The people who make our products possible

At ExxonMobil, we take a lot of pride in our products — but even more pride in our people. The last century has been defined, in part, by the hard work and dedication of our engineers and technical experts, both in the field and in the lab. It’s the kind of thing that, unlike lubricant performance, is sort of tough to quantify — but we’ve distilled where the magic comes from down to a few key principles.

A Dedication to Innovation

Most people don’t think about their lubricant very much, which is why we’re thinking about it all the time. Our team of experts are dedicated to improving the way our lubricant works and, in some cases, even pushing the boundaries of what lubricant can do.

“Most people who think about lubricants generally assume that it’s only there to keep the surfaces from grinding against each other,” says Bhaskar Prabhakar, North America Commercial Lubricant Product Line Manager with almost a decade of experience at ExxonMobil. “They don’t recognize that it’s also a heat transfer fluid, or that it also keeps dirt from accumulating into larger particles that can be abrasive.”

That’s because the industry changed — or, to be more specific, we helped change the industry.

“The ability of lubricants to serve multiple purposes comes from the transition from conventional to synthetic,” Prabhakar explains. “We’re able to determine the properties of the lubricant when we build it from the ground up, rather than just refining conventional oil. And additive packages are evolving just as fast, making all kinds of new properties possible.”

We also evolve with the industry, rising to meet challenges as soon as they’re identified.

“Diesel fuel specifications changed significantly in 1994,” says Steve Kennedy, a License Management Manager who spent 18 years with ExxonMobil. “There was a big reduction in the amount of sulfur that was permitted, which completely changed a lot of the realities of how the engine operated. Some saw it as a challenge, but we saw a lot of opportunity in this change, and ended up redesigning our fluids almost from the ground up. Basically, if you look at the details of what’s in the oil today versus what was in the oil back then, it’s a night and day profile.”

Meticulous Testing

Our teams know that innovation is only half the battle. The real challenge comes in making sure the product gets results in the real world, which is where our testing procedures come in.

“We’re one of the few companies that still has their own engine research lab,” says Nick Rivera, Commercial Vehicle Applications Engineer— a 35-year veteran at ExxonMobil. “We make that financial commitment to being at the forefront of technology. Screeners are good, but you really need field tests and engine testing to see how they’re truly performing, and factor in different applications, drive trains, geographies — everything.”

“The goal is to simulate and accelerate what will happen over 20,000, 30,000, or even 50,000 miles and do it in a matter of a few hundred or thousand hours,” says Kennedy. “Our own internal labs are some of the places where these key tests were developed.”

It’s an elaborate process, often involving multiple products and full engines to make sure every variable is properly accounted for.

“We do lots of engine teardowns to look at pieces and parts and see the effects of the oils and additives to make sure we have the data we need,” says Paul Cigala, a Senior CVL Applications Engineer who’s been with ExxonMobil for 17 years. “Our formulations are based on what we see in an engine inspection.”

Product Analysis

Data insights are a key part of driving lubricant development — even once the product is already in the field.

“A lot of customers are doing 18,000 or 20,000 mile oil drain intervals without oil analysis,” says Cigala. “We bring them in and show them what we’re doing, where we’re getting our numbers, and it gives them the confidence they need to do more.”

“We do a lot of oil analysis across multiple sectors, and we can go in there and pull data and get a sense of how the oil is performing overall,” Rivera says. “The luxury of good tools and a huge repository of data makes a huge difference.”

…And love of the game

Most of all, our team of experts are motivated every day by the knowledge that they’re producing some of the best products in the world, helping to drive industry forward and really make a difference.

“What’s great about Mobil Delvac™ products?” Rob Meldrum, a Lubrication Engineer with 19 years of experience at ExxonMobil, asks. “It’s the product with a performance target rather than a cost target. I’m a competitive person — so tell me to achieve something, and I’ll go the extra mile. And Mobil Delvac™ lubricants is committed to achieving outstanding results so its customers can go the extra mile as well.”

“I think it’s a damn good product, alright,” he says.