Originally Posted By: jaj
The strategic problem that the specialty blenders have is that the "specialty blends" no longer offer better performance than the commercial products they're supposed to be better than.
In engine oils, the specialty products are as good as the latest spec consumer products on the parameters that matter, surpassing the consumer blends only on parameters that don't make much difference in an engine. Gear oils are the same. Modern OEM gear oils today have better base stocks and additive packages than the specialty blends that were designed to compete with the old technology OEM products from two decades ago.
The specialty products that were vastly better than the 1990's OEM oils are no match for the 2016 factory products. The specialty blending community isn't fighting for market share any more - it's fighting to remain relevant.
Thank you. Couldn't say it better
The strategic problem that the specialty blenders have is that the "specialty blends" no longer offer better performance than the commercial products they're supposed to be better than.
In engine oils, the specialty products are as good as the latest spec consumer products on the parameters that matter, surpassing the consumer blends only on parameters that don't make much difference in an engine. Gear oils are the same. Modern OEM gear oils today have better base stocks and additive packages than the specialty blends that were designed to compete with the old technology OEM products from two decades ago.
The specialty products that were vastly better than the 1990's OEM oils are no match for the 2016 factory products. The specialty blending community isn't fighting for market share any more - it's fighting to remain relevant.
Thank you. Couldn't say it better