Diversified container maker Greif Inc. is in the process of acquiring Evans Industries, which is the largest manufacturer, contract packager, reconditioner and transporter of steel drums in the southern United States. Greif Communications Director Deb Strohmeier said she could not yet provide details on the acquisition or its ramifications, pending closing of the deal tomorrow. An employee with Harvey, La.-based Evans Industries confirmed that Greif was acquiring all the assets of the company. E...

Fuchs Petrolub AG and Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP posted gains in third- quarter earnings reports last week. Fuchs reported that increased sales revenue and cost management efforts helped raise its net profit for the first nine months of 2006 by 28 percent compared to the same period last year. Specialty refiner Calumet netted $35.7 million for the quarter after recording a loss in the year-ago period. Fuchs said Nov. 9 that it had a profit of 71.8 million (U.S. $92 million) for the n...

Greek chemical group Neochimiki is among the companies planning to bid Nov. 17 for 70 percent of Fabrika Maziva and for 70 percent of Rafinerija Nafte as part of the privatization of the two Serbian lubes companies. The Privatization Agency of the Republic of Serbia will handle the auction, with a final decision on a buyer expected early next year. Privatization is a procedure in which 70 percent of the state owned stake of a company situated in the territory of the Republic of Serbia is sold. N...

HOUSTON – As a lubricant industry consultant, Thomas F. Glenn makes his living partly by forecasting – predicting sales trends, divining the impact of technological developments and foretelling future demand-supply balances. These days, though, he is advising people not to count too much on predictions – be they his or anyone else’s. The president of Petroleum Trends International Inc., of Metuchen, N.J., is talking about just how wrong forecasts can be, and he has an exa...

U.S. sales of lubricants, greases and process oils fell just short of 2.5 billion gallons in 2005, according to data released last week by the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association. The trade groups annual Report on Lubricating Oil and Wax Sales shows that automotive lubricants remain by far the largest market, with 57 percent of the total, versus industrial lubricants at 20.6 percent of the total, and process oils at 17.4 percent. Metalworking oils hold 2.9 percent of the market, and ...