Private equity firm Arsenal Capital Partners recently sold specialty chemicals manufacturer Vertellus Specialties Inc. to Wind Point Partners, another private equity firm. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Vertellus manufactures castor oil derivatives and systems, and citrate polymer additives and systems. In 2006, New York-based Arsenal formed Vertellus, headquartered in Indianapolis, through the merger of its portfolio companies Reilly Industries and Rutherford Chemicals. We are ver...

NEW YORK – With economic growth averaging 5 percent per year, Latin Americas thriving economies are producing and buying record numbers of new vehicles. But the regions average car is 10 years old, said an Infineum Brasil executive, and that means a 10-year wait for todays increasingly stringent emissions standards to translate into significant demand for lubricants formulated with API Group II and III base oils. Not until 2021 will 50 percent of Latin Americas vehicles need engine oils ...

Dorf Ketal recently announced a variety of ambitious projects that will expand the additives and process chemical suppliers production capabilities in India and Brazil, and enable it to offer a wider product range, including custom chemicals. More project announcements are promised soon. Looking at current production, these expansion projects will offer more options and shorter delivery times across the globe, said Bill Loven, president, North America, for Dorf Ketal. Strategic projects in Singa...

Lubricant additives manufacturer and distributor MidContinental Chemical Co., Inc., recently relocated its corporate headquarters from Overland Park, Kan. to nearby Olathe, Kan., adding local warehousing capabilities and new laboratory testing capabilities. Our new facility combines headquarters, research, development and analytical services with warehousing, said MidContinental spokesman Everett Osgood. Our growing lubricant additive group is particularly enthused about its new testing capabili...

BASF on Friday announced it is raising its prices or ethyleneamines, and Lanxess recently said it would increase prices for trimethylol propane. Both are used in lubricants manufacturing. BASF said it is elevating its prices worldwide, effective immediately or as existing contracts allow, by 100 (U.S. $147) per metric ton for ethylenediamine, and by 50/mt (U.S. $74) for aminoethylethanolamine, diethylenetriamine, piperazine and AMIX 1000. The markups are due to the increased costs for raw mate...