Database or ID guide for store brand & private label oils?

[pgtr]

Just curious if anybody had a link they'd like to suggest. I 'think' Autozones oil is done by Coastal (or was it Citgo)? It seems like the older Western Auto (now Advanced Auto Parts) is or was by Havline. I've seen it mentioned here that WalMart's Tech2K is by a specialty division of QState. Any corrections or additions?

Any 'tricks' for IDing the maker of these relabel jobs. I recall that the Western Auto oil had bottles that were identical to the Havoline bottles is all I can think of.

 

[UncleS2]

It's a nice idea. But: when the big, major oil companies change their formulations at will, overnight, with no notice given to us, their customers, on the oil that has *Their* name on it, imagine how fast & loose they may play with the formulation of oil that *Doesn't* have their name on it.

At best? The same as their real brand. At worst? I don't even like to think about that one.

I think I've found a solution to all this. Bob, David, & Tim all sell it.

 

[Terry]

There is a sourcebook published that takes samples of off the shelf oils showing data from independent testing . It is published each year and last I checked was $10,000 a copy.

You can purchase a $3000 each test result of each separate oil they have tested.

Institue of Materials out of Midland Michigan.

 

[pgtr]

Having worked on private label deals I'm just as perfectly happy buying a private label bottle of Havoline as I am buying a private label can of pinto beans.

"At worst? I don't even like to think about that one."

Hmmm. Worst case scenario is that it would meet the same SAE & API specs and bare the same SAE and API information. Sometimes I suspect people's worst fears are that it could be the very same oil sans price that pays for branding.

But back to my original post...
WalMart - QState (?)
AZone - Coastal or Citgo (?)
ADvanced Auto Parts - Havoline (?)
O'Reilly - ?
NAPA - ?
Carquest - ?
many others...

"Bob, David, & Tim all sell it"

I'm presuming this is an insiders reference or am I missing something?

Thanks Terry but I think that's an admission price I'll have to pass on!

But if anybody has any private label relationships or corrections they'd like to make - post away! I think I read in another thread that NAPA and Carquest oils were by Valvoline but things got all fuzzed up for me after that crash that lost a bunch of posts yesterday.

Just curious who all makes what for who,
Thanks
-T

 

[pgtr]

Found 2 more in another thread...

Pepboys Pro Line - QState
Sears Spectrum - QState (?)
WalMart - QState (?)
AZone - Coastal or Citgo (?)
ADvanced Auto Parts - Havoline (?)
O'Reilly - ?
NAPA - Valvoline (?)
Carquest - ?
others...

 

[dragboat]

O'Reilly = Coastal
Coastal= sub division of Phillips

 

[pgtr]

Thanks Dragboat, do the rest look pretty current?

 

[dragboat]

Quote:
"I'm presuming this is an insiders reference or am I missing something?"

He was referring to the Sheaffers products .

I always wondered who bottled Sears oil.Now I know.

 

[widman]

I used to know of a site that coulddecode the bar code on line. Used it to identify that (at that time) Mobil made Trak Auto oil. That site is no longer. The first 6 digits of the UPC code identify the manufacturer (including the little one upfront), so if you really have time to kill, you can compare.
But much of that doesn't matter. A private brand can be better or worse than the name brand product they produce, depending on what the private label wants to sell. Mobil produces Caterpillar oils worldwide, but they are Cat spec, not Mobil spec. Some will have a "generic" oil they will put private labels on, but I doubt that they will sell their brand formulation.
In my previous life in the food industry I set up a lot of plants with a specific formulations and we allowed the plants to sell other products to absorb overhead as long as the formulation was different. That also served as an outlet for misformulated products that would otherwise be trash.

 

[SteveD2]

quote:

---

Originally posted by dragboat:
O'Reilly = Coastal
Coastal= sub division of Phillips

---

Coastal Corp. & El Paso Nat'l Gas merged in 1998-2000. They're now known as ElPaso Corp. No relation to Phillips as far as I can find.

Ken

 

[dickwells]

I love this stuff, especially that bar code information. How about putting together a flow chart that tracks how all these companies have combined and split off over the last 10 or so years?

 

[csandste]

I thought Johnny stated that PZ/QS made no private label brands with the exception of Wal-Mart through their Specialty Petroleum subsidiary in Shreveport.

I still think Ashland makes many, many private brand oils.

 

[csandste]

Don't know what this proves, but a quote from:

http://www.ashland.com/investors/quarter/fy96q1.html

"We were encouraged by Valvoline's rebound," Hall continued. "Operating income was $12 million, compared to $9 million last year." He noted that results improved from most of Valvoline's product lines, reflecting new marketing initiatives and cost-control efforts. Higher volumes and improved profitability from branded motor oil and a stronger performance from private-label products were major factors in the recovery. Valvoline Instant Oil Change had an excellent quarter, significantly improving its operating income.

 

[jjbula]

If the opinions on the board matter, Valvoline's operating income next quarter will not be so good.

 

[dragboat]

Ken,

from the Phillips Home Page:
"Coastal
Phillips 66 has exclusive rights to the Coastal brand in Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wyoming. For information about our Coastal outlets, e-mail us."

When I ran across that I presumed it to be the motor oils,now I believe it to be gasoline only. I stand corrected

 

[SteveD2]

Anyway, wouldn't a listing of private label oil makers be out of date as soon as the retailer put their next year's contract out for bid and found a lower cost supplier?

Years ago a friend used to work at the packaging plant in Chevron's Richmond refinery. He told us about the brands that were the same as Chevron oils and the brands that were different. Of course, that was long ago, my friend no longer works there, and the brands now are all different.

Ken