Geography and size of operation are two key factors in determining how lubricant manufacturers and marketers compensate their plant managers, a recent survey by LubesnGreases magazine finds. The 74 plant managers who responded to the 2012 Lubricants Industry Salary Survey say they are paid an average of $121,400 a year. The median compensation reported is $109,750. In 2010, plant managers reported making an average of $95,730, and a median compensation of 90,000. Sixty-three plant managers re...

The former president of lubricants blender Delfin Group USA pleaded guilty Dec. 4 in a South Carolina court to exporting aviation oil and polymer oil additives to Iran in violation of a U.S. economic embargo. Markos Baghdasarian was formerly president of lubricant blender Delfin Group USA, of North Charleston, S.C. The blender is the U.S. subsidiary of Russia-based Delfin Group. According to court documents, Baghdasarian withdrew his plea of not guilty entered Sept. 25 and entered the guilty p...

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration last month cited Dover Chemical for 47 health and safety violations and proposed $545,000 in fines related to an unexpected May 2012 chemical release that temporarily shutdown the companys Dover, Ohio, plant and an adjacent highway. In May, Dover stated that one of its phosphite reactors overheated, resulting in a reactor chamber venting smoke and steam, but was eventually contained. No injuries, explosions, fires or liquid spills occurred, Dove...

MOSCOW-The Russian lubricant industry faces numerous challenges, such as increasing imports of finished products, developing high quality base oil production and establishing a modern nationally important lubes testing facility, according to an industry pundit. The world’s biggest crude oil producer, Russia only has nine base oil plants and produced 2.4 million tons of base oils and lubricants in 2011, placing it among the top five global lubricants producers, according to Oleg Tsvetkov o...

The SK-Pertamina API Group III joint venture base oil plant in Indonesia recorded a profit of U.S. $136.9 million (Rp 1.3 trillion) for 2011, according to a company press release issued during a visit by the Board of Governors to the site in November. The Dumai, Sumatra, Indonesia, base oil plant is a joint venture between South Koreas SK Energy Asia which owns 65 percent and Indonesias PT Pertamina Patra Niaga which owns 35 percent. Just four years after its initial operation in 2008, the b...