Cars will soon be rolling along Russia's roads with quality engine coolant from Ludwigshafen. The brand license agreement concluded by BASF with its partner Tosol-Sintez for the manufacture and distribution of Glysantin in the Russian Federation came into force in May 2009.
The chemical company Tosol-Sintez is the largest manufacturer of brake fluids and engine coolants in Russia and has been a customer of BASF for the last few years. Up until now the company has purchased intermediates from BASF, which it has used to produce its own coolant products under the brand name AWM. Now, however, the original German product is being launched on the Russian market as a premium brand.
In the middle of February, BASF welcomed a team from Tosol-Sintez to Ludwigshafen, accompanied by some Russian journalists. "Amongst other things, our partners visited the engine test center and spoke with technicians to get the full lowdown," reports Mike Freche, Glysantin brand manager at BASF.
The launch has come about as a result of the growing Russian automotive market. Russia is currently recording the fastest growth in new vehicle registrations among the world's main automotive markets. "We know that, especially in regions such as Moscow and St. Petersburg, there is a high degree of brand awareness and European brands are being bought increasingly. For this reason, we expect that a premium product such as Glysantin will have excellent market opportunities and attract new groups of buyers," says Gerhard Leidig, BASF's regional marketing manager for automotive fluids in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
For Tosol-Sintez there are many advantages with the changeover to Glysantin. For example, the o riginal from BASF has the most OEM approvals from the large motor manufacturers. The Russian company can use this from now on as an added value. "In addition, Glysantin is a symbol of German brand quality, which is very highly rated here in Russia," says Arina Butuzova, PR Manager at Tosol-Sintez.
In March, Tosol-Sintez embarked on a large-scale advertising campaign, focused on the launch of Glysantin , w ith an extensive series of advertisements and a forum for journalists. Very soon the quality product from Ludwigshafen will be available throughout the country.