Oil giant Shell announced this month that it is trying to sell refineries in Stanlow, U.K., and in Montreal – both of which include base oil plants. As announced earlier this year, the company is still considering offers for a Harburg, Germany, refinery which also has a base oil plant. Combined, the three base oil plants have capacity to make 14,060 barrels per day. Shell actually has two German refineries up for sale. The other, in Heider, does not have a base oil plant. Shell declined ...

Milacron has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, following the completed purchase of the company by a group of existing investors. Milacrons Cimcool industrial fluids segment supplies metalworking and industrial fluids. On June 26, a bankruptcy court in Cincinnati approved the sale of Milacron Inc.s assets to the group for an estimated $175 million. The company had been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy since March. The new, privately held Milacron LLC is owned by a group led by New York-based Avenue C...

Risk of excessive lubricant short circuiting drivers side electric window master switch control modules has prompted two Toyota joint ventures in China to recall more than 688,000 vehicles manufactured between 2006 and 2008. Toyota Motor Corp. in announcements Monday said it is recalling 688,314 cars in China because of the possibility of the switch control modules short circuiting and in rare cases melting due to excessive lubricant applied during manufacturing. Some online translations of the...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released its proposed BioPreferred labeling program, a voluntary program for manufacturers that will help consumers identify bio-based products, including a variety of lubricants and greases. The federally administered BioPreferred program was created by the 2002 Farm Bill as a preferred procurement program to increase purchase and use of biobased products within the federal government. The 2008 Farm Bill expanded the programs scope to promote the sale of ...

KenolKobil announced Monday that it has purchased the largest lubricant distributor in Burundi. Nairobi-based KenolKobil said it will use the former Oil Burundi S.A. to shore up and expand its sales in the small East African nation. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. KenolKobil acquired Oil Burundi from Engen International Holdings, an arm of South Africa-based energy company Engen. Malaysian national oil company Petronas is majority shareholder of Engen. KenolKobil markets lubricant...

BASF has raised prices on carbonates, and Oxea has increased prices for solvents, as rising raw material costs continue to impact the chemical industry. Ludwigshafen, Germany-based BASF on Monday announced that effective immediately or as contracts allow, it would increase the sales prices for several carbonates – ethylene carbonate S, propylene carbonate S, carbonate mix 50 and carbonate mix 60 – by up to 100 per metric ton for deliveries to Europe and up to U.S. $100 per metric to...

Metalworking fluids in the workplace are on the short list of potentially hazardous chemicals targeted by Ontarios Ministry of Labor health and safety inspectors, in their planned September blitz to reduce occupational injuries. Ontario employs more than 400 full-time occupational health and safety inspectors, and they are planning a September blitz to focus on hazardous chemicals at metal fabrication shops, pools and spas, dry cleaning operations and health care facilities in the province. Th...