Rubis West Indies Limited has completed its rebranding of Texaco gas stations in Grenada.
The rebranding – with the new green and white look of Rubis and LED forecourt lighting – started on June 29 with the opening of the Melville Street Service Station in St. George’s.
Rubis, a French-based international private limited company founded in 1990, has its Caribbean head office in Barbados.
Mauricio Nicholls is the CEO of Rubis West Indies Limited (RWIL).
RWIL, among other things, is a leading supplier of premium aviation fuels in the Eastern Caribbean. It supplies high quality jet fuel and aviation gasoline at Grenada’s Maurice Bishop International Airport (MBIA) and five other Eastern Caribbean airports.
Nicholls, who was in Grenada for the November 20 official launch of the “Rubis Brand,’’ described it as a “huge milestone.’’
“It is a distinct pleasure and a great honour to share this huge milestone in our short history in Grenada; the launch of our Rubis Brand not only here in Grenada, but throughout the Eastern Caribbean,’’ Nicholls said at the event at the Grenada Trade Centre in Morne Rouge, St. George’s.
It was attended scores of private and public sector officials, including Prime Minister Tillman Thomas.
“Grenada,’’ Nicholls said, “was the first market within the Eastern Caribbean to experience the new look and feel of our service stations, with the opening of our Melville Street Station. Since then, we have known that our new look and feel had great appeal to the Grenadian consumer and, because of this, our Melville Street Service Station has done very well since day one.’’
The main offices of Rubis in Grenada are at the Grand Mal terminal and at MBIA at Point Salines.
The company, which employs more than 200 workers in 11 countries, says it is now a “major player in the fuels’ distribution business in the Caribbean.’’
In May of 2011, Rubis acquired the assets that were owned and operated by Chevron under the Texaco brand in the Eastern Caribbean.
The acquisition, according to the company, “meant that Rubis became a formidable competitor in the regional downstream business in the Caribbean islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St. Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago. These territories joined with the already acquired assets in Bermuda, Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guiana. Further acquisitions during 2012 included the Chevron assets in The Bahamas, Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands.’’
As part of its entry into the Grenada market, Rubis is launching new products such as Ultra Tec, Rubigas and Total Lubricants.
§ ULTRA TEC is the name of the company’s new fuel additive. Ultra Tec uses a new generation of high performance additives to give the best engine efficiency. It is specifically formulated to clean the engine’s valves and combustion chamber by removing deposits, resulting in savings through improved fuel and engine efficiency; and improved vehicle performance.
§ RUBIGAS is the name of the company’s Liquid Petroleum Gas brand. Rubigas is available in green cylinders at all Rubis Service Stations and other outlets across the island in the traditional 20lb sizes. The 100lb cylinders are sold through George. F. Huggins & Co. (Grenada) Limited, and are delivered directly to customers. Rubigas cylinders will be maintained using specialized shot blasting and spray painting equipment. Cylinders will be pressure washed and pressure tested regularly to ensure that customers receive the same high quality product each time.
§ TOTAL LUBRICANTS. Rubis is the exclusive distributor of Total Lubricants, which is a top quality, established lubricant brand. Total Lubricants will be distributed by George. F. Huggins & Co. (Grenada) Limited and will be sold through the Rubis Service Stations’ network and at other outlets.
Nicholls has called Grenada a “very important market’’ for Rubis, saying the company is “thrilled to finally be here after many weeks and months of hard work behind the scenes to launch our new brand. We hope Rubis will become the most iconic fuel brand in the Caribbean and the preferred brand by the consuming public.’’
