Lube manufacturer Chem-Trend, a Freudenberg Group business unit, said last week that major expansion projects in China and India will be completed over the next two years.
The $24 million expansion in Qingpu, China, in partnership with sister company Kluber Lubrication, includes a new research and development center that will enable the company to develop distinct product solutions for customers in the region, as well as areas for application testing and engineering, and special laboratories dedicated to release agents, process aids and lubricants, Chem-Trend stated in a news release.
The company said that significant aspects of the project scheduled for completion in 2015 include a new administration and training complex. Expected after 2015 are increased capacity at the manufacturing facility, an extended warehouse and bulk storage.
Since entering the Chinese market in the 1990s, Chem-Trend said it has expanded its operations to support various markets such as automotive, conventional and renewable energy, textile, footwear and construction.
Chem-Trend said phase one of its Mysore, India, expansion project – in partnership with sister companies OKS and Kluber Lubrication – was finished in June 2013. When the facility is completed in 2016, the covered space will be 17,000 square meters, and the total land area will be 40,000 square meters.
The Mysore project includes administrative and warehouse facilities, a technical center and manufacturing operations. The expansion allows for sales support, customer service, technical service and product development, and will become a technical excellence center for the Southeast Asian rim.
The Mysore sites production plant manufactures specialty lubricants, release agents and maintenance products under the Kluber Lubrication, Chem-Trend and OKS brands, which have applications in industries such as infrastructure, automotive, energy and the food industry.
Chem-Trend, which develops and produces mold release agents and casting lubricants, said it is also making ongoing investments in increased product development and testing capabilities at its corporate headquarters facility in Howell, Mich.