Chinese additive manufacturer Tianhe Chemicals began supplying to the Japanese market and will start production at its new plant in Singapore through a toll blender early next year. The company also launched its facility in the United Arab Emirates this week.
Tianhe has already begun making inroads into Japan, said G.S. Ravi, CEO of the firms lubricant additive division, in a telephone interview last week. The companys flexibility in customizing products has allowed it to partially replace one of the countrys multinational suppliers, he said, noting that Tianhe expects the companys market share there to grow significantly in 2017.
The company is growing very well, recording a 30 percent increase since last year and planning to launch a new range of industrial and automotive packages early next year, he continued. The companys products – which Ravi said include additive components and packages for metalworking fluids, hydraulics, automotive gear oils and others – meet a number of industry standard specifications and have gained approval of several original equipment manufacturers.
Ravi noted that Tianhes new plant in Dubai, U.A.E., will stream this week after an increase in planned capacity from 30,000 metric tons per year to 35,000 t/y. The first batch will start on Monday, Aug. 29, and we will take a decision to expand or not in 2018, said Ravi. The plant will supply various performance additive packages mainly to the Middle East region, along with a portion to India. Tianhe had initially planned to start production at the plant earlier this year.
Tianhe will also partner with a toll blender based in Singapore to start production there at the end of the first quarter of next year, Ravi continued. The plant will have capacity to produce 40,000 t/y of industrial and automotive lubricant additive packages, which it will supply mainly to Southeast Asia. Officials did not explain why the plants commencement was delayed from its initial target date of the middle of this year.
The growth rate for lubricant additives is higher than the growth rate for finished lubricants, according to Global Lubricant Additives: Market Analysis and Opportunities,a report released this year by United States consulting firm Kline & Co. The company forecast global lubricant additive consumption to increase by 1.6 percent through 2019, with strong growth stemming from regions like Asia-Pacific, Africa, the Middle East and South America.
According to the report, growth varies significantly across function class. Heavy-duty motor oil, passenger car motor oil and in the industrial lubricants category, metalworking fluids, are the top additive-consuming categories, accounting for three-fourths of total additive consumption.
Tianhe Chemicals, which claims to be the largest Asian lubricant additive manufacturer, is headquartered in Jinzhou, in the northern coastal province of Liaoning. The company said it has a 220,000 square foot research and development center in Bengaluru, India. The company markets additive components such as zinc thiophosphates, ashless dispersants, detergents, extreme pressure additives and additive packages for engine oils, gear oils and industrial lubricants.