An association of businesses and regulators is scheduled to vote next month on a proposal aimed at curbing unfair trade practices in the lubricants industry. Among other things, the changes recommended by the National Conference on Weights and Measures would require warning labels on containers of obsolete engine oils and require transmission fluid marketers to document performance claims. The proposal has been endorsed by the Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association and, reportedly, the ...

The University of Florida and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have received a $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop a new generation of synthetic lubricant coatings for future air- and spacecraft. Researchers involved in the project said they are trying to address the special needs of vessels exposed to an extraordinarily wide range of environments. Vehicles that voyage from Earths warm and humid environment into the extreme cold vacuum of space require lubricants th...

Crompton Corp. said yesterday that it has resumed production of polyalphaolefins at its Elmira, Ontario, plant, which was damaged during a June 11 fire. Lines of some other products – such as alkylated diphenylamine antioxidants – are still sidelined, but the company said it expects them to start up again soon. The fire interrupted production of most materials – all except those that do not generate much wastewater. A spokeswoman confirmed that deliveries to customers would be ...

A newly formed Florida company announced that it has acquired four drum reconditioning businesses to become the second-largest industrial container service provider in the United States. The company, American Container Net Inc., said it is also negotiating to buy three other firms and aims to develop a national network. Based in Winter Garden, Fla., American Container announced June 8 that it was formed by the acquisition of East Coast Container Corp., of Matthews, N.C.; Bakerstown Container Cor...