The Fuchs Petrolub group has opened a lubricant blending and packaging plant in Khartoum, Sudan. The facility is operated by Fuchs licensee in Sudan, Petrobash Multiactivities Co.
Petrobash, which is based in Khartoum, was serving as Fuchs distributor in Sudan before the companies agreed to expand the operation. The plant has capacity to make 36,000 metric tons of lubricants per year with its current staffing of one shift per day. It opened late last year, according to Fuchs vice president for the region, who spoke to Lube Report in an interview last week.
Some international companies have shied away from Africa, especially areas where operations are not so easy, said Alf Untersteller, executive vice president for Turkey, the Middle East, Central Asia, India and Africa. But we think Africa is an important market for Fuchs. We find good partners, we see what their goals are, and then we go further.
Petrobash currently supplies approximately 20 percent of Sudans lubricant demand, which is estimated at 60,000 tons per year, Untersteller said. It also sells lubricants into parts of Ethiopia and Eritrea.
In addition to blending oils and greases, the plant manufactures drums and blow molds plastic containers. It has a laboratory for quality control and customer service plus 1,000 tons of bulk storage on a 21,000-square-meter lot. A storage facility at nearby Port Swakin has 8,500 tons of tankage and its own jetty for high-speed discharge.