Volume 8 Issue 34

Ciba Additive Sales Up

Cibas plastic additives segment, supported by growth in lubricant additives sales, posted net sales of 1.03 billion Swiss francs (U.S. $944.66 million) for the first half of the year, down 5 percent from the same period last year. The company said it plans to reshape its portfolio of businesses to focus on its core strength in plastics, coatings and water. Sales growth for Ciba was strong in Asia in the first half of 2008, with double-digit growth in lubricant additives, and also strong in the ...

Lubrication Services Acquires Distributor

Wyoming-based Quality Petroleum, a distributor of Chevron and Shell lubricants, has been acquired by Lubrication Services LLC (LSi), of Oklahoma City, in a deal that closed Aug. 1. The purchase includes Quality Petroleum’s offices, warehouse, trucks, equipment and bulk storage facilities in Casper and Gillette, Wyo. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Bill Rutherford, vice president of Lubrication Services, told Lube Report that although Quality Petroleum is a smaller company, the...

Mill Hall Gets a Makeover

Croda International is expanding capacity and upgrading equipment at its specialty esters manufacturing facility in Mill Hall, Pa. While it is still operational, the facility is making ongoing improvements to existing process equipment (and installing new ones) that manufacture dibasic and polyol esters. Dibasic and polyol esters are specialty esters which are used as high-performance synthetic additives and base stocks in producing engine oils, driveline lubricants and industrial oils. Crod...

Can Petrochems Lift Base Oil's Boat?

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Refining trends in China are pointing to an unprecedented level of downstream cooperation that could lead to higher base oil yields and higher base oil output, despite the fact that, historically, Chinas base oils have been collateral damage when poor fuels margins result in refinery slow-downs, an industry expert said. China is the worlds third largest base oil refiner, after ExxonMobil and Shell, Amy Claxton, principal of consultancy My Energy in Hummelstown, Pa...

Maintaining the Wind Turbine Revolution

The fastest-growing segment of the power generation industry is wind, which is on track to expand by over 45 percent in the United States this year, says the American Wind Energy Association. But equipment reliability remains a stumbling block to growth, as operators struggle with ensuring that critical components – such as gearboxes and bearings – remain properly lubricated and maintained. Blade tips on modern turbines can reach as high as a 40-story building, and their columns may ...