Chemicals distributor Univar announced Monday the opening of a 1.5 million lubricant depot at its Gothenburg, Sweden, facility. The depot will become the primary receiving hub for Shell lubes destined for the Nordic markets.
Univar, which is based in Redmond, Washington, said the depot has capacity to handle more than 10 million liters of lubricants per year. In addition to the storage facilities, the project added a laboratory that will be used to check the quality of products delivered there.
The project was undertaken largely to accommodate Univars business with energy giant Shell. Last year Univar signed a long-term contract to distribute Shell-branded automotive, industrial, and commercial transport lubes in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Officials said the depot will enable supply chain synergies and promote future growth for Univar.
According to the company, the depot is designed and configured to allow all tanks and pipe work to be individually maintained at temperatures required for each product. Doing so, officials said, avoids the energy wastage common in sites such as this, where tanks are often kept warm unnecessarily.