Afton Chemical plans to invest more than $100 million to construct a new chemical additive manufacturing facility on Jurong Island, Singapore, that will initially make lubricant additives.
Groundbreaking for the plant is scheduled for 2013s third quarter, and it is expected to be operational by mid-2015. In its announcement, Afton said the initial capacity will represent a modest increase in our overall global production. The plant will be scalable to allow the company to grow as demand warrants.
Our initial production will be lubricant additives, scalable to meet customer needs in the market, company spokeswoman Lauren Ereio told Lube Report. The initial phase for the Singapore facility will support production of engine oil and driveline additives. We will build in flexibility to allow expansion of scope in the future.
Approved by parent company NewMarkets board July 17, the facility will be fully owned and operated by Afton. The company said it selected Singapore after an extensive analysis which focused on facility readiness and flexibility, market access, economics, safety and logistics.
This represents an investment that is likely to be in excess of U.S. $100 million for Afton Chemical, and another strong commitment by our board to this key market, said Warren Huang, Afton president.
The new Jurong Island facility will enhance our ability to provide quick and effective service to our Asia-Pacific customers as well as those in India and the Middle East, said Damian Barnes, vice president of supply.
Spokeswoman Ereio noted that the company expects demand in Asia-Pacific, India and the Middle East to grow. In terms of market trends, we continue to be confident of growth in this region, despite the current global economic situation, both from demand of petroleum additives standpoint and from increasing availability of basic raw materials; Asia and Middle East have the lions share of the newly announced upstream capacities, she said.
Afton currently has regional manufacturing in Suzhou, China, and Jurong Island, Singpore (operated by Chemical Specialties Singapore (Pte) Ltd.). In addition, Afton has technical centers in Tsukuba, Japan, and Suzhou, China, and sales offices including two locations in China, and single locations in Japan, South Korea, Australia and Thailand. Afton maintains its regional headquarters in Singapore.