In March last year, Saudi Arabian oil company Aramco completed its acquisition of Valvoline’s global products business, now called Valvoline Global Operations, which includes its motor oil, antifreeze and coolant, transmission and other fluids it sells to OEMs, the aftermarket and DIYers. Its retail business, including Valvoline Instant Oil Change, spun off to become a separate entity—and now is the largest customer of Valvoline Global Operations, says Roger England, vice president and chief R&D officer.
When the $2.65 billion deal was announced, Aramco touted the growth the Valvoline brand would bring to its international lubricants business as well as the opportunity to strengthen its relationships with global OEMs. England says now, the Valvoline brand is Aramco’s lubricant product retailer globally.
“We picked up some of the brands that they already had and merged those into our technology and into our business,” England explains. “We continue to see that there’s a lot of synergies. I think the biggest thing the company will give us is the ability to grow at a rate we’ve never been able to achieve before.”
He adds that both companies have presented opportunities to learn from each other, share technology and find ways to grow.
“They have a very strong presence in the Middle East and Europe, and we can definitely benefit from that,” England says. “We are also aligned ethically and environmentally, so it presents a great opportunity.”
Read more about how Valvoline is focusing on creating environmentally friendly products below.
