Lubricant blender American Hi-tech Petroleum Chemicals Inc. is moving from its current location in Oakland, Calif., to a Richmond, Calif., plant formerly occupied by Witco, Sunoco and Lubricating Specialties Co. Officials from American Hi-tech, which uses the moniker Amtecol, said this week that the company is moving to accommodate growth. Its current home includes a 16,000-square-foot warehouse on a one-acre lot. The Richmond site has a 42,000-square-foot plant on five acres. Weve been growing,...

Specialty chemical distributor C.H. Erbsloeh has been named a distributor in Europe for dispersions produced for the lubricant industry by Acheson Colloids Co. The agreement, announced by Erbsloeh this month, covers dispersions based on solid lubricants such as graphite, molybdenum disulfide, polytetrafluoroethylene and boron nitride carried in various liquids. Erbsloeh is based in Krefeld, Germany, and distributes chemicals throughout Europe for a wide range of applications, including rubber, p...

Ashland Inc.Monday sold road-building subsidiary Ashland Paving and Construction Inc. – its second major divestment in 14 months. Flush with cash, Ashland is now looking for businesses to buy, but officials indicated they are not targeting companies that would tack on to Valvoline. They added, however, that they have no plans to sell the motor oil marketer. Ashland sold APAC for $1.3 billion to Oldcastle Materials Inc., a supplier of paving materials and services. Ashland had returned the ...

ExxonMobil notified U.S. customers last week that it will raise finished lubricant pricesbetween 5 percent and 9 percent effective Oct. 1. Other leading lubricant marketers have not followed – at least not yet – but several independent suppliers have reportedly stepped out with their own increases. The U.S. market has already undergone two rounds of finished lubricant price hikes this year, and sources said resistance to further increases is building. I think people are getting fed ...

ExxonMobil nudged ahead of Royal Dutch Shell last year to become the worlds largest lubricant marketer, according to a new study by Kline and Co. The consulting company announced Friday its finding that ExxonMobil sold 4.5 million metric tons of finished lubes in 2005. That amounted to 12 percent of worldwide sales, Kline said, just ahead of Shell, which claimed 11 percent. For 2005, ExxonMobil won out in terms of volume, thanks to their increased market share in the U.S., particularly in the f...