Afton Chemical Corp. said its two new research and development facilities in Japan and China will develop more products, faster, for the Asia Pacific region.
A new facility in Shanghai, China, will open early this year, and a new and expanded facility in Tsukuba, Japan, recently began operations. They will definitely be working on lubricant additives at both locations, Afton spokeswoman Lauren Ereio told Lube Report.
Tsukuba is just outside of Tokyo. Aftons expanded center includes more than 3,300 square meters and employs eight managers, technologists, formulators and technicians.
The Shanghai R&D facility is in the Zizhu Science Industrial, south of Shanghai, home to Shanghai Jiao Tong University and East China Normal University. It has more than 1,000 square meters of space, including nine fully equipped laboratories for analytical development and testing.
Afton previously told Lube Report that it would transfer one person from the United States and hire four to six new degree technical employees to staff the new center in Shanghai initially. The company had also told Lube Report that most lubricant additives and other products Afton supplies to the Asia-Pacific region ship from Aftons major manufacturing centers in Feluy, Belgium; Pasadena, Texas; and Sauget, Ill. In addition, the company manufactures in Brazil and has contract manufacturing arrangements around the world.
The two new centers are in addition to Aftons global R&D center in Richmond, Va., and a major center in Bracknell, near London, in the United Kingdom.