Norbert Schieren, General Manager, Total Lubmarine

Tell us about your background.

I was born in Germany in a little town about 15 miles from the Dutch border. As the oldest of four siblings, I had a lot of responsibility at an early age. I wanted to be an engineer – not the kind that builds bridges, but the kind that drives trains. All the kids back then wanted to be engineers because there were lots of trains around and there was a certain romance to them. My grandfather bought me a train set when I was a kid and we used to play with it all the time. But in the end I became an economist. I went off to university in Bonn and took an M.S. in Economics.

How many languages do you speak?

Three. German, my native tongue, English and French. I also speak some Dutch.

What was your first job?

When I finished university I was hired by the Belgian oil company Petrofina as a management trainee and became assistant to the CFO of a small refinery in Germany. The margins were small in the refining business, and I learned how to manage costs and I was later responsible for supply chain issues like shipping the finished product out of the refinery and to customers. Eventually I became head of supply chain management for all of Fina Europe, based in Brussels.

Tell us about the series of mergers that produced Totalfinaelf and eventually just Total. How did you survive them?

Petrofina became part of Total in 1999 and Elf was merged in 2000. There were some early retirements, but no layoffs. In 2002 I was named General Manager of Industrial Lubricants for the combined company, and seven years later I assumed my current position.

How big is the Total Lubmarine business? Are you the biggest lube company in the marine industry?

According to recent market studies we are just behind the market leaders, BP or ExxonMobil. The top five players, which include Chevron and Shell, account for 80 percent of worldwide lubricant sales. We are what is known within Total as a Global Business Unit, focused exclusively on marine lubricants. We do about $1 billion a year.

Where are you based?

Paris region.

How many offices and employees do you have?

Including our Network Partners, we have operations in more than 100 countries and more than 250 employees. We have 65 blending plants around the world and deliver products to more than 1,000 ports. We have an unrivaled supply chain network, and our Network Partners are a very important part of that. Our goal is to “deliver the right products, at the right place, at the right time.”

Do you do much business in the U.S.?

Yes, the U.S. is a growing market for us with interesting opportunities. In the U.S. we have our main office in Linden, New Jersey, near New York City, and another office in Houston.

What are your main products?

There are four families of products. Cylinder Oils include our industry-leading Talusia Universal and Talusia Universal 100 brands. Think of them as all-weather lubes suitable for use with high and low-sulfur fuels. With Talusia Universal there is no need to change lubes when entering an Emissions Control Area where you have to switch to low-sulfur fuel. We were the first manufacturer to formulate such a product. Talusia Universal 100 is especially designed to fight cold corrosion in modern, low-speed diesel engines.

            Then there are System Oils like Atlanta Marine D for two-stroke engines, and Piston Oils like Aurelia and Disola for high and medium-speed diesel engines running on marine fuels, gas oil or diesel oil. Aurelia LNG is a breakthrough product – a low-ash lubricant designed for four-stroke engines running on LNG. We also have a family of eco-friendly bio-lubricants and greases like Bioneptan for stern tubes and Carter Bio for gears and bearings, meeting the standards for Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants under the Vessel General Permit in the U.S. Other products include synthetic gear oils like Epona and synthetic oils for turbochargers like Barelf.

How is business? What is the outlook for the next couple of years?

Business is good. The outlook for the next couple of years depends on continued recovery in the shipping industry, which we think is happening. The demand is there, especially for high-performance products and products that are compatible with low-sulfur fuels, like the next generation of Talusia. 

What are the major issues in the lubricants business – the biggest challenges?

The biggest challenge is the disconnect between new engines that need less fuel and less lubes and the demand for high-performance lubes to keep those engines running smoothly in increasingly severe conditions, like slow steaming. We have to invest more in R&D to produce the high-spec lubes, but customers are going to use less of them.

What is your biggest challenge as General Manager of a huge business?

Maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction. That is a never-ending job. So our technicians are highly trained, and we stay close to the customer, and we offer user-friendly services like LUBCHART, which tells you exactly what lubricant you need for each piece of onboard equipment, and DIAGOMAR PLUS, which monitors engine lubrication. I spend a lot of time on the road, talking to customers. It’s something you have to do.

What are your goals for Total Lubmarine?

First is to maintain and strengthen relationships with existing customers and attract new ones. Second is to reduce the complexity within the business so our customers can run their operations more smoothly and safely.

Cars running on synthetic oil require an oil change every 10,000 miles or at least once a year. How often do ships have to change out their lubricants?

Never. A ship can add lubricants to maintain proper performance or switch from one lubricant to another when entering an ECA zone. But there’s never a complete change-out, like in a car. Of course, if you use Talusia Universal lubricant, you don’t have to switch over when entering an ECA zone.

Will lubricants for LNG-fueled engines be a big business?

Yes, but not tomorrow or not in the next five years even. LNG engines have their own unique characteristics and challenges for lubricant manufacturers. Since there is no sulfur content, the need for corrosion protection is reduced. We already have a product for four-stroke LNG engines, but no one has yet developed a lubricant for two-stroke engines. However, we don’t think LNG-fueled vessels will be a significant part of the global fleet until 2020 or 2025 at the earliest. Most shipowners will use low-sulfur distillate fuel in the interim, or employ scrubbers.

How would you describe your management style?

Open and receptive. I like to manage by walking around and watching and listening and asking questions. It’s a familiar technique, but it works. I am also very results-oriented.

How would you describe yourself?

The same way. Open. Receptive. Fair. Serious, but with a sense of humor. I am also very persistent in the pursuit of goals.

What are your weaknesses?

Ha ha! You don’t expect me to answer that, do you? Well okay, I’ll confess to one. Sometimes I think I react too fast and make decisions too fast. But they’re usually correct. I recently read a book on the subject – Thinking, Fast and Slow by the Nobel economist Daniel Kahneman. It’s very good. You should read it. Explains the difference between intuition and deliberate thinking and the pros and cons of each.

Are you a member of any industry associations?

Total Lubmarine belongs to CIMAC, an organization that brings together engine manufacturers with lubricant makers and many others. It’s a great way to exchange information and find out what the engine people are thinking and doing and how we should prepare for the new kinds of engines on the horizon. I personally attend SMM in Hamburg every time among other events. Paris is not a major center for the shipping industry, unfortunately, not like London or Athens or Hamburg. So I need to move around and stay current.

What do you like to do in your spare time? 

I enjoy the outdoors. I like sailing and mountain biking and activities that bring me close to nature.

Have you read any good books lately?

Besides Thinking, Fast and Slow? That was a good book. On airplanes I read what you call “thrillers.” I don’t know how “good” they are, but they are an escape. I can’t remember any of the names or authors. They all blend together.  

Any final words for our readers?  

To succeed in this business you have to have a real passion for shipping. You also need to be aware of what is happening in the world. Shipping and the oil business are very geopolitical, which means they involve complex and often unforeseeable events. So you have to be ready for the unexpected. That’s what makes it exciting. – MarEx

Jack O’Connell is Senior Editor of The Maritime Executive.