Volume 8 Issue 4

Fuchs: Lube Demand Swings Up

OSTFILDERN, Germany — It took 10 years, but global lubricant demand saw a “clear recovery” in 2006 and reached a total of 36.7 million metric tons, not including marine oils, a Fuchs executive said here last week. The last time global demand attained that level was 1996. “We estimate that in the next 10 years, the global lubricants market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 1 percent, to around 40.9 million tons in 2016” without marine lubricants, Georg Li...

Olyslager Goes Solo

Olyslager, a Dutch firm that provides lubricant data for the oil industry, recently declared independence with a management buy out byManaging Director Louis Ploegmakers and Sales Director Harald Oosting. Terms of the purchase from EurotaxGlasss were not disclosed. The company bills itself as the worlds largest data supplier for the oil industry, with an extensive client base of local and international oil companies. Olyslager provides original equipment manufacturer lubrication data which are p...

Cuban Lube Plant on Drawing Board

Brazils Petrobras and the Companhia Cubana de Petroleo (Cupet), Cubas state-owned oil company, signed a wide-ranging cooperation agreement last week that – among other things – foresees construction of a lubricant plant in Havana. Two Petrobras work groups are now in Cuba to advance talks on projects that Petrobras must make viable in cooperation with Cupet, Petrobras said in its Jan. 15 announcement of the cooperation agreement, which also covers exploration and production, refining...

Changing of the Guard at Unist

New ownership went into effect at Unist Inc., a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based lubrication system manufacturer, on Jan. 1. The shift comes as Chuck Boelkins, son of previous owner Wally Boelkins, purchased the company from his father. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. According to Unist, the new ownership will continue to focus on developing pressurized fluid dispensing systems that help operators reduce the amount of lubrication in their cutting, forming and stamping operations, using vegetable-...

Petronas, Kraton, Kline Pick Key Execs

Malaysias national oil company Petronas named Hans Groen managing director for its Dutch subsidiary and head of European base oil marketing; Houston-based Kraton Polymer LLC appointed Kevin Fogarty as president and chief executive officer; and consultancy Kline& Co. promoted Geeta Agashe to vice president, petroleum and energy. Petronas Base Oil (M) Sdn Bhd announced the Jan. 2 hiring of Groen as managing director of its wholly owned Dutch subsidiary Petronas Marketing (Netherlands) BV, whi...