Gulf’s programme for growth in China has reached another landmark stage, with the redefining of its operations in China under a new name: Gulf Oil (China) Co. Ltd.

Gulf’s has had a presence in China since 1995, when a joint venture was set up between Gulf Oil International and the Yantai Chemical Company, under the title Gulf Oil (Yantai) Co Ltd. Yantai, in the Shandong Province.

Chinese presence

Having established its Chinese headquarters in Yantai, Gulf built a new 50,000 tpa blending plant to service its Chinese needs, which opened in November 2006. The modern facility was a statement of intent by Gulf of the growing importance of China in its global strategy.

Since then, the Chinese market has grown rapidly and Gulf has now moved into the next phase of its development in China, of which this change of name is a further important reflection.

With growth in mind, Gulf has expanded its Chinese operations through the opening of two new key regional Chinese offices this year - one in the key commercial hub of Shanghai and the second in Beijing.

Global brand

“As a long-established global lubricant brand, we understood the need to have a dedicated presence in China’s major commercial centres,” explained Jan Trocki, Gulf Oil International Vice President of Operations. “With the opening of these new offices we are able to provide much better service for Gulf’s growing distributor network in China. They will help drive and implement new sales, marketing and product strategies. As these come to fruition we will also look to add further to the infrastructure of Gulf’s operations in China.”

Gulf’s blending plant and administrative hub will remain in Yantai, however the opening of the new offices has already led to an increase in Gulf’s distributor network in China and a resultant increase in product blending levels at the Yantai plant.

Gulf has also set up a dedicated OEM Team to focus on developing OEM business with the major automotive manufacturers in China.

Growth and investment

According to Arthur Liu, general manager of Gulf Oil (China) Co Ltd., "Gulf is planning for significant growth in the Chinese market. Our distribution network has increased by almost 50% since the beginning of the year and our OEM team has already achieved breakthroughs with the likes of Jincheng Motorcycle, Sinotruk and Dongfeng-Nissan.

“Gulf is committed to an increasing investment in innovative product research and development so that we can deliver new product solutions. With a strong global brand, that has a reputation for high quality products & service levels and an outstanding value proposition - now backed up with a strengthened infrastructure - we feel we have all of the building blocks to make a real mark for the Gulf brand in China.”