2015 marks the fiftieth anniversary of Comma Oil & Chemicals a company that has evolved from a fledgling, privately owned blender of mineral motor oils to become a leading supplier of high quality contemporary engine lubricants, coolants and automotive chemicals to the independent aftermarket.

Today, under the ownership of Brazilian energy giant Cosan Lubricants, the company is rapidly extending its global reach and has introduced the Comma brand to new markets in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia Pacific. It has come a long way since 1965, when Comma's founders filled the very first cans of Comma oil in Dartford, Kent.

By focusing on the vehicle servicing sector, the company has built a loyal customer base with a reputation for quality that has allowed the business flourish even through difficult times.

From a market perspective, the introduction in 1996 of the ACEA lubricants standards marked the most important transitional change in lubricant technology from mineral-base to synthetic-based products, and Comma immediately became a signatory to the Technical Association for the European Oil Industry's (ATIEL) European Lubricant Quality standard, EELQMS.

Throughout this period of change, Comma was at the forefront of developing and supplying what vehicle manufacturers, and the market, required to service the increasingly powerful and complex vehicles with which workshop technicians were being confronted. Lubricants effectively went from being almost a 'one-size-fits-all' commodity to becoming engine-specific part numbers equivalent to hard parts components. Comma was always among the first to bring them to the aftermarket and support its independent distributor partners with ground-breaking innovations in applications, sales, marketing, training and communications tools.

In more recent times Comma has also been at the forefront of coolant technology delivering advanced protection to the many different cooling and engine components. The company has also been active in many motor sport fields using the race track as a proving ground for development.

Cosan Lubricants, the São Paulo based Mobil licensee in Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay, purchased Comma from ExxonMobil in 2012. Major new capital investments and initiatives were embarked upon to extend manufacturing and logistics capabilities, while refreshing the Comma brand image and developing new markets. 

Cosan Lubricants chief executive, David Hopkinson comments, "As we embark on the second half of Comma's first century, we remain dedicated to our core values of customer service, product excellence and absolute commitment to fulfilling the needs and requirements of end-user professional service technicians." He adds, "We will always be responsive to the changing demands and challenges of the aftermarket, and look forward with great confidence and optimism to the continued success of the Comma brand.”