In 2010, plant managers reported making an average of $95,730, and a median compensation of 90,000. Sixty-three plant managers responded two years ago to the survey, which is conducted every other year.

Its hard to draw comparisons from survey to survey because the respondent pool differs every time, however, this years respondents reported making more money than anyone since the survey began in 2000.

LubesnGreases gathers information about compensation from individuals employed by lubricant manufacturers and marketers in three job categories: plant managers, sales and marketing professionals, and laboratory/technical managers. The individual responses are compiled by an independent statistical firm and never seen by anyone at the magazine or LNG Publishing Co.

Breaking it out, 72 percent of this years respondents said they worked in lube manufacturing plants and earned an average of $124,500 a year. In 2010, manufacturing plant managers surveyed said they earned $102,000. Plant managers for lube distributors reported earning $113,400 a year in 2012, a sharp increase from the average reported in 2010 of $79,700.

The survey cannot say definitively that compensation has rebounded, only that this years respondents report markedly higher average pay than those in 2010, Managing Editor Lisa Tocci wrote in announcing the survey results in the October LubesnGreases.

What did stand out is that this years respondents are older with more industry experience and said that they oversee a larger workforce. On average, 2012s respondents supervise 34 people each, while 2010s respondents supervised 22.

A corollary to size of staff supervised is size of company. Respondents who worked at companies that employ more than 500 people report making an average annual salary of $139,000. Managers for companies that have 11 to 50 workers report averaging $88,000.

Another significant factor, as the old saying goes, is location, location, location.

Plant managers in the South Central United States, the heart of the lubricants industry, report earning an average $149,680 in 2012. Plant managers in the North Central region earned an average $108,981, slightly more than their colleagues in the Northeast ($107,308). Plant managers in the Southeast averaged $98,175 and in the Northwest, $79,000. In every case, these salaries are higher than what was reported in 2010.

The Southwest, however, is the only section of the country where average incomes were reported lower in 2012 ($121,063) than they were in 2010 ($131,083). That anomaly was attributed to a recession that gripped California.

Stephen Milam, president and CEO of Lubricating Specialties Co. in Pico Rivera, Calif., told LubesnGreases that Californias recession has made it difficult to get people to move to the state, but finding qualified people is not a problem because of the high unemployment rate.

When there is an opening we have our choice of some of the best workers, managers and administrative staff out there, he said.

So what is the average profile of this years respondents?

Overall, the average plant manager is 49.6 years old and has 21.7 years of industry experience, including the last 14.4 years with their current employer. He or she has been a manager for 10.1 years and reports supervising 34 people.

Managers for manufacturers and distributors have subtle differences.

The average lubricant manufacturing plant manager is slightly older, 50.0 years, and has 22 years of industry experience, the last 13.9 years with their current employer. These respondents say they have been a manager for 9.8 years and supervise 38 people.

The average lubricant distributor manager is younger, 48.7 years, has 21 years of industry experience, and 15.5 years with their current employer. Distributor plant managers who responded to the survey report 10.9 years in their current position and supervise 25 people.

And they are mostly male. Of the 74 usable responses, only three (4 percent) identified themselves as female, and they all worked for lubricant manufacturing companies.

The typical female respondent is 51 years old, has been her current job for 13 years, and has 22 years professional experience. Her average pay, according to the salary survey, is $116,400, or 7 percent less than her male counterparts in lube manufacturing. She supervises an average of 11 people.

The complete 2012 Lubricants Industry Salary Survey is available only in digital .pdf format for $100 as well the data set for plant managers alone may be purchased for $35. Order online at www.lngpublishing.com/SalarySurvey/orderform.cfm.