles took an interest in two sporty new
motorised contraptions the automobile and the aeroplane. These new engines needed oils that were
runny enough to work from cold at start-up and thick enough to keep working at very high
temperatures. Wakefield researchers found that adding a measure of castor oil, a vegetable oil made
from castor beans, did the trick nicely. They called the new product Castrol.
The Castrol brand continued to pioneer and drive the movement towards
synthetics in response to the demands from vehicle manufacturers (OEMs) for
better performing and environment-friendly products, while also selectively
making a play in the midprice segment in certain categories. Your Company
continued its close association with its OEM partners, especially Maruti Suzuki,
Jaguar Land Rover, BMW, Ford and the Volkswagen group and introduced
coengineered products with Tata Motors during the year under review.
Personal mobility Two-wheeler oils: Two-wheeler oils category consists of oils for
four-stroke and two-stroke engines that power motorcycles and scooters. Oils for
four-stroke motorcycle engines dominate the category currently, while the
gearless scooters segment is witnessing a re-emergence. Castrol operates in this
space through three principal product brands Castrol Activ, Castrol Power1 and
Castrol Go!. Castrol Bike Points are exclusive stock-and-sell independent twowheeler workshops and a key driver of growth for your Company in this category.
Two-wheeler oils category delivered strong growth in volumes during the year,
powered by some exciting brand activations for Castrol Activ and Castrol Power1
and by broad-basing its play through the introduction of Castrol Go! in the midprice segment. With a majority of two-wheeler owners, especially first time users,
being heavy consumers of digital media, the two-wheeler oils category witnessed
some strong activation campaigns on this platform, especially on Facebook,
Twitter and other popular social media platforms. Castrol Activ, the largest brand
in volume terms for your Company, witnessed a strong growth on the back of
exciting 360 consumer campaigns. Your Company leveraged its relationship
with the International Cricket Council (ICC) as its official Performance Partner at
the ICC Champions Trophy in UK. This was dovetailed with an exciting Twitterenabled digital activation targeted at cricket fans, a large proportion of who ride
a motorcycle. Castrol Power1 continued to build on one of the largest online
marketing communities for bikers Castrol Biking on Facebook and kept its
over one million users engaged through exciting content and promotions.
Through a mix of new account acquisitions and exciting promotions at Castrol
Bike Points, this exclusive Castrol channel has delivered a growth of 14% in 2013.
Developments in two-wheeler oils During the year under review, your Company
continued its investment in a world class two-wheeler oil product development
team based out of the India Technology Centre to support the needs of the
domestic market. To enable this team in its work, your Company also installed
state-of-the-art test rigs specific to two-wheeler engine oil development. This was
an imperative as India has emerged as the worlds second largest twowheeler
market.
Castrol Activ is like a 24x7 bodyguard that protects your motorbike / scooter from stressful everyday
commute in the city.
Its superior technology delivers Continuous Protection at all times for your motorcycle / scooter
engine.