Shell announced on Monday plans to build its first grease manufacturing plant in Indonesia, producing products for applications such as bearings and gears in a variety of sectors.
The plant will be constructed within the grounds of its Marunda Lubricants Oil Blending Plant in Bekasi, in west Java, one of the main islands of Indonesia.
The plant will be designed with capacity to make 12,000 metric tons per year of grease for the domestic market. Shell did not disclose further details at the time of publication. The new facility will become the company’s third-largest wholly owned grease manufacturing plant.
“Indonesia’s economy has grown rapidly in recent years, and lubricant products, including grease, are essential enablers for the country’s growth ambitions in almost every sector,” Shell Lubricants Global Executive Vice President Jason Wong said in a press release. “By bringing our supply closer to end users in a reliable, efficient, and sustainable manner, this project will ensure we can be there for our customers for years to come.”
The new plant will produce the Shell Gadus range of grease used in bearings and gears for the manufacturing, pulp and paper, steel, smelter, power, fleet, construction and mining industries.
In November 2022, Shell Indonesia more than doubled the capacity of its Marunda plant to 300 million liters per year (270,000 tons), compared to 136 million liters/year previously.
In 2013, Shell opened its 18th and largest grease plant – at that time – with a capacity of 30,000 tons per year in Zhuhai, China.