Exol Lubricants has received the prestigious King’s Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category, one of the UK’s most esteemed business honours.
The award highlights Exol’s exceptional international growth, driven by strategic planning, superior product quality, and a strong focus on customer service excellence.
Exol is one of 197 organisations nationally to be recognised with a prestigious King’s Award for Enterprise.
With export markets spanning more than 45 countries, including Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, Exol has established itself as a trusted global supplier of high-performance lubricants for automotive, industrial, agricultural, off-highway and commercial applications for over 40 years.
Steve Everitt, Managing Director at Exol Lubricants, commented: “We are immensely proud to receive the King’s Award for International Trade. This honour is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team, both in the UK and across our global distribution network.
“We’ve always believed in building strong, long-term partnerships and delivering the highest quality products backed by expert support – and this award recognises the impact of that approach on a global scale.”
Exol’s success in export is supported by its investment in people, manufacturing, customer service and logistics. This includes its recently expanded headquarters in Wednesbury, increasing its total footprint. This investment strengthens its supply chain, increases stockholding capabilities and improves facilities for the team.
Plus, the brand has invested in a new fully automated bag-in-box machine to support a growing demand for packaging which is fully recyclable within the lubricants market. And future investment in new blending facilities will support growth in niche segments in the market such as biodegradable lubricants.
These investments combined with continuous upgrades to its transport fleet and implemented energy-saving technologies – including a large-scale solar panel installation and automated liquid transfer system (Pigging Line) at its blending plant to improve efficiency by reducing product waste and increasing output – attributes to Exol’s successful growth strategies.
People are also key at Exol, with continuous investment in staff to retain top talent and encourage development, Exol promotes from within and has a number of long service employees. For example, between directors Steve Dunn, Steve Everitt, Export Sales Manager, Paul Eastwood and Export Coordinator, Alison Morris, they have more than 100 years’ combined service which has been instrumental in building the trust between Exol and its customers at home and abroad over the years.
Paul Eastwood said: “It’s a fantastic achievement for everyone at Exol to win the King’s Award. We’ve applied before and missed out, so to finally receive it now is an immense feeling. We’ve made big changes to how we operate internationally, from container loading and documentation to how we support customers day-to-day. Winning this award tells us we’re doing everything right.
“Export is all about trust – our customers trust us to deliver quality, support, high levels of service and consistency and we ask for that trust in return from our customers at home and abroad. And it’s this trust and commitment from both sides that has meant we’ve maintained long-term relationships across the globe and achieved successful growth. And the King’s Award now validates that!”
Exol has faced many challenges over the years – from the global pandemic and Brexit to rising costs and political unrest – but together the team has managed these head on to ensure it’s always business as usual at Exol.
The company has been delivering ‘excellence in lubricants’ for over 40 years and it remains committed to continuing to grow and deliver excellence to its customers around the world now and in the future.
The King’s Awards for Enterprise, previously known as The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, were renamed in 2023 to reflect His Majesty The King’s desire to continue the legacy of HM Queen Elizabeth II’s by recognising outstanding UK businesses.
The Award programme, now in its 59th year, is the most prestigious business award in the country, with successful businesses able to use the esteemed King’s Award emblem for the next five years.
