Officials of Intercity STC (ISTC) are upbeat about their new alliance with engine-oil supplier Exol Lubricants, which they reckon is saving the company from having to invest more in constant changes of oil.
According to a Deputy Managing Director, Technical Services at Intercity STC, Ing. John Awuku Dzuazah, the company previously had to change oil by every 10,000 kilometre journey as against the 30,000 kilometres it is currently enjoying.
“That recommended oil is such that we don’t change the oil every 10,000km but 30,000km interval – that means that it comes with some savings for the company, because if we have to change the oil at every 10,000km as against 30,000km, definitely, it comes with cost and down time. So, for us, we are happy with this arrangement,” he told B&FT in an interview when officials of Exol Lubricants paid a working visit to ISTC in Accra.
He also added that ISTC is open to competition [this is a public company] and has to procure based on value for money.
Explaining the rationale behind the meeting with officials from Exol lubricants, he said: “Our Scania buses use some specific type of oil recommended by Scania, and therefore they are able to supply that type of oil at an affordable price and affordable terms, in terms of payment.
“So, we took delivery of the first consignment two months ago and started using them. We are about to start the testing, and so the manufacturer is here to interact with us and learn how our buses are doing with their brand of oil.”
Paul Eastwood, the Export Sales Manager of Exol Lubricants, indicated that the company wanted to come and support what is happening in the country – given the loyalty to its brand.
“We understand what products are being sold here, but we technically have not seen with our eyes; we don’t know what vehicles are on the road, so we wanted to come and experience the conditions that our lubricants have to cope with – and to also support our sole distributor.”
Furthermore, he maintained that the partnership is unprecedented – they will provide oil into a fleet of trucks in the Ghanaian market: “We’ll research into how we can keep down-time to a minimum and how we can get the best out of the buses, understand the dust-levels, dirt, and just try and work with STC to get the correct value for money out of the product”.
Intercity STC entered into an agreement with Exol Lubricants two months ago, for the former to provide specified engine-oil for ISTC’s fleet of Scania buses. And, so far, officials have been excited about the oil’s output.
Exol Lubricants is an independent lubricants company in the UK, manufacturing and supplying a range of lubricants and associated products to the industry, agriculture, transport, automotive and garage sectors.
It is represented in Ghana by Sadel, which got into an exclusive agreement in 2011 with Extol Lubricants Ltd. UK as its sole distributor in the country. Sadel imports and distributes a wide range of products including fully synthetic, low SAPS oil like Exol optima LSG F 5w20.
Paul Eastwood and Steve Dunn, Sales Director and Export Manager respectively of Exol, are on a three-day working visit in Ghana to evaluate their product’s performance on the Ghanaian market.
They intend working with some major customers of Sadel, including ISTC, Mechanical Lloyd, Automall Ghana Ltd., Accra Brewery Ltd., and Hyundai.
