Castrol - Oils, Fluids & Lubricants

Charles Wakefield began selling lubricants as 'CC Wakefield & Company' in 1899, solely supplying trains and heavy machinery with his horse and cart oil wagon. In the turn of the century Mr Wakefield took a shine to two new motorised contraptions, the automobile and the aeroplane. With this personal interest came lubricant development for the engines used. This new form of engine required an oil to work while the engine was cold and then when it was warm too. During their research Mr Wakefield and his team found that adding a measure of castor oil, a vegetable oil made from castor beans, to his oil mixture did the trick nicely - they called this blend 'Castrol'.

Castrol would later go on to lubricate John Alcock and Arthur Brown's first trans-Atalntic flight in 1919.

Key to the success of 'Castrol' not only lay with the blend of oil they were selling, it was the way they were selling it, more to, the way they were marketing it. Mr Wakefield began to sponsor competitive aviation events and car races to get the name out there to the general public. Such was the success of the brand 'Castrol', it became the companies identity in 1960. In 1966 Castrol was bought by The Burmah Oil Company and in 2000 BP bought Burmah-Castrol.

Most engines today require oil or lubricanst to operate and the Castrol brand has stood the test of time by evolving with the needs of technology and machinery. Not only does it have a name for passion and speed Castrol can now be heard in the same sentence as science and technology. In 2008 Castrol launched its Marine Bio range with improved environmental performance to help protect ocean life. In 2012 NASA's Curiosity rover began its mission to Mars, lubricated with Castrol grease.

Today Castrol strive to create lubricants and grease that work on the most precise machinery whilst looking at how to reduce the affects on the planet.