With this in mind, this months EMEA features part one of an article that looks at supply chain security, an issue that was brought into sharp relief by the chaos of the storms that have affected many of our American readers.

Elsewhere in this edition, we take a look at the revival of Russias domestic grease manufacturing base in response to its protectionist economic policy; the harmonization of East African standards; the impact of emissions targets on Middle Eastern markets; and we close on the effect that lifting the ban on women drivers in Saudi Arabia will have on the lube market. (The commencement of Luberefs operations in the kingdom is an article for another time.)

Meanwhile, in the conference room there was talk of digitalizing the industry – an issue that is also integral to supply security – as the vulnerability of the Internet of Things and the quantity of data grow ever larger. Look forward to more on this next year.

Talking of the Internet, weve rolled out a new feature on our website called Ask the Expert. Ask the Expert is a monthly forum for our readers to ask experts from many disciplines in the industry some of their burning questions. We kick off with a discussion about the challenges of managing base stock expansion projects, an especially pressing topic as we see Group II oversupply and Group III vying for greater market share. Make your way to LubesnGreases.com for this months expert and join the conversation.

Wed also like to bring your attention to early bird advertising rates available for those who commit before December 15. To learn more and reserve your 2018 ad space, contact Megan Matchett at megan@LubesnGreases.com, Matt Rogers at mrogers@LubesnGreases.com or Dave Stanworth at dstanworth@LubesnGreases.com.