Penrite Oil Company is an Australian independent international lubricants company established in 1926. The head office is located in

Dandenong South Dandenong South is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 31 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Greater Dandenong local government area. Dandenong South recorded a population of 125 a ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, with other major offices in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

and

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, exporting to over 50 countries in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

and the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. The company is privately owned. Penrite manufactures over 170 different products across 12 different market segments. The product range includes

Motor oil Motor oil, engine oil, or engine lubricant is any one of various substances used for the lubrication of internal combustion engines. They typically consist of base oils enhanced with various additives, particularly antiwear additives, deterg ...

, Automatic Transmission Fluids, Gear & Differential Oils, Heavy Duty, Hydraulic & Gear Oils, Industrial, Farm and Construction products, 2/4 Stroke & Garden Equipment Oils, Greases,

Coolant A coolant is a substance, typically liquid, that is used to reduce or regulate the temperature of a system. An ideal coolant has high thermal capacity, low viscosity, is low-cost, non-toxic, chemically inert and neither causes nor promotes corrosio ...

s, Fuel Treatments & Additives, Car Care, Motorcycle & Marine products, Veteran Vintage & Classic products, Brake Fluids & Power Steering & Suspension Fluids.

History

In 1926, 16 year old Les Mecoles founded Penrite Oil Company from his parents’ home in

St Kilda, Victoria St Kilda is an inner seaside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 6 km (4 miles) south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip Local governmen ...

, Australia. The first batches of oil were made on his mother's kitchen stove and delivered to service stations, milling factories and the local shipping port using his father's wheelbarrow. As the business began to grow, a new blending facility was built in

Richmond, Victoria Richmond is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Yarra local government area. Richmond recorded a population of 28,587 at the 2021 census, with a medi ...

. After several years, Penrite again moved to

Abbotsford, Victoria Abbotsford ( wyi, Carran-carramulk) is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-east of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Yarra Local government a ...

due to further growth as

and regional Victoria grew in population and the road and railway network expanded across Australia. In 1965, Penrite again was forced to move to nearby

Brunswick East, Victoria Brunswick East is an inner-city List of Melbourne suburbs, suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Melbourne city centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Merri-bek Local Govern ...

as the Abbotsford site was purchased by the

Government of Victoria The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive ...

to make way for the newly commissioned

Eastern Freeway (Melbourne) The Eastern Freeway is an urban freeway in eastern Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. It is one of the most important freeways in terms of commuting to the city, connecting Alexandra Parade and Hoddle Str ...

. The business continued to grow, but in 1979, Les Mecoles, suffering from poor health, sold the company to John and Margaret Dymond. In 1981, Penrite launched its flagship range of multigrade motor oils known as HPR (High Performance Range), identified to solve modern engine oil consumption problems and tailored for the local Australian driving conditions. During the late 1980s to mid-1990s, Penrite continued to grow and expand, opening up new distribution channels and market segments. A second blending facility was opened in

, soon followed by new warehousing in Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Sydney and Darwin. Exports commenced in

, Southeast Asia, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, the

and Europe. In 1997, the existing blending facility in Brunswick East could no longer keep up with the demand and was relocated to

Wantirna South, Victoria Wantirna South is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 25 km east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Knox local government area. Wantirna South recorded a population of 20,754 at the 2021 census. W ...

in Melbourne's east and soon after, the Brisbane site was also relocated to larger premises in

Crestmead, Queensland Crestmead is a suburb in the City of Logan, Queensland, Australia. In the , Crestmead had a population of 12,153 people. History In 1885, a number of Swedish immigrants from the ship ''Chyebassa'' established farms in the area. Early crops incl ...

. In 2016, Penrite opened a new blending facility and moved the head office from Wantirna South to

Dandenong South, Victoria Dandenong South is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 31 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Greater Dandenong local government area. Dandenong South recorded a population of 125 at t ...

Motorsport

Penrite's marketing activities includes an involvement in

motorsport Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

, partnering with numerous teams and privateers worldwide across a wide range of motorsport disciplines including

Auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

Motorcycle racing Motorcycle racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) is the motorcycle sport of racing motorcycles. Major varieties include motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Ot ...

Kart racing Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on kart circuit, scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are als ...

and

Boat racing Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

. Some key partnerships include

Honda Racing Corporation Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) is a division of the Honda, Honda Motor Company formed in 1982. The company combines participation in Motorcycle racing, motorcycle races throughout the world with the development of racing machines. Its racing act ...

and

Erebus Motorsport Erebus Motorsport, (formerly known as Erebus Racing,) is an Australian motor racing team. The team competes in the Supercars Championship with two Holden ZB Commodores. The team's current drivers are Will Brown and Brodie Kostecki. The team is ...

. Penrite first partnered with Erebus Motorsport just prior to the

Supercars Championship The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport. Supercars events take place in all Australian ...

Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most recen ...

race in 2015. The most notable achievement of the partnership was the 2017 Bathurst 1000 race win with David Reynolds and

Luke Youlden Luke Youlden (born 28 January 1978) is an Australian Supercars series racing driver. He is the son of two-time Australian Production Car champion Kent Youlden. Youlden currently drives for Kelly Grove Racing as a co-driver alongside David Rey ...

behind the wheel of a

Holden VF Commodore The Holden Commodore (VF) is an executive car that was produced by Holden between June 2013 and October 2017. It was the second and last significantly restyled iteration of the fourth (and final) generation of the Holden Commodore to be manufa ...

. In 2019 Penrite expanded their partnership with Erebus Motorsport by sponsoring both David Reynolds' #9 car and

Anton de Pasquale Anton De Pasquale (born 14 September 1995) is an Australian motor racing driver. He currently drives the No. 11 Ford Mustang (sixth generation), Ford Mustang GT for Dick Johnson Racing in the Supercars Championship, Repco Supercars Championship ...

's #99 car and renaming the team as "Penrite Racing". Penrite also took on title sponsorship of the

Sandown 500 The Sandown 500 (formally known as the Penrite Oil Sandown 500) is an annual endurance motor race which is staged at the Sandown Raceway, near Melbourne, Victoria, Australia from 1964. The event's name, distance – and the category of cars comp ...

. In 2021 The Penrite and Erebus Motorsport partnership ended to form a new partnership with

Kelly Grove Racing Kelly Grove Racing (formerly known as Kelly Racing and Nissan Motorsport) was an Australian motor racing team which competes in the Supercars Championship. The team made its debut in 2009, and raced Holden VE Commodores until the end of the ...

by sponsoring David Reynolds' #26

Ford Mustang GT The Ford Mustang is a series of American automobiles manufactured by Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its sixth generation, it is the fifth-best selli ...

in the

and

Matthew Payne Matthew "Matt" Payne (born 3 October 2002) is a New Zealand racing driver from Auckland, New Zealand. He is currently competing in the Dunlop Super2 Series with Grove Racing, driving the No. 10 Nissan Altima L33. Payne is also inaugural inducte ...

's #10

Nissan Altima L33 The Nissan Altima is a mid-size car that has been manufactured by Nissan since 1992. It is a continuation of the Nissan Bluebird line, which began in 1955. The Altima has historically been larger, more powerful, and more luxurious than the Ni ...

Super2 Series The Dunlop Super2 Series (formerly known as Dunlop Series, Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series, HPDC V8 Supercars Series, Konica Minolta V8 Supercars Series and Konica V8 Supercars/Lites Series) is an Australian touring car racing competition, specifical ...

for selected rounds. In 2022 Penrite expanded their sponsorship with

Grove Racing Grove Racing is an Australian motor racing team that's previously competed in various series, including the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship and Super2 Series. The team is making its debut in the Supercars Championship in 2022. They wil ...

(Formally known as

) by carrying on sponsoring David Reynolds' #26 car and now

Lee Holdsworth Lee Holdsworth (born 2 February 1983) is a semi-retired Australian racing driver. He won the 2021 Bathurst 1000 alongside Chaz Mostert and finished his full-time career after the 2022 season, after nearly two decades of racing. He plans to retur ...

's #10 car. Penrite also carried on sponsoring the #10

for a his first full time campaign in the

. The Penrite and Honda Racing partnership began in 2013 with the Australian factory

Motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

Team. Since then the partnership expanded to sponsoring riders not only in Motorcross but Supercross, Endurance and Road Racing factory teams. The most notable achievements of the partnerships include the three straight Australian Supercross Championships in 2016, 2017 & 2018 with US rider Justin Brayton and the 2018

Australian Superbike Championship The Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) is a national motorcycle racing championship in Australia, organized by Motorcycling Australia. History The story of the Australian Superbike Championship begins in 1980, at a time in motorcycle spor ...

with rider Troy Herfoss.

Environmental

Penrite is a signatory to the Australian Packaging Covenant which must meet local and regulatory requirements to minimise any environmental impact by reducing emissions and developing safe and sustainable, production, storage and distribution methodologies. In 2016, Penrite was awarded the Australian Packaging Covenant High Performer Award for exceeding the regulatory requirements. In 2017 Penrite was also awarded the Most Innovative New Packaging Award by the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association when releasing the Enviro Box™ a bag-in-a-box concept for packaging and dispensing lubricant designed to reduce landfill waste, increase productivity and reduce costs.

References

{{reflist Oil companies of Australia Energy companies established in 1926 Companies based in Melbourne Australian companies established in 1926 Motor oils