Dhandapani Sothiselvam, senior vice president, lubricants,for Lanka IOC, told Lube Report,The lube blending plant being constructed will go a long way in providing high quality lubricants at reasonable prices to the motorists and industrial consumers of Sri Lanka.

The plant will also feature a laboratory. A full-fledged laboratory for testing base oils, additives and finished products is also being established, Sothiselvam said. On commissioning of the plant, this unit will also function as a customer service laboratory for analyzing the used lube oil samples and for condition monitoring.

Lanka IOCwill blend Servo-brand lubricants at the plant. There are more than 2,000 Servo lubricant formulations tailor-made for different automotive, industrial and marine applications, he said, adding that the brand has endorsements from many original equipment manufacturers, including Maruti-Suzuki, Hyundai, Wartsila, Ashok Leyland, TVS, Bajaj Auto, Man B&W and Volvo.

Sothiselvamsaid the blending plant will import base oil via tankers. The plant will have eight tanks with total capacity of 6,000 kiloliters for storing base oils and three blending kettles.He said the company will also arrange to import additives and other required raw materials through the Trincomalee port.

The blending plant will have four filling machines for 210-liter barrels as well as for small cans of various sizes ranging from one quarter liter up to 50 liters. He said the plant will also cater to requirements of large volume customers.

Sothiselvam said M/S Hayleys Industrial Solutions of Sri Lanka will import the filling machines from manufacturers Autopack and Elder and will also construct the plant.

Lanka IOC bills itself as the only private oil company to operate retail petrol/diesel stations in Sri Lanka. It was incorporated to carry out retail marketing of petroleum products, bulk supply to industrial consumers, and building and operating storage facilities at the Trincomalee tank farm, among other services.