Total opened a state-of-the-art lubricants oil blending and production plant in Russia with an investment equivalent to USD 50 million in the 10th anniversary of Total Vostok’s operations in Russia. We interviewed Fabien Voisin, CEO of Total Vostok, and learned about the strategic features of this plant.
For how many years does Total operate in Russia?
Total products have been present on Russian market since 1993, but 2018 is the anniversary year for us, as 10 years ago the affiliate of Total Marketing & Services, supplying products to the Russian market, was officially registered. These 10 years showed a great potential of the local lubricants market and we plan to to localization of our operations.
What is the strategic importance of Russia for Total in terms of lubricants?
Total generally views Russia (the 5th lubricants market in the world) as one of its high-priority markets and we work to address the needs of the local consumers. We also always look into opportunities to further improve and develop our products across all fields we are involved in, whether it is automotive or industrial lubricants.
What will be the total blending capacity of the new lubricant plant in Kaluga?
The new plant in Vorsino (Kaluga region) is designed to produce 40,000 tons of automotive and industrial lubricants per year, with an option for its production capacity to be easily scaled up to 70,000 tons per year. It is equipped with a fully automated blending system and ultramodern filling lines.
Which products will you produce in this plant? Will you export these products? If yes, to which countries?
From now on the new Total Vostok plant will produce the entire range of Total and Elf products including: Total Quartz for passenger cars, a wide range of Total Rubia for commercial vehicles engine oil, a full range of industrial Azolla and Equivis hydraulic oils, Seriola and Carter industrial oils as well as Fuel Economy lubricants line, which will allow to significantly reduce fuel consumption of both commercial and passenger vehicles as well as off-road vehicles. The plant will allow supplying products to all markets of the Russian Federation. Moreover, we will export some products to Belarus, Azerbaijan and Central Asia.
Which technologies do you use in this plant? Can you give specific information about the operation principles of this plant?
All production activities are performed within a computer assisted environment. Raw materials are transported by dedicated pipes in order to avoid any contamination between products. Dosage of raw materials is made using mass flowmeters, which allow a high accuracy but as well an optimization of process time. Quality of finished goods made by the plant is monitored during all production steps, by plant laboratory.
Can you briefly evaluate the lubricants industry in Russia? How will this new plant affect Total’s operations in Russia and the world?
Total blending plant is the most modern on Russian market – no other blending plants were open in Russian in the last 5 years. Total is the third foreign operator plant in Russia and the combined capacity of these 3 international brands produces close to 250,000 tons of lubricants. All the rest of the local production is split among 15 other plants belonging to Russian producers. We plan to reach more than 5 percent of Russian market, targeting top-tier segment. This organic growth will be reached thanks to local production. Time to market will be reduced and logistics savings could represent up to 5 percent of cost of product.
