Volume 7 Issue 53

20M Earmarked for Fuchs Lubritech

Fuchs Petrolub Group will invest more than 20 million (U.S. $28.8 million) in its Fuchs Lubritech subsidiarys Kaiserslautern, Germany facility to keep pace with growth in international demand for specialty lubricants. This project represents the single largest investment in the Fuchs Petrolub Groups history, the company said in its announcement Monday. In 2002, Fuchs Lubritech in Weilerbach first expanded its capacity, transferring some of its production to the Industriegebiet Nord industrial ...

ARG Hydrotreater Upgrade Nears Completion

American Refining Group is nearing completion of a new hydrogenation unit, at an estimated cost of $18 million to $20 million, that will upgrade two API Group I base stocks and enable the refinery in Bradford, Pa., to produce ultra low sulfur diesel fuel, starting next March. Were finishing up construction, Vice President of Business Development John Robinson told Lube Report. It will increase the quality of our 150 neutral and our bright stock fraction. Well be phasing in the various product st...

ELM: Home for the Holidays

Nine months after a fire razed its bio-based lubricants production facility in Plainfield, Iowa, Environmental Lubricants Manufacturing Inc. has found a new home in the Cedar Falls, Iowa, Industrial Park. In the aftermath of the March 20 blaze, the soy-based lubricant manufacturer set up a temporary office in Plainfield and shifted lubricants blending to a facility in Waterloo, Iowa, but has now moved a step closer to a permanent address, ELM Chairman and co-founder Lou Honary told Lube Report....

Climax Refinds that Rocky Mountain High

Climax Molybdenums mine high in the Colorado Rockies is slated to resume operations, driven by growing demand in China for use in steel, but also benefiting the grease and lubricants industry. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. announced plans Dec. 4 to restart the Climax molybdenum mine near Leadville, Colo., with an initial $500 million project to restart open pit mining and construct new milling facilities. Climax Molybdenum, Phoenix, Ariz.-based molybdenum producer and supplier, is a su...

Dow Adds New Amines Unit

Dow Chemical Co.s new integrated specialty alkanolamines facility in Plaquemine, La., has passed all design tests and is now full operational. The new production unit is the only North American facility producing both alkyl alkanolamine and isopropanolamine products, Dow said, but did not disclose the new facilitys capacity. Isopropanolamines are used in water-based metalworking fluids to protect against corrosion and improve lubricity. They are also used to reduce friction in buffing, cutting a...

Oxea Ups Capacities

Chemical manufacturer Oxea is increasing production capacity up to 50 percent for neopentylglycol and carboxylic acids, to meet growing global demand. Carboxylic acids are mainly used in high-performance lubricants, and NPG is used as a building block in the production of synthetic lubricants. In its announcement last week, the company also said a modified operation mode in its Oxo production facilities enables it to produce higher quantities of NPG raw material in Oberhausen, Germany, than befo...