Cepsa, a leading manufacturer and marketer of lubricants based in Madrid, Spain, has signed an agreement with LAAPSA (Lubricantes Argentinos de Alta Performance S.A.) to market automotive and industrial lubricants in Argentina.

In addition, as of 2018, LAAPSA is expected to start manufacturing a range of lubricants adapted to local requirements at LAAPSA’s factory in the city of Tigre (Buenos Aires), in order to complement the product range developed by Cepsa.

This new agreement is part of the Cepsa’s internationalization plans developed over recent years. In this case it will collaborate with LAAPSA, a leading Argentine company with extensive experience in the lubricant sector and with a prominent presence in Latin America, in countries such as Mexico, Brazil and Uruguay.

To celebrate this alliance, an event was held last week in Tigre, which was attended by the Spanish ambassador in Argentina, Javier Sandomingo Nùñez; Buenos Aires Governor María Eugenia Vidal; and the Mayor of Tigre, Julio Zamora, among other dignitaries. Cepsa’s Director of Commercial International Development, Jorge de Blas, attended the event and, on behalf of LAAPSA, its Director General, Gustavo Perfetti, also attended.

“This is a great opportunity for us to enter a market such as that of Argentina, and with the help of a partner like LAAPSA, with experience in both manufacturing and marketing lubricants,” said de Blas.

“Latin America is a key market in which we want to consolidate our presence and marketing activity,” he said.

“LAAPSA is already present in more than 37 countries with its special lubricants and this alliance will enable us to consolidate a leading position, not only technologically-speaking but also in innovation in the manufacture of consumer lubricants in our country,” said LAAPSA’s Perfetti.

“Argentina is a highly fragmented market in automotive and transport lubricants, but we are modernizing with the help of specialization and lubricants designed for each vehicle in these segments, and this is where the LAAPSA and Cepsa union creates the force that will differentiate us, so that our customers and users can choose our brands,” Perfetti added.

Cepsa has a diversified portfolio of lubricants, base oils and paraffin waxes, which it has marketed in more than 80 countries since 1950. In addition to Argentina, Cepsa currently markets its lubricants in 10 other Latin American countries: Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Dominican Republic and Uruguay.

The company also has a substantial presence in Latin America through its chemicals business in Brazil, exploration and production in Brazil, Colombia and Peru and bunker operations in Panama.