We are not attributing this increase to any one cause, BASF spokesman William Pagano told Lube Report. The NEOL brand neopentylglycol is used to manufacture diester resins used in the production of synthetic lubricants, according to BASF.

Florham Park, N.J.-based BASF Corp. is the North American affiliate of BASF AG in Ludwigshafen, Germany.

Cognis Oleochemicals LLC recently announced that, effective immediately or as contracts allow, prices for all grades of its fatty acids have increased by a minimum of 3 cents per pound, according to James Wood, director of sales and marketing for Cognis Oleochemicals. Our price increase was triggered in great part because of the surging tallow prices – an outfall from the growing demand in biodiesel – and other critical raw materials, Wood told Lube Report.

A joint venture ofGerman parent company Cognis and Golden Hope Plantations Berhad, Cognis Oleochemicals is a major producer of natural-source oleochemical basestocks. Natural oils and fats such as coconut and palm kernel oil are the sources of the company’s products.

Headquartered in Malaysia, Cognis Oleochemicals has production sites and service centers in Germany, the United States, Canada, Brazil, United Kingdom and Japan.