ExxonMobil announced last week that it plans to close its only German lubricant plant during the second half of next year. The plant is located in the northern city of Harburg, near Hamburg. This is part of a plan to gain optimization between available capacity and supply possibilities, said Ranier Abbenseth, head of public relations for ExxonMobil Central Europe Holding GmbH. Production from the Harburg plant, which was supplying Germany and other parts of Europe, will be transferred to other E...

The third quarter brought upbeat news for both Ethyl Corp. and Quaker Chemical Corp. Downsized Ethyl reported net income of $12.3 million, up from just $700,000 during the third quarter of 2001. Quakers earnings for the period increased nearly fourfold to $4.3 million. Ethyl attributed its progress to growth in its petroleum additives business, which has rebounded since the company downsized last year. Recurring third-quarter operating profit from those operations grew to $25 million this year, ...

Hoping to distinguish its Havoline from that sold by Shell, ChevronTexaco last week unveiled an enhanced version of its flagship motor oil. ChevronTexaco officials called the reformulation a continuation of Texacos efforts to keep Havoline a premium product. They also acknowledged that the most immediate competitor is the other company using the same brand. Were always trying to distinguish our product from the competition, said Peter Fuentes-Afflick, brand support manager for North America, in ...

NSF, the group that reviews, registers and lists food-grade lubricants, announced last week that it will sunset the U.S. Dept. of Agricultures old list of approved food-grade lubricants in 2004. Next year the NSF White Book will list USDA-authorized lubricants separately from those that are NSF-registered, and in 2004 the USDA list, last issued in 1998, will be removed entirely. The NSF White Book, used by food processors and food safety law enforcement officers to select and evaluate lubricants...