When it comes to oil, scooterists are a diverse bunch. Some swear by basic ‘groundsman’ type oils, whilst others wont let their machine sit in the same room as anything other than fully synthetic ‘race’ mixtures. Whichever camp you sit in, the chances are that you’ve a favourite brand, probably one that you’ve been loyal to for years. However, have you ever stopped to think about the research that went into producing your brand of choice and more specifically, did that research even consider its use in classic two-stroke scooters?
The chances are that if you're using one of the ‘big names’ the answer to that question is probably ‘No’. However, that’s where Aztec enters the picture and they’re probably the biggest oil company that you’ve never heard of.
From small beginnings…
Back in 1995, Mark Lord grew tired of working hard for someone else’s benefit. Having worked for companies such as Tetrosyl, he’d gained expertise in the oil industry, but thought that he could do things better. Having leased a small unit on an old colliery site outside Bolsover he began buying oil in bulk, repackaging it and selling it on to retail customers. Thirty years later, Aztec now occupies much of the old colliery site, has its own bespoke buildings, conducts its own research and has a truly global reach. It’s been an amazing success story and Mark recognises that the company wouldn’t have enjoyed such growth without the hard work of those who work there. So much so that a few years ago he gifted half of his shares to the employees. This really is a company in which the employees are truly invested in its success, but we’re jumping ahead of ourselves.
What’s in a name
Although you may be unfamiliar with the Aztec brand, there’s a very good chance that you’ve been using at least one of its products. From the outset Mark specialised in blending and packaging lubricants for large retailers, often in the DIY sector. Whilst this approach had some advantages, notably large volumes of sales, it also meant that Aztec was reliant on third parties for its continued success. Although that’s still a key part of the company’s business, the move to promoting its own brands means that there’s more opportunity to specialise and create bespoke products for markets that larger names may not be interested in. This includes our own collaboration with Aztec, a specially blended SAE 30 gearbox oil.
Good examples of this are the company’s range of oils for the heritage railway sector, and their ability to blend products for specific local conditions. This is particularly important for diesel engines as fuel quality in developing nations can be extremely poor; by using the correct oil mixture it's possible to avoid costly damage. When we say that the company has a global reach, it’s very popular in South America. Incidentally that’s not where the name came from. When establishing the brand Mark wanted avoid a generic name such as ’Lord’s Oils’ and asked his son for suggestions. At the time he was working on a school project about the Aztec civilisation and thought it was a cool name….
This flexibility is facilitated by an on site laboratory, where Aztec’s own technicians work on developing, testing and then blending all the company’s products on site. Whilst that’s all very interesting, how does it link the company with the scooter market? Well, read on.
Give the people what they want
We’ve already mentioned that half the company is owned by the employees and a significant number of those are motorcyclists. They made a case that there was a gap in the market for high quality, fairly priced oils and the research team went into action. The first group to test the products were of course those very same riders and that was followed by sponsorship of Whitney Motorsport in British Super Bikes (BSB) and supporting Championship winning rider Josh Froggat racing in British Sportbikes. To set the brand apart, many of the motorcycle products are marketed under the ‘Mototec’ brand, but these are definitely home-brewed Aztec products.
One thing Aztec is very keen to do, and something that larger companies simply don’t have the capacity to become involved with is chatting to riders at events. At these events riders can chat directly with staff from the company, not paid marketing agents, and it’s from these chats that the product range continues to grow and develop. As we all know, Scooterists are rarely afraid to hold back on their opinion and the company began to realise the passion felt by riders. In fact, it’s scooterists that are largely responsible for the most recent introduction to the Aztec range: a Castor based 2t oil,
The Mototec Castor oil has been formulated for highly stressed 2t engines, specifically vintage, classic and grass track motorcycles and scooters. Although benefitting from modern science, the advantages of traditional castor oils are retained; these include a naturally thicker and robust lubricating film, very high load carrying capacity, excellent wetting properties and reduced power loss due to lower friction. Perhaps just as importantly the exhaust gasses “Smell of nostalgia”!
Keeping it clean
Throughout its history Aztec has prided itself on remaining true to its roots. All its products are developed and blended in the UK and great efforts are made to ensure that the raw products are responsibly sourced. Recently, the company became aware of below cost price oils being dumped into the UK market. Not only did this threaten all UK based oil blenders, it was a strong indication that the oils were being supplied in breach of sanctions, having been ‘laundered’ through third party nations. These concerns were raised at a government level and resulted in tariffs being applied on the source countries, effectively ending the trade.
In its approach to providing quality, affordable oils Aztec offers a genuine alternative to ‘big oil’. Blended in Britain, sold world wide and produced to the demands of their consumers. They’ve been around for a long time but their brand is certainly a valuable addition to our shelves
For more information on the Aztec range, and our other collaborations with the brand
For more information on the Aztec range, and our other collaborations with the brand have a look at our Q&A interview with Aztec’s technical expert, give our sales team a call on: 01226 203377 or drop them a line at: sales@rondaleyscooters.co.uk
