Up here in Canada Esso bottles their products for many different companies. UFA,Presidents Choice, Co-op, John Deere (Canada)PLUS 50 up here is Esso XD3 for example,in the States I understand it is Conaco from other posts.
Esso makes many oils in SL and CI-4, at our Esso Bulk Stations up here we can only buy in case lots which of course gives us great price points. We can buy separate litres of XD3 at more cost at Walmart, UFA etc if we want.
I inquired to my Esso agent who in town had XD3 bottled so I could buy a few separate units without case lots. He told me I would be able to get Ford Motorcraft in XD3 real soon, these Esso Agents are given memos etc. from Imperial Oil on this information. Esso doesn't care if I buy XD3 in Motorcraft bottles or Esso bottles, they are making a sale directly or indirectly.
I have been in a few international discussions, the American/Canadian companies like Ford, John Deere etc. seem to use different oil suppliers on each side of the border. This XD3 by Esso is a highly rated oil and in great demand at it's price point. Many companies up here big and small are getting in on the XD3 band wagon, walk in any major store up here and check oil on shelves, good chance it is XD3 in another lable. Any bottled oil sold in Canada with 3 stars on bottom of bottle is an Esso oil, once one starts looking for those 3 stars on different labled bottles, one learns Esso is doing a booming business. It is a case of doing one's homework to know what is in these many bottles. Good products sell themselves under any lable.
Ford and Esso up here doing business would not suprise me one bit, the Esso Manager was most confident in his statement of Ford using XD3 in their Motorcraft, he stated it as a done deal with Ford, sounds like bottlingis being done, not on shelves yet. He was talking strickly Canadian Motorcraft Ford oil. The specs on this XD3 are amazing and price unbeatable up here in this market.
Cyprs