The quick-lube market in the United States may seem fairly saturated, but that has not kept a few chains from growing at healthy clips. Among chains with more than 100 locations, three grew by at least 30 percent during the 12 month period that ended March 1, according to a survey by National Oil& Lube News. All three – Texaco Xpress Lube, Valvoline Express Care and a troika of ExxonMobil chains – are signage programs tied to big-name motor oil brands. In addition, all three gre...

The Ukrainian government said recently that it is preparing to sell a controlling share in Azmol, one of the largest lubricant suppliers in Eastern Europe. Ownership of Azmol was transferred in March from national oil company Naftogaz Ukrainy to the State Property Fund, which is charged with privatizing certain government-owned enterprises. The agency told Lube Report that it is developing a process by which it will sell off at least part of the company. Press reports say the fund plans to sell ...

Ethyl Corp., Quaker Chemical Corp. and the industrial fluids business of Milacron all recorded sales surges for the first quarter of 2004. Profitability, though, was more of a mixed bag. Ethyls jumped, Quaker Chemicals rose moderately and earnings for the Milacron segmentfell. Ethyl reported Friday that it had $5.8 million in earnings from continuing operations for the quarter ended March 31, compared to a loss of $100,000 during the same period of 2003. Net income for the first quarter of 2003 ...

ExxonMobil Chemical says it is upgrading its Beaumont, Texas, polyalphaolefins plant to produce additional PAO products it calls “Group IV-plus.” These enhanced PAOs, to be commercialized in the second half of next year, are being touted for use especially in fully and partly synthetic engine oils, an application where PAOs are aiming to retake lost ground. “This is a new generation of low-volatility PAO — with primary benefits in the 4-centistoke and 6-centistoke grades...

British ester manufacturer Esterchem Ltd. announced last week that it has completed an expansion that has boosted its capacity by 30 percent to 14,000 long tons per year. The project consisted of installing two reactors with combined holding capacity of 38 tons. Esterchem, which is based Staffordshire, U.K., said it needed additional output to accommodate its expansion from the British market into Europe. The six-year-old company recently contracted agents to represent it in Germany, Austria, Sw...