Kunlun Tianrun High-End Product Gets “New Packaging”

Reporters recently learned through relevant channels that Kunlun Tianrun KR9-T is being given entirely new packaging: the pail changes from silver to gold, and “fully synthetic high-performance engine oil” replaces “synthetic technology high-performance engine oil” in the labeling below the brand name Kunlun Tianrun. Zhao Jiandong, director of the market development department of PetroChina Lubricant Company, said that KR9-T is the most high-end product in the Kunlun Tianrun series and that the new packaging was introduced to meet dealers' and consumers' request for “greater differentiation,” and will be officially launched on January 1, 2015.
As domestic car ownership has increased, problems such as road congestion and short-distance driving have followed, causing owners to frequently engage in “consumption-type driving” and increasing the chances of engine damage. In order to reduce engine wear and extend engine service life, PetroChina Lubricant Company launched the Kunlun Tianrun series in the first half of this year. Reporters noted that, apart from KR6-G, which uses a blue pail, the high-performance engine oils such as KR9-T, KR9 and KR8 and the automatic transmission fluids such as KR-A3 and KR-M10 all use silver pails.
“The differentiation of the original Kunlun Tianrun series was slightly weak, so everyone's understanding of the high-end products was not so clear.” Zhao Jiandong revealed that market feedback since Kunlun Tianrun's launch more than half a year ago has consistently been very good, but dealers and consumers repeatedly suggested that KR9-T, the most high-end product in the Kunlun Tianrun series, should be distinguished from other products.
In addition, reporters found that the labeling on the KR9-T and KR9 pails had also changed, with the previous wording “synthetic technology high-performance engine oil” replaced by “fully synthetic high-performance engine oil.” Zhao Jiandong explained: “The labeling change is based on two considerations. First, Kunlun Tianrun's high-end products are themselves fully synthetic; labeling them as synthetic technology was originally done to be a little more conservative. Second, consumers are more accustomed to the labeling of fully synthetic, semi-synthetic and mineral oils, and adapting to their needs is also a rule of the market.”
Among high-end lubricant products today, “fully synthetic” is the internationally common labeling method, and Shell and Mobil are no exception. As for what counts as fully synthetic, the more widely accepted view is: using base oils of Group III or above, where the base oil undergoes a change in molecular structure during production, can be regarded as a synthetic product. This concept was first put forward by Mobil, which developed a material called PAO — that is, synthesizing small molecules into large molecules. Castrol in the United States also calls Group III base oils fully synthetic, and even fought a long lawsuit before the American technical arbitration committee over this; it was eventually ruled not to be a violation, and thereafter this gradually evolved into a popular way of labeling.
“Kunlun Tianrun's KR9-T, KR9 and KR8 products all use base oils of Group III or above, and KR9 and KR9-T also use a great deal of PAO, so there is no problem in calling them fully synthetic oils.” Zhao Jiandong revealed that, apart from labeling KR9 and KR9-T — these two SN-grade products — as fully synthetic, other products are still labeled as synthetic-type engine oil. In addition, the anti-counterfeiting technology and purchasing channels have not changed, and genuine products can be bought from Kunlun Tianrun dealers and terminals.
TIPS
PAO is the abbreviation of poly-alpha-olefin, which is made by turning ethylene into a polymer through polymerization and then further polymerization and hydrogenation. Compared with traditional mineral lubricant base oils, PAO offers good high- and low-temperature viscosity characteristics, good low-temperature fluidity, and excellent thermal and oxidation stability.