Naveen Gupta, managing director of Valvoline Cummins, said the new blending facility will expand the companys in-house production capabilities and enhance its ability to deliver fast, localized technical service to customers in the region.

Located on the west coast of India, Mumbai is considered the countrys hub for lubricant blending activity, saidUpshi Dhar, India-based project manager for Little Falls, N.J.-headquartered consultancy Kline and Co.s Energy Practice. The proximity of Mumbai to one of the busiest ports in India facilitates the import of base oils and due to this reason, most of the leading lubricants manufacturers have their blending facilities in and around Mumbai,Dhar told Lube Report. The western region in India is also an industrial hub and has the largest consumption of industrial lubricants among all regions.

Kline estimates total demand for finished lubricants in India at 1.4 million metric tons in 2009. The commercial automotive segment represents about 53 percent of the total, Kline calculates, followed by the industrial segment at 34 percent and the consumer automotive segment at 13 percent.

Heavy duty motor oil, gear oils, hydraulic fluids and metalworking fluids are the fastest growing categories in India, according to Klines “Opportunities in Lubricants 2010: India Market Analysis.”In the passenger car lubricants segment, Klines Dharobserved that Indias industry is moving towards higher quality levels, with most of its OEMs transitioning from SAE 20W-40 and 20W-50 to 5W-30 and 5W-40. This transition has been facilitated by the high supply of competitively priced Group III base stocks in the region,Dhar added.

According to Kline, the Indian lubricants market is going through a phase of unprecedented growth, fueled by growing vehicle population, infrastructure development and manufacturing activity for domestic consumption and exports. Indias fastest growing industries are cement, steel, construction, automobile and automotive component manufacturing and power generation, Klines analysis found.

Ashland also plans to use the new plant for product development and technical service activities for composites manufacturers served by Ashland Performance Materials in India and surrounding areas

In 1980, Covington, Ky.-based Ashland established Chembond Ashland Water Technologies, a joint venture between Chembond Chemicals and Ashland that serves the Indian water treatment industry. In November 2009, Ashland opened its new headquarters for Ashland India Private Ltd. in Navi Mumbai, where business teams are located to support all of Ashlands commercial units operating in the country. The company has a network of local sales, technical service and distributor representatives throughout India.