Volume 2 Issue 2

Mitchell Named President of Valvoline

Ashland Inc. announced Thursday that it has hired from within to find a new president for The Valvoline Co., selecting Samuel J. Mitchell Jr. The 40-year-old Mitchell succeeds James J. OBrien, who in November was named group operating officer for Ashlands chemical operations. Mitchell has been with Valvoline for five years, most recently as vice president and general manager of its retail business, and was credited by the Covington, Ky., company with the marketing success of MaxLife, a motor oil...

New Sulfonates Plant Opens

Offering to relieve tight demand for an important ingredient in metalworking fluids and other lubricants, chemical broker Kimes Trading International announced the opening last week of a sulfonate plant in Houston. Owned and operated by Allied Petrochem LLC, the plant has capacity to produce 20 million pounds per year of sulfonic acids, calcium and sodium sulfonates, and other specialty products. The plant was built on a pre-existing complex as part of a strategic alliance with Kimes Trading, of...

Amalie's Lower-Budget China Strategy

Amalie Oil Co. knows it lacks financial resources to imitate the buy-some-market-share strategy that some oil companies have followed to enter China. But the Tampa, Florida-based lubricant blender believes it can still succeed with a cheaper, lower-profile campaign. Last week it announced an agreement making it the exclusive motor oil provider for a growing Chinese energy company and laying groundwork to build a blending factory in the future. Such a strategy may take longer to develop, Amalies ...