The market for metalworking fluids in Asia-Pacific is rosy, according to a new consultant study, even if the regions industrial anchor continues to drag it down. The study – released last week by the Little Falls, N.J., firm Kline and Co. – predicts metalworking fluid demand in Asia-Pacific will grow by 3 percent annually through 2007. Not what one would describe as stunning growth, but, as the firm noted, its pretty good for the metalworking fluid industry. If you compare it to the ...

Fuchs Petrolub AG announced yesterday that it has agreed to buy the France-based industrial oils business of American systems manufacturer Parker Hannifin Corp. Earlier Fuchs reported that its net profit for the first three quarters of 2003 increased 19.5 percent from the same period of 2002, despite a downturn in global lubricant demand. The Parker Hannifin oils business operates under the Wynns brand name. It employs 76 people and had revenues of Euro 22.6 million (U.S. $26.7 million) during i...

Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. announced it is preparing to commercialize a mid-viscosity polyalphaolefin designed to make life easier for formulators that currently blend low- and high-viscosity PAOs. Synfluid Mid-Viscosity PAO, which is scheduled to be available beginning in January, has a viscosity between 20 and 28 cSt at 100 degrees C, according to a news release distributed Nov. 18. Currently Chevron Phillips does not offer a PAO between the viscosity range of 8 cSt and 40 cSt. Other major ...