HOUSTON – Biodiesel contamination can degrade performance of crankcase lubricants, though it does appear that some of this degradation can be mitigated by engine oil formulations, an Infineum USA L.P. official told the NPRA International Lubricants & Waxes meeting earlier this month. Further complicating the issue, he said, standard tests may not show the impacts. Glen P. (Pat) Fetterman Jr., industry liaison advisor for Infineum in Linden, N.J., said the company performed bench testi...

Neste Oil on Nov. 21 signed a lubricant production agreement with Ashland Nederland B.V., a subsidiary of Ashland Inc., to produce Neste Oil lubricants when the companys Laajasalo plant in Helsinki closes at the end of 2008. We believe that cooperation with Ashland will enhance the competitiveness of Neste Oil lubricants in the marketplace, said Vice President Esa Miettinen. Ashland has operations worldwide and a modern production facility at Dordrecht in the Netherlands that meets the quality a...

Ford Motor Co.s Van Dyke Transmission Plant in Sterling Heights, Mich., will complete installation of a second MAG Powertrain-built minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) machining system by the end of 2007, a move that is expected to cut costs and improve the plants environment. This is the third MAG Powertrain-built MQL system to be installed at a Ford North American facility. MAG-built systems are in place at Van Dyke and at Fords Livonia Transmission Plant in Livonia, Mich. Ford first explored...

Platinum Research Organization recently selected Chem Technologies Ltd. to produce TechroBond 280, a new additive for industrial greases that would be the eleven-year-old companys first commercial product. John Jaeger Jr., president and chief executive officer of Platinum, said it plans to introduce the additive to the marketplace in the next several months. The relationship with Chem Technologies is strategic for Platinum, because Chem Technologies production capacity is easily scalable to mee...

Bel-Ray has announced that Tribolub Ltd. Sti. will serve as its exclusive distributor of general industrial and No-Tox food grade lubricant products in the Turkish industrial and food processing markets. Tribolub has been in the oil and chemical business since 1998. It has a network of eight dealers covering the whole country. Bel-Ray said that the network enables Tribolub to deliver goods in a timely manner and reach customers in any part of Turkey. Istanbul-based Tribolub has six sales enginee...

Xstrata Coppers North Chile Division on Monday announced commencement of feasibility studies on an expansion that would more than double molybdenum processing capacity at its Altonorte metallurgical facility in Chile. Molybdenum is used as a solid lubricant, a lubricant and grease additive, a catalyst in petroleum refining and in the steel and stainless industries, where it is an important additive for strength and corrosion resistance. Recently another company drilling for molybdenum, MetalCorp...