Copyright © 1999 FleetWatch magazine and FleetWatch On-Line.

No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior written permission from the publishers. Views published are not necessarily those of the publishers.

Castrol - 10 Years of Sponsorship

From left to right : Noel Goldman, Johan Coetzee, Fernando Lavos, Brian Richter and Thys Bezuidenhout

Over the last ten years the annual Castrol Maintenance Manager of the Year Award which recognise and reward top performance and excellence in the field of vehicle maintenance has grown in both stature and prominence.

Area director, Brian Richter says: "What initially started out as a marketing tool for Castrol South Africa has since gained industry wide recognition and a high degree of credibility."

"As a major player in the global transport industry we regard our involvement and sponsorship of this event as nothing less than a privilege."

It should be noted at this point that the competition is not restricetd to Castrol customers but it is open to all maintenance managers regardless of their allegiance.

"We believe this award underlines the fact that improving service efficiancy through effective management adds a competitive advantage impossible to ignore in this modern world," Richter adds.

Alastair Ashforth

Winning entries received in previous years showed a high level of proficiency and innovation in workshop and maintenance management.

This year proved to be no exception.

Regional director, Alastair Ashforth says that in addition to being of an exceptionally high calibre they ably reflect that adopting effective management principles has significant positive results on the bottom line."

Commenting further, Ashforth notes that all finalists regarded financial and related cost controls as critical to the success of their individual operations. "This trend has been gathering momentum for a number of years now. There is far more to fleet maintenance than keeping the vehicles technically sound," he says. "Today, unless you can do the whole ball of wax which means managing finances, people and making use of the latest computerised management systems you will not survive.

Castrol too is doing the "whole ball of wax" and has developed its business approach to fit in with the increased customer demands for support and service. "In this respect we do not sell lubricants," Richter says, "we solve lubrication problems. Our approach to training and human resource development fits in with this philosophy. We strive to turn our sales representatives into industry experts not lubricant salesmen."

Brian Richter

This has seen Castrol SA embark on a major training and personnel upgrading scheme to ensure personnel are the most proficcient in the industry. Says Richter: "We realise that to survive in todays business environment you have to adopt a more professional approach. We have seen our range of services assisting fleet operators to improve bottom line and reduce catastrophic downtime."

The examples Richter is talking about involve the use of the Comapny's high-tech part synthetic oil, Dynamax, which has been received with a high degree of success since its introduction. Of two major bus companies using Dynamax one reports maintenance cost savings of 10% whilst the second says Dynamax is playing a major role in eliminating engine failures.

While local consumtion of these modern, high-tech oils is still relatively low compared to overseas markets, usage can be expected to increase in the next few years with the increase in modern diesel technology. "Right now we are seeing Euro II and Euro III specification diesel engines being introduced into this country," Richter says, "operators should definately consider using synthetic and part synthetic oils.