The Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers last week approved a recommendation to establish a certification program to identify individuals with expertise in the use of metalworking fluids. Members of an ad hoc committee that recommended the program predicted certification will become a popular yardstick used by customers to gauge the qualification of companies supplying fluids and related services. This program will significantly change the metalworking industry, said Houghton Intern...

Spurred by a decline in earnings, Lubrizol Corp. announced yesterday that it will eliminate 150 jobs by the end of this year. The additive supplier said the axe will fall most heavily at its headquarters and technical facilities in Wickliffe, Ohio, but will also touch factories in Deer Park and Bayport, Texas, and a technical center in Hazelwood, England. The announcement came two weeks after Lubrizol reported a 33-percent decrease in third-quarter earnings. Management said the companys fluid te...

Higher costs dragged down third-quarter financial performance for Ethyl Corp. and Quaker Chemical Corp., despite sharp year-to-year increases in sales. Ethyls net income fell 5.5 percent, while Quaker Chemicals dipped 4.7 percent. Milacron Inc.s industrial fluids segment bucked the trend with a 41 percent jump in operating profit. Ethyl reported net income of $10.3 million, or 61 cents per share, for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to $10.9 million, or 65 cents per share, in the same period...

In one of a series of cost-cutting measures, Crompton Corp. says it will close a refrigeration lubricant plant in Gretna, La., by the end of this year. The plant, which employs 40 people, makes its products using naphthenic base oils. The company said it will continue carrying the product using another supplier. Information about the closing was included in recent press reports of Cromptons third-quarter financial performance. A spokeswoman said the company informed employees during the summer b...