Rowe Oil used the recent Autosport International to launch itself on the UK market, showing its blend of motorsport lubricants, with more products to come for the aftermarket.
Auto Repair Focus Editor Phil Curry spoke with Robb Gravett, CEO of importers Deutschesol and a former BTCC champion, to find out more about the brand, its sustainability efforts, and how it will help to educate up and coming technicians and engineers about the importance of engine lubricants.
Sustainability is key for Rowe Oil
When it comes to sustainability, oil is perhaps not an obvious area that would spring to mind. Yet Rowe Oil is keen to work in the most sustainable ways possible.
“Within their workshops and facilities at Worms [Rowe Oil’s production plant in Germany] they have their own bottling line,” stated Gravett. “They do this inhouse, rather than having trucks come in and take the product to different locations. If a customer needs 100 bottles, they can make that, and fill those bottles in the same building, and that’s one example of the sustainable practices they work towards.”
The Rowe Oil plant generates a significant amount of its own electricity through an extensive, 4,000m2 photovoltaic system, and transfers waste heat from indoor manufacturing processes to be used for heating the building and offices. In a world where being green is not just a buzz word, but essential, it is impressive to see how companies are trying to do their bit, even if their sector is not an obviously sustainable one.
Testing through racing
In motorsport, a bad product not only affects an engine, but also a driver, a team and a championship. There is no room for error on the racetrack, but always room for improvement. This means that a brand linked to motorsport in any way can benefit by running through some extreme testing programmes, and then bring this knowledge to its road-going products.
Rowe Oil has its own racing team, which can only be an advantage to the brand.
“A lot of oil manufacturers make road oils, they don’t necessarily make race oils for engines,” added Gravett. “So, the specifics behind it are very strong, very high profile. Motorsport is the medium that we are using to initially market the product, but all the ranges will be available immediately.”
Education is a key aim
Rowe Oil is taking its entry into the UK seriously, realising that it not only needs to sell products, but to educate others, not just to the brand, but to the importance of lubrication.
“We are already working with people, people like the IAAF, who will make introductions for us,” continued Gravett. “We are here to support the product. We are going to be running a lot of educational programs, as there is not a lot of educational awareness about what oils should be doing, should not be doing, and all the rest of it. So, we are going to be running an educational program in the UK. We are working with two or three universities to introduce this educational program to them as well.
“Even with the universities, it is the only area that they do not generally cover. Therefore, we are going to cover that to try and put through an educational program so the people understand whys and the wherefores of why you should be using certain oils for certain applications.”
Rowe Oil will be available in the UK for sectors including automotive and motorcycle, commercial vehicle, off-highway, marine, industrial, and agricultural as well as Rowe’s range of motorsport products.
Rowe Oil customers can use the online oil finder tool to find the correct Rowe product for their vehicle. For more information, visit: https://www.rowe-oil.com/en/oil-guide.
