Valvoline Inc. is an American manufacturer and distributor of Valvoline-brand automotive oil,

additive Additive may refer to: Mathematics * Additive function, a function in number theory * Additive map, a function that preserves the addition operation * Additive set-functionn see Sigma additivity * Additive category, a preadditive category with f ...

s, and

lubricant A lubricant (sometimes shortened to lube) is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces, t ...

s. It also owns the

Valvoline Instant Oil Change Valvoline Instant Oil Change is a company that provides preventive maintenance services for many different types of automobiles. These services include oil changes, antifreeze changes, differential fluid changes, batteries, belts, fuel system clea ...

and Valvoline Express Care chains of car repair centers. , it is the second largest oil change service provider in the United States with 10% market share and 1,400 locations.

History

Dr. John Ellis, the inventor of a petroleum lubricant for steam engines, founded Valvoline on September 6, 1866, in

Binghamton, New York Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...

, as the "Continuous Oil Refining Company". In 1868, Ellis renamed his Binghamton Cylinder Oil to the more memorable Valvoline. The next year, he moved the Continuous Oil Refining Company to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. With his son and son-in-law, Ellis renamed the company to "Ellis & Leonard" and relocated to Shadyside, New Jersey. Valvoline received commendations by

Charles F. Chandler Charles Frederick Chandler (December 6, 1836 – August 25, 1925) was an American chemist, best known for his regulatory work in public health, sanitation, and consumer safety in New York City, as well as his work in chemical education—first a ...

and others at the Paris Exhibition of 1878. By the 1890s, Valvoline oil was associated with winning race cars. During the early 20th century, Valvoline was the recommended motor oil for the

Ford Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...

. In 1949,

Ashland Inc. Ashland Global Specialty Chemicals Inc. is an American chemical company which operates in more than 100 countries. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, the company traces its roots back to the city of Ashland, Kentucky, where it was headquarter ...

purchased the Freedom-Valvoline Company. By 2016, Ashland's Valvoline subsidiary accounted for about 37% of the parent company's annual revenue. Valvoline completed an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...

on September 22, 2016, ahead of Ashland spinning off Valvoline as an independent company on May 5, 2017. On August 1, 2022,

Saudi Aramco Saudi Aramco ( ar, أرامكو السعودية '), officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (formerly Arabian-American Oil Company) or simply Aramco, is a Saudi Arabian public petroleum and natural gas company based in Dhahran. , it is one of ...

announced the acquisition of Valvoline's lubricant unit for US$2.65billion.

Sponsorships

Valvoline has sponsored a number of auto races to market its motor oil, including the

SCCA National Championship Runoffs The SCCA National Championship Runoffs is the end-of-year championship race meeting for Sports Car Club of America Club Racing competitors. Divisional champions and other top drivers from the SCCA's 116 regions are invited to participate at the ...

and

Bommarito Automotive Group 500 The Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline is an IndyCar Series race held at World Wide Technology Raceway. The event was first held as a CART series race from 1997 to 2000, initially on Memorial Day weekend. From 2001 to ...

. Valvoline has also sponsored

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...

driver

Mark Martin Mark Anthony Martin (born January 9, 1959) is a retired American stock car racing driver. He has the second most wins all time in what is now the Xfinity Series with 49. He scored 40 Cup Series wins. He finished second in the NASCAR Cup Series st ...

(1992-2000),

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed tr ...

driver

Al Unser Jr. Alfred Unser Jr. (born April 19, 1962), nicknamed "Little Al", "Al Junior", or simply "Junior", is a retired American race car driver and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner. History Unser was born into a racing family in Albuquerque, New Mexic ...

(1988-1993), and NASCAR teams

RahMoc Enterprises Rahmoc Enterprises is a former NASCAR Winston Cup team that operated from 1978 to 1993. The team was owned by long-time engine builder Bob Rahilly and Butch Mock. Butch Mock and Bob Rahilly split in 1992, with the race team becoming Butch Mock ...

, and

Ginn Racing MB2 Motorsports was a NASCAR Cup Series team based in Mooresville, North Carolina, near the sport's hub in Charlotte. The team was founded by Read Morton, Tom Beard, and Nelson Bowers, from which the original team name were named after. Bowers w ...

and

Hendrick Motorsports Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 291 Cup Seri ...

(since 2014). In Australia, Valvoline owns

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...

to the

Sydney Speedway Sydney Speedway (known commercially as Valvoline Raceway and formerly as Parramatta Speedway, and often referenced as Sydney Speedway I to differentiate with its successor) was a dirt track racing venue on the site of the Granville Showgrounds ...

and sponsors the

Australian Sprintcar Grand Prix The Australian Sprintcar Grand Prix is an annual dirt track racing meeting held in Australia for Sprintcars. The meeting is traditionally held at the Sydney Speedway (formerly the Parramatta City Raceway) and was first staged in the 1978/79 sea ...

. It also sponsored the 1994 Australian Manufacturers' Championship. Valvoline was also the official lubricant supplier for Marussia F1 Team in 2014 (later Manor Marussia F1 Team in 2015), but the team didn't show the Valvoline logo branding on Marussia F1 cars despite utilizing

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

engines. Since June 2020, Valvoline sponsors

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

association club

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA Euro ...

as a global partner, with their logo appearing on the sleeves of match kits.

References

External links

* 1866 establishments in New York (state) American companies established in 1866 Chemical companies of the United States Petrochemical companies Companies based in Lexington, Kentucky Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Manufacturing companies based in Kentucky Non-renewable resource companies established in 1866 Chemical companies established in 1866 Corporate spin-offs 1949 mergers and acquisitions 2016 initial public offerings {{US-manufacturing-company-stub