BG Products has introduced two ranges for motor factors to stock up on. Powerflow, BG’s UK distributor, has made the traditional range available, while it has also launched a new brand – Powerflow Director, Paul Dobbyn, explains why:
The new brand
Astratech is a new brand that uses all BG Products’ research and development facilities and knowhow, and it produces that automotive chemistry at very competitive prices.
Changing the dynamic of BG’s offering
BG has been aware that its traditional approach to the market – blending chemistry that is designed to be best in class – has meant that BG has always been a premium priced product. Fleet operators and many workshops want or need the very best and so BG has been able to satisfy that market area. Astratech utilises much of the advanced chemistry, such as polyether amine, and is blended to appeal to the twin needs of high levels of effectiveness alongside attractive and practical pricing.
The technical bit
Engine manufacturers (through the Worldwide Fuel Charter by ACEA) recognise that polyether amine is a key ingredient in helping to clean – and keep clean – combustion chambers and fuel injectors from hard-baked carbon. Astratech PA-06 and PA-07 contain chemistry that is formulated to give a deeper clean.
Also, modern engines have lower piston ring tension than previously. This lower tension allows oil vapour to deposit behind the piston rings more easily, which, in turn, restricts the rings in their ability to flex and centre, leading to a reduction in compression and increase in blow-by – neither are good for the engine. Astratech PA-01 is an engine flush that is very effective at removing old oil, sludge and has a proven record of restoring compression.
Other products in the range will prolong oil life, like PA-03 Oil Conditioner (for petrol) and PA-04 Oil Conditioner (for diesel), by maintaining oil viscosity for longer, controlling acid and soot formation. This means longer engine life and less emissions.
The current Astratech range is completed by PA-02 Engine Oil Treatment, an oil enhancer that helps to compensate for worn engines. It is very effective at reducing or even eliminating smoke from worn engines.
What else do factors need to know?
The Astratech range focusses on products that will help motorists restore engine efficiency and power, as well as lower emissions and prolong engine life. BG Products’ laboratories have been awarded ISO 17025, which recognises, amongst other elements, that the laboratory delivers competence, impartiality and consistency.
This impartiality is a key part of the BG Products/Astratech ethic. The products are consistently tested under laboratory standard protocols, meaning that when BG/Astratech make a claim about effectiveness, it is backed up by results.
