An extension of the localisation partnership between global brand ExxonMobil and African Group Lubricants (AGL) holds the promise of an abundant harvest for South Africa’s agricultural sector.
In May, Stats SA reported that in the first quarter of 2023 more than 888 000 people were employed in primary agriculture, up 5% year on year. The agricultural sector has great potential for growth and development.
Mark Kerwan, AGL managing director says: “In order to fully unlock this potential, the sector will need to focus on creating a more enabling environment for investment, innovation, and commercialisation. The sector will also need to improve its productivity and efficiency in order to compete in global markets.”
This is where the Mobil AGRI product range will play a vital role – providing extended engine service life, improved engine protection, longer drain intervals, reducing the cost of maintenance for the farmer and as such, improving productivity and lowering cost.
Most important for South African farmers, the range of products, specifically designed for engines, clutches, hydraulic systems and wet brakes in tractors and agricultural machinery, will now be blended locally at AGL’s ISO certified and well-established Boksburg facility. Approved by ExxonMobil for its exacting standards, AGL again comes to the rescue of the local market with products of a global standard, made locally to mitigate cost and ensure expertise and jobs remain local too.
This means, that for the first time in more than a decade, these products are now available to the South African Agri sector, blended in SA to global standards and priced locally. For the sector this will make keeping machinery in excellent working order more affordable and accessible, offering protection from the fluctuating exchange rate and long wait times.
Ahmed El Sadek, AME FDS and Alliances Manager of ExxonMobil says: “ExxonMobil is proud of its long-time presence in South Africa, gaining the trust of its customers across a variety of sectors with its distinguished products. Now we are taking this to the next level through our alliance with AGL to include local blending, meeting customer and industry demands and delivering the optimum consumer experience. This goes to show how both ExxonMobil and AGL relationship is built on a strong foundation of mutual trust, shared values, and strategic collaboration.”
ABOUT THE MOBIL AGRI PRODUCTS:
The full suite of Mobil AGRI products protects agricultural equipment throughout the year, no matter the weather, and all products meet or exceed the requirements of what Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) such as John Deere, Caterpillar, Ford, and Massey Ferguson, among others, recommend.
Together the suite of products includes high performance anti-wear hydraulic oils specifically designed to meet the needs of modern, high pressure, industrial and mobile equipment hydraulic systems, as well as extra high performance diesel engine oils to ensure a high level of thermal stability and oxidation resistance, very good detergent/dispersing behaviour and a wide range of applications.
- Mobil AGRI Extra 10W40 and Mobil AGRI Super 15W40 STOU (Super Tractor Oil Universal) products
- The Mobil range of UTTO (Universal Tractor Transmission oil) products, Mobilfluid 426 and 428 is also available, with the Mobilfluid 424 being locally manufactured by AGL.
- The Mobil Delvac MX 15W40 engine oil, suitable for tractors and trucks (petrol and diesel).
- AGL will also supply their private brand Centlube Long Life OAT Coolant/Antifreeze in a variety of pack sizes.
It is important for every business operating to safeguard the environment it operates in. For the new AGRI range of products the AGL team chose to discard the standard 20L pail and opt instead for a 20L bucket. These buckets can be repurposed/used for a multitude of secondary purposes once their primary function is over.
AGL’s Boksburg plant has a well-established recycling programme. This ensures waste is separated and given to EnviroServ for safe disposal or recycling. AGL is also a proud member of the ROSE (recycling oil saves the environment) Foundation, funded by the members of the lubricants industry to encourage the safe disposal of used products.
Together, ExxonMobil and AGL have developed the local blended product portfolio to maximise growth opportunities in the South African market and this suite of agricultural products is the next step in a process to localise for value while maintaining exacting international standards. With agriculture being vitally important to the continent, the range is not only distributed locally but further into countries like the DRC, Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique to name a few.
AGL’s Sales Director, Jake Govender says: “Every drop of ExxonMobil’s expertise and more than 100 years of lubricant experience goes into each product. The solutions are scientifically developed and have proven themselves worldwide, while constant development ensures they always meet or surpass the specifications of almost all well-known manufacturers.”
Relevant Agribook pages include “Fuels and lubricants” and “Tractors, combines and balers”
