Prices for chemicals used in lubricants continue to rise despite a retreat in crude oil and fuel costs. Albemarle Corp., Dow Chemical Co., BASF and Chemtura imposed markups during the past two weeks, some of which were announced before oil slid to current levels. Albemarle hiked global prices for polymer antioxidants and polymer additive blends by 15 percent Sunday. The former are marketed under the Ethanox and Ethaphos brand names, the latter under the AlBlend name. The specialty chemical compa...

A U.S. investment firm has bought a 25-percent stake in Bulgarian lubricant marketer Prista Oil AD. The transaction comes three months after Chevron Global Lubricants sold its 25-percent share of the company. An official with Greenwich, Connecticut-based Gramercy Advisers confirmed yesterday that the investment firm had made the investment, but he declined to discuss the deal. According to news reports in Bulgaria, though, Sofia-based Prista announced the transaction after its shareholders appo...

Quaker Chemical has decided to consolidate blending in Detroit and Middletown, Ohio, and is leaning toward expanding the latter to make it the companys primary production facility in the United States. An executive with the industrial lubricant supplier said yesterday that the company plans to make a final decision on the project by the end of this year and would complete the expansion within 18 months. We still have a few hurdles to clear, but were certainly getting closer to deciding to expand...

U.S. lubricating grease producers could soon slam into new barriers to delivering products to customers in Europe, as wide-sweeping chemical safety legislation passed by the European Union begins to take effect. According to U.K. grease expert and consultant Michael Morris, the legislation known as REACh effectively will bar from sale in Europe any lubricating grease that is not in compliance — and that means not only bulk or packaged greases, but also grease used to pre-fill equipment int...

A California consumer affairs agency has filed a complaint to revoke or suspend permits for 76 shops in the EZ Lube quick lube chain, alleging that the company systematically bilked customers into paying for unneeded maintenance work. The Bureau of Automotive Repair of the states Department of Consumer Affairs called the case its largest investigation in years and said its accusations were based on actions documented in 51 undercover stings. They were charging $19.95 for an oil change. That was ...

Three major oil companies eased off recently from previously announced price hikes for finished lubricants, with two postponing markups and the other deferring its increase indefinitely. Their actions suggest that a two-year run-up in finished lube prices in the United States may be losing momentum. Lube distributors declared it is time for prices to end their ascent, but blenders said a leveling off would keep them from recouping cost increases that still have not been passed through. Beginning...