Houghton International has entered a joint marketing agreement to distribute high-performance automotive body forming fluids manufactured by lubricant blender Rock Valley Oil and Chemical Co., the companies announced last month. The agreement covers oil- and water-based blank washes, stamping fluids and heavy-duty drawing, stamping, forming and hydroforming compounds used in the manufacture of critical exterior body components. Some of the fluids are also used in making structural and interior p...

Coolant Control Inc. has sold its metalworking additives business to start-up Additives International LLC, the companies announced this month. Based in Evanston, Ill., Additives International was created with the acquisition in mind, President Greg Jorjorian told Lube Report. Beginning April 1, the company will supply water- and oil-soluble corrosion inhibitors, amides, surfactants, lubricity additives, emulsifiers and base stocks to blenders of metalworking fluids, along with odor control copp...

Castrol Industrial North America Inc. said recently that it plans to realign its distribution channels as part of a plan to bring greater clarity to its business and to focus on its strengths. In doing so, the lubricant supplier said it will reduce the number of distributors it uses and the number of industries served by direct sales. Castrol Industrial North America is based in Naperville, Ill., and is part of British energy giant BP. It is one of the largest industrial lubricant suppliers in t...

U.S. motor oil marketers raised prices again this month, citing continued increases in costs of raw materials and other inputs. Majors marked up packaged passenger car motor oils by between 30 cents and 64 cents per gallon. One leading marketer has already announced a second increase for later this month. Seven leading suppliers made their hikes effective March 1, according to industry sources. BP-Castrol went for the biggest increase, raising prices for packages of conventional passenger car en...

The U.S. lubricant industry is showing new signs of wilting under the strain of supply disruptions, even as refiners inch toward restoring and introducing base oil capacity. People throughout the industry agree that base oil shortages have reached unprecedented levels, with operational problems at several base oil plants bludgeoning a market already weakened by last years hurricanes. The shortages drove Shell, Chevron and ConocoPhillips recently to place allocations on finished lube sales. Blend...