Evonik said last week that it has moved and expanded its lubricant additives technology center in Japan. The new facility, located in the eastern city of Tsukuba, is four times as large as the old one.
This was to accommodate the increased level of activities and to be ready for new ones with our customers, especially with the increasing importance of fuel efficiency solutions, a company spokesman told Lube Report Asia.
Evonik, which is headquartered in Essen, Germany, intends for the center to focus on the Japanese market, but the spokesman added that the technology will be applicable to other regions, and cross-fertilization of ideas is critical for development of solutions. Hence we have both centers [the other Asian center is in Shanghai] fall under our Asia-Pacific technical manager, Phil Hutchinson.Together with the other two similar networks for Europe and America, we can then leverage fully our global team for technical expertise.
Evonik said that with the expansion of mobility in Asia, market demands for highly efficient lubricants and environmentally friendly products are increasing, and the company believes it is increasingly important to develop additive technology to promptly meet these needs and to provide effective technical support.