Additives International will lease Lockhart Chemical Co.s 13-acre Flint, Mich., production facility, gaining new capabilities in calcium and barium sulfonate-based products, along with more capacity for soluble bases and emulsifiers. The company will also begin making rust preventives based on oxidized waxes and petrolatums.
The deal is a very long-term lease with an option to purchase, according to Greg Jorjorian, president and chairman of Evanston, Ill.-based Additives International. The price of the lease was not disclosed. Additives International will move its production of sulfonate emulsifiers, soluble and semi-synthetic bases and rust preventives, corrosion inhibitors and biocides from Cincinnati to the Flint location. The company expects to make all shipments from the Flint location by the end of October.
Its capable of a lot of production up there – millions and millions of pounds of production, Jorjorian told Lube Report. We have not only larger tanks there, but we have room to expand if we need to. Thats one thing we didnt have in Cincinnati, as we were pretty landlocked.
The company will hire people in Flint to work at the new plant. When were fully staffed, we are planning on having at least 10 to 15 employees on site, Jorjorian said. Joe Eldick, who is our vice president of operations, is going to move up there.
The Cincinnati facility is used primarily for blending and some reactions. Jorjorian said it will remain in operation after the move. It was a nice way to get it started, when we formed the company a couple of years ago and started production, but weve outgrown it, he continued. Well move on and expand our capabilities.
Jorjorian said Additives International wanted to become a new supplier of rust preventives based on oxidates, to help meet growing demand from the metalworking industry. What people really want are the oxidized petrolatum and waxes, which are kind of the backbone of these rust preventives. Thats a capability we dont have now, that we will have when we move in.
Demand for the products is particularly on the upswing in the Asia/South Pacific region, according to Jorjorian. A lot of the automotive and major equipment manufacturers have moved there, and so these products that prevent rust and protect from salt spray, from humidity and things like that are in demand, he said.
The company has a unique line of ethoxylated surfactants, lubricity agents which it has developed since its formation in 2006. We have some alternative chemistry we have been promoting, and have done pretty well with it, he added.
Additives Internationals other products include lubricity additives, soluble bases and specialty products such as fungicides, odor control agents, hard-water stabilizers and defoamers.