Malaysias Petronas has signed an agreement to acquire Italian automotive lubricant manufacturer and marketer FL Selenia for 1 billion (U.S. $1.4 billion) from affiliates of U.S. investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co. L.P., which gives Petronas a major internal customer for the API Group III base oil plant it expects to open in Melaka, Malaysia, next year. FL would consume quite a significant quantity of Melaka G3 base oil, Baharin Raoh, general manager of lubricants business for Petrona...

Excessive application of silicone grease has led Honda Motor Co. to issue a recall for 19,904 model year 2006 Civics, according to Hondas recall filing with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The recall is expected to begin tomorrow. Honda advised the government agency of its findings in an Aug. 30 letter. Honda completed its investigation Aug. 23 and determined that the safety-related defect existed. The supplier of the steering system lacked proper instructions for applic...

Calling it the start of a major expansion, Michael S. Renkert, president of Renkert Oil LLC, announced that Gerald Jackson is joining the base oil trading firm as vice president of sales and marketing on Oct. 1, following Jacksons retirement this week from Motiva Enterprises. Michael Lewis will replace Jackson as general manager for base oils at Motiva. This is a major step, Renkert told Lube Report. Weve never had a sales manager before. And I anticipate additional steps within the next six mon...

Bericap, an international producer of specialized plastic closures, has announced plans to build a new plant in Cherokee County, S.C., that will support its lube oil closures business in the United States. The company plans to invest $20 million in the new facility with room for future expansion. Construction of the first-phase building, consisting of 90,000 square feet, will commence in 2007 with production expected to begin in the second quarter of 2008. The plant is going into South Carolin...

BALTIMORE – When Hurricane Humberto briefly stopped Chevrons production at Port Arthur, Texas,after its Sept. 13 landfall, the company was able to put its contingency plans to a good test. This is why you have a supply chain network, said Chevron Global Lubricants Barbara Burger, to have back-up supply. Sound emergency planning is just one of the key steps to meetingchallenges that can disrupt the lubricant supply chain network. Burger, vice president for global supply chain with Chevron G...

Pilot Chemical, Dow and Oxea recently announced price increases for corrosion inhibitors and emulsifiers, oxygenated solvents and solvents, respectively. Cincinnati-based specialty chemical supplier Pilot Chemical on Sept. 14 announced price increases effective Oct. 15 or as contracts allow on corrosion inhibitors and emulsifiers used in metalworking fluids. The price of Aristonate and Aristol alkyl aryl sulfonates will climb 1 to 3 cents per pound, and Aristonic acids go up 1 to 4 cents per pou...

Flodraulic Group – a national distributor of hydraulic, pneumatic and lubrication components – Sept. 19 announced it would relocate from Indianapolis to nearby Mount Comfort, Ind., investing $2.6 million to build and equip an expanded manufacturing and distribution center expected to add 11 jobs, according to the Indiana Economic Development Corp. The company plans to begin hiring additional sales and production staff in 2008. The Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered Flodraulic...

Germanys Lanxess AG will organize its current 13 business units into three segments next month. Lanxess supplies Preventol-branded biocides and preservatives to the lubricants industry, and its subsidiary, Rhein Chemie, supplies Additin-branded additives and packages for metalworking fluids, greases and hydraulic fluids. Lanxess announced yesterday that, following the divestment of its Lustran Polymers commodity plastics business unit,it will reposition itself as a specialty chemicals company. O...