A momentous year for Castrol
Castrol exists to accelerate progress for our customers. It’s at the heart of everything we do.
together we move forward
2024 marks a momentous 125th anniversary milestone for Castrol. In 1899, Sir Charles Wakefield founded CC Wakefield & Co. Limited; the company that became Castrol as we know it today.
Onward, Upward, Forward is our plan to build on these foundations to propel us to future growth.
125 Years of Castrol
Moving Onward
Advancing mobility solutions that help people and goods move with greater efficiency through innovative technologies and a commitment to the principles of circularity.
Looking Upward
Aimed at helping Castrol’s industrial customers and the machines they rely on, to perform better, improving the efficiency of their operations.
Reaching Forward
Exploring exciting opportunities and a path of progressive diversification. Castrol’s initiatives include end-to-end digital and service solutions, data centre immersion cooling, and battery thermal management. This forward-thinking approach underscores Castrol’s commitment to staying at the forefront of innovation.
Where it all began
Castrol was founded by Charles “Cheers” Wakefield under the name of ‘CC Wakefield & Company’. In 1899 Charles left a job at Vacuum Oil to start a new business selling lubricants for trains and heavy machinery.
Early in the new century, the company started developing lubricants for automobile and aeroplane engines, which needed oils that were runny enough to work from cold at start-up and thick enough to keep working at very high temperatures. Wakefield researchers found that adding a measure of castor oil, a vegetable oil made from castor beans, did the trick nicely. They called the new product “Castrol.”
Having helped pioneer a new kind of motor oil, CC Wakefield pioneered a new method of getting customers to notice the product: sponsorship. The Castrol name appeared on banners and flags at competitive aviation events, auto races and at attempts to break the land speed record.
By 1960, the name of the motor oil had all but eclipsed that of the company’s larger-than-life founder, and so ‘CC Wakefield& Company’ became, simply, Castrol Ltd.
In 1966 The Burmah Oil Company bought Castrol and in 2000 Burmah-Castrol was purchased by bp.
Drawing on our 125-year heritage
Castrol has been at the cutting edge of innovation for 125 years.
