Japan’s Sanyo Chemical Industries is considering two investments that would increase its lubricant additives capacity in Asia – an expansion of an existing plant in Nantong, China, and construction of a plant in Korea, a company spokesman told Lube Report.
The company declined to disclose further details. We are still at the reviewing stage and have not decided on the country, timing and investments, he said.
According to Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, a Japanese industrial newspaper, the company plans to set up a lubricant additive plant in Korea as early as April 2019, and to double capacity at Nantong, to 10,000 tons. The combined investment for both projects would be about 2 billion Japanese yen (U.S. $18.1 million), the paper reported, and would increase Sanyos global additive capacity by about 30 percent.
Apart from Korea and China, in future, Thailand may also be a candidate for a new additive plant, the spokesman added.
Sanyo Chemicals net profit for the 2017 fiscal year fell 9 percent to 161.6 billion, however, sales revenue from its petroleum products segment, which includes lubricants, lubricant additives and others, increased 9.7 percent to 41 billion due to improvements in overseas demand, especially Asia.
The company has two viscosity index improver plants in Japan, one in China and one in the United States. Total viscosity index improver additive capacity is 59,000 tons per year.Based in Kyoto, western Japan, the company also manufactures water-soluble metal cutting fluids and halogen-soluble metal cutting fluids.