Estech GmbH & Co. and Hatco Corp. announced last week that they have acquired ExxonMobil Oil Corp.s refrigeration lubricants business. Financial details were not disclosed.
The transaction includes formulations and accounts for synthetic polyol ester based refrigeration lubricants that ExxonMobil Chemical has marketed under the EAL Arctic trademark. The products will now be manufactured and marketed in the Americas by Hatco and in Europe by Estech, a joint venture formed last year by Hatco and Celanese AG, of Kronberg, Germany.
The EAL Arctic products have been sold mostly for industrial applications. Hatco, of Fords, N.J., and Estech already sell into that and other segments of the refrigeration lubes market. Still, they expect to benefit from the additional formulations, as well as the increase in sales.
This purchase is an important step in our strategic plan for global expansion and continued growth of our high-performance specialty lubricants business, Hatco Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Alex Kaufman said.
ExxonMobil Chemical will continue producing polyol esters for other types of synthetic lubricants.
Hatco produces synthetic polyol ester based lubes. Celanese Chemicals produces carboxylic acids and polyols – the main raw materials of polyol esters – used by Estech. The Estech joint venture is building a plant in Oberhausen, Germany, with capacity to produce 7,000 metric tons of polyol esters annually.