D.A. Stuart has appointed Charles E. Santangelo president and chief executive officer, replacing Val A. Pakis, who resigned. Lubrizol Corp. and Ciba Specialty Chemicals Corp. also announced key appointments this month. Santangelo took the reins at Stuart just a month after he was appointed vice president of operations. In that position, he replaced Gene Carline, who is retiring in May. Santangelo has been with the company since 1979, held several positions and was credited with helping form Stua...

Fourth quarter 2005 lubricant sales volumes in the United States fell 6.5 percent from the same period of 2004, according to the latest data from the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association. The Quarterly Index on Lubricant Sales report, which was released March 22, showed sales volumes for all of 2005 finishing 3.2 percent lower than 2004. The market has now shrunk five out of the past six years. The fourth-quarter decline was led by the industrial lubricant segment, which saw a 14-perc...

Jiffy Lube continues to dwarf the next largest fast-lube chains by nearly a three-to-one ratio, according to the 2006 Tops in the Fast-Lube Industry rankings reported this month by National Oil & Lube News. With 2,164 total stores, the Jiffy Lube chain has grown by just 21 facilities since March 2000. But Wal-Mart, with about 2,000 U.S. Wal-Mart Tire and Lube Express stores (not included in the fast-lube list), is challenging the traditional quick-lube leaders for the countrys oil change bu...

Capacity at Sunocos Tulsa, Okla., base oil plant has risen 1,000 barrels per day in the past year, according to a report released by the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association last week. Sunoco officials confirmed that the Group I plant took a series of debottlenecking steps that boosted capacity to 9,500 b/d, an increase of 11.8 percent. We did a number of things to simplify and debottleneck, Sales and Marketing Director Patrick Gribbin said yesterday. In fact, that work is ongoing, an...

At least one heavy-duty engine oil marketer plans to bite the bullet when the next heavy-duty engine oil upgrade, API CJ-4, comes to marketin thefall. Chevron Products Co. announced yesterday that it will employ a two-tier strategy, offering oils for both the new and the current specification. Chevron said it decided to carry two lines of products in order to give on-highway truck operators the option of not using new oils, which are expected to cost significantly more. There is a lot of anxiety...