We had a pleasant interview with Mr. Sezgin Gürsu, Director of Petrol Ofisi Lubricants about company’s lubricant and chemicals business activities areas, R&D activities and company’s importance for Turkey.
Petrol Ofisi is a leading independent lubricant producer not only in Turkey but also in the world.
Could you tell us about yourself and your professional background?
After graduating from İstanbul Erkek Lisesi, I completed my undergraduate studies at the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Bosphorus University and received my graduate degree on mechanical engineering from the University of Miami in the United States.
In 1989, I started to work as a researcher for the Clean Energy Research Institute at the University of Miami. When I returned to Turkey in 1991, I worked at the Koç Holding Purchasing Coordination Department as a project engineer.
I joined Mobil Oil Turkey in 1992 and served as Regional Manager for Industrial and Construction Sectors, then as Purchasing Manager and Production Manager. In 2000, I was appointed as the Engineering Support Manager at Exxon Mobil Turkey.
I then served as Sales and Marketing Manager for the Automotive Sector, Sales and Marketing Manager for the Industrial and Construction Sectors, and as Distributor Sales Manager.
In 2006, I joined the Petrol Ofisi family as Sales Manager for Lubricants. At Petrol Ofisi, I served as Director of Lubricants, Director of Commercial Sales and Lubricants, and Director of Retail. Since April 1, 2018, I am once again serving as the Director of Petrol Ofisi Lubricants.
Could you tell our readers about Petrol Ofisi?
Petrol Ofisi was established on 18 February 1941 as the first national brand of Turkey in its sector and has an extensive network and storage capacity allowing the company to operate even in the remotest corners of Turkey.
Petrol Ofisi is the only company that can cater to all fuel needs in land, sea and air transport through its gas stations and with the robust infrastructure of its PO Marine and POAIR brands.
Today, Petrol Ofisi has the most extensive network and diverse infrastructure in Turkey with more than 1.700 fuel stations, 9 fuel filling terminals, 3 LPG filling terminals, 20 aviation supply units and 1 lubricant factory.
We supply fuel to more than 1400 village pumps and our storage capacity is approximately 1 million m³. Petrol Ofisi has more than 800 employees working for the General Directorate and provides indirect employment to tens of thousands of people through its dealers. Our total revenue in sales was 38.5 billion TL in 2017.
Petrol Ofisi Lubricants has an extensive sales network across Turkey at 16,000 points of sale offering more than 350 products including Maxima and Maximus. We serve the automotive sector as well as many other sectors such as agriculture, industry, and the maritime and machinery sectors.
The volume of sales at Petrol Ofisi reached 100,000 tons in lubricants and chemicals in 2018. Petrol Ofisi Lubricants exported to 35 countries on 4 continents in 2018.
Petrol Ofisi has been traditionally recognized as “The leader of the fuel sector in Turkey”, “The leader of the lubricants and chemicals market in Turkey” and “One of the top three private sector companies in Turkey” and maintains this position today.
For 78 years, Petrol Ofisi has been working hard to help prepare for the future of Turkey and to contribute to Turkey’s prospects in all areas, especially in agriculture. Petrol Ofisi provides fuel to many important projects in Turkey such as the third airport, the third bridge, the Çanakkale Bridge and other road construction projects.
As a national brand, Petrol Ofisi makes a direct and sizable contribution to employment and the Turkish economy and is one of the most important national assets of Turkey as a result of the powerful impact it creates in many areas.
Could you tell us about the activities of Petrol Ofisi regarding lubricants and chemicals. What are the criteria for quality in this area?
Our factory was established as a lubricant blending facility in 1953 at Derince and has been growing ever since with new investments.
The production lines at our other factory in Izmir Aliağa were transferred to Derince in 2008. As a result, it is now possible to produce all products groups at the Derince facility in large volumes. This has made Derince a leading production center in this field.
The establishment of the Petrol Ofisi Technology Center and our investments and development efforts to enhance storage, capacity, quality and production have transformed our factory into a high-tech center with a rich product diversity, an annual production capacity of 140,000 tons and a storage capacity of 65,000 tons (15,000 tons for finished products and 50,000 tons for raw material).
We invest, on average, 2 million Dollars in the factory each year and continue to enhance our automation and efficiency levels for all filling equipment to meet increasing demand. We can meet almost all demand in Turkey with the high-tech production at Petrol Ofisi
We invest, on average, 2 million Dollars in the factory each year and continue to enhance our automation and efficiency levels for all filling equipment to meet increasing demand.
Lubricants facilities. Petrol Ofisi Lubricants provides lubricants to many sectors, particularly the automotive, industry, mining, machinery, transportation, construction and maritime sectors with more than 350 superior products including Maxima and Maximus which were developed by experts at POTEM utilizing state-of-the-art technology.
These achievements make POTEM one of the most important centers in the region.
Petrol Ofisi Lubricants has maintained its traditional position as market leader in the Turkish lubricants and chemicals market without interruption for the last 9 years since 2010, thanks to its state-of-the-art technology, high capacity and quality. In 2018, Petrol Ofisi Lubricants was the market leader in the Turkish lubricants and chemicals market with a 24.7% share.
Raw materials, semi-finished products and production technologies play an important role in ensuring quality. Furthermore, ensuring control in all stages of production is key to quality and standardization.
Therefore, acceptance criteria for all products and raw materials are defined in our ERP systems as well as in our production quality plans and procurement specifications in order to meet the needs of OEMs, machinery producers and the sector as a whole.
Compliance with quality criteria is checked by POTEM at least at 5 different check-points from raw material to customer delivery and then recorded in our ERP systems. We also conduct spot checks in production to ensure that our products comply with customer requirements.
Our recipes are reviewed constantly as part of our R&D activities for alternative raw materials with a view to quality, optimization and efficiency so that we ensure compliance to the same standard every single time and meet market needs.
Could you tell us about the Petrol Ofisi Technology Center (POTEM). What is the effect of the technology center on your products?
POTEM has an investment value of 6 million Dollars and is located at the Petrol Ofisi Lubricants production facility in a closed space covering 1.000 m². POTEM provides services with state-of-the-art technological instruments, expert staff and a wealth of knowledge and experience based on its history of 78 years.
POTEM is involved in R&D. A total of 155 different tests, 84 of which are accredited to TÜRKAK, are performed at POTEM by employing national and international methods. We perform close to 150,000 tests at the center each year.
Petrol Ofisi Technology Center POTEM makes its advance technology and accreditation available not only to Petrol Ofisi. We also provide R&D, quality control and analytical services to all sectors, public sector organizations as well as many local and foreign companies including some major global companies.
As a result, POTEM is also one of the most developed technology centers in the international arena in the lubricants sector.
How do you define R&D? How do you associate this definition with Petrol Ofisi?
We constantly focus on R&D activities by developing products and services to meet present day needs as well as the demands of the future. We believe that R&D plays a key role in enhancing the competitive edge of our company and country in the domestic and international arena.
As the leader of the sector, we consider it our fundamental duty and responsibility to always lead the market in this area.
What are the activities carried out by the Petrol Ofisi Technology Center (POTEM)? Please give us some information about the R&D activities at the center.
Petrol Ofisi Technology Center (POTEM) regularly carries out R&D activities. Our goal is to continue to provide reliable, economical and needs-based solutions to the consumers by continuing to develop products and closely tracking state-of-the-art technologies.
Could you give us some information about the investment made in the Petrol Ofisi Technology Center (POTEM). What are your plans for future investments and projects?
We continue to invest in equipment as required by our work. We are also making investment plans for future projects as part of our “continuous development”. New environmental restrictions introduced in parallel with technological development have a significant impact on vehicle producers and in industrial production.
As Petrol Ofisi, we conduct projects to address such developments in order to support our business partners and customers.
Could you give us some information about Petrol Ofisi Laboratory Analysis (POLA). What makes this service which you provide to your customers so special?
POLA is our system of used lubricant analysis. Our business partners face an increasingly competitive environment, especially in the transportation, construction and mining sectors as well as in heavy industry.
Therefore, lubricant analyses and follow up are carried out and reported continuously to ensure that their equipment runs as efficiently as the first day. Please refer to our website to get more detailed information about the contribution that POLA makes to our customers.
What is the significance of the Petrol Ofisi Technology Center and the R&D activities conducted at this center for Turkey?
Petrol Ofisi is a leading independent lubricant producer not only in Turkey but also in the world. We conduct all R&D activities internally. Our knowledge and expertise help us contribute to value-added products and the wealth of knowledge in Turkey.
Furthermore, Petrol Ofisi Lubricants is able to cater to almost all needs in this area in Turkey from a single source with a rich and diverse product portfolio covering more than 350 products which are completely developed by POTEM and produced at our facilities.
In addition, Petrol Ofisi lubricants are exported to 35 countries on 4 continents.
