The past two years were good for Germanys grease industry, with sales reaching pre-recession levels. Speaking before the European Lubricating Grease Institute, Karl-Josef Minis of Fuchs Europe Schmierstoffe GmbH in Mannheim, Germany, said the countrys total consumption of lubricants surpassed 1 million metric tons in 2011, 1.8 percent higher than in 2010. Lubricating greases made up 3 percent of this volume, Minis said.

Minis, who is head of product management for lubricating greases at Fuchs, attributed the 2010 spike in sales to refilling of inventories and backlogged orders, and believes that 2011s sales (33,800 tons) were more consistent with current market conditions.

Fifty-nine percent of lubricating greases are used in general industry, 36 percent in automotive applications, and 5 percent in food processing and packaging, he told the ELGI meeting, held in Munich. The food industry, in fact, has been an especially bright spot, and is growing rapidly as government and people look at this application, and industry is under more pressure to use approved products.

Today, Germany ranks seventh in the world in terms of overall grease demand, behind China, the United States, India, Japan, Russia and Brazil, he added. The country has 14 active grease plants – a drop of 60 percent over the past 25 years.

Minis also highlighted a number of trends that grease manufacturers worldwide are dealing with. Foremost is the need for carbon dioxide reduction, which affects cars, machines and grease manufacturing itself. Reducing CO2 goes hand-in-hand with longer-life components, he said. As users try to reduce their carbon footprint, theyll rethink their lubrication and maintenance practices, and more will adopt pregreased and sealed bearings – all of which cuts into demand volume, he added.

Bulgarian Oil Firm Gets Funding Injection

ADM Capital and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development jointly paid 48 million for a 30 percent stake in Bulgarias Prista Oil Group. The EBRD will also provide a 12 million loan to finance Pristas capital investment program, which includes expansion of the companys service center network outside Bulgaria.

Kalin Trifonov, chief marketing officer for Prista Oil Holding, said the EBRDs financing will support expansion of the companys branded network of service centers in countries such as Turkey, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. Our aim is to build trust within our end users and to provide them with a modern service and the latest standard products, he said.

London-headquartered EBRD and Hong Kong-based ADM will hold a combined 30 percent of Pristas capital, replacing former minority shareholder Gramercy Emerging Market Fund of Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S. The EBRD said its financing will also support the installation of new equipment and the upgrade of Pristas corporate information technology system.

Trifonov said the company will have a new structure, with three main business groups. Finished lubricants will be under Prista Oil Holdings, batteries and recycling will be under Monbat Holdings, and base oils supply will be under Star Oil, a Dutch company that trades base oil in the Mediterranean region.

Good Prospects for Russias PAOs

Production of PAOs in Russia could resume by 2014 once petrochemical company Nizhnekamskneftekhim completes the modernization of its alpha olefin facility in Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan. The company contracted with German engineering company Linde Group to convert the plant to Alpha-Sablin linear alpha olefin technology. Previously, the plant produced alpha olefins through naphtha pyrolysis. Financial terms of the project were not released.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim, which halted alpha olefin production in 2010, is scheduled to resume production by the third quarter of 2014. After this modernization, Nizhnekamsknefte-khim will be able to produce butane and hexane feedstock, used to manufacture other chemical products. Decene, a linear alpha olefin which is used as a feedstock for making PAOs, is a secondary product.

Pars Expands Grease Output

Irans Pars Oil is preparing to open a second grease plant at its refinery near Tehran. Officials said the new plant, which will have a capacity of 2,000 metric tons per year, will allow the company to expand the range of greases that it offers. The new plant is scheduled to open early in the third quarter.

Pars has a refinery in a Tehran suburb and already operates a 9,000 t/y grease plant there. The company claims to supply more than 60 percent of Irans grease demand.

The new plant will make greases with complex thickeners, Project Manager Saeed Kafaeekhoo said, including lithium complex, aluminum complex and calcium complex thickeners, all in NLGI grades 1, 2 and 3. In the near future we also intend to begin making food-grade greases.

Kafaeekhoo added that the new plant employs the most modern grease manufacturing technology, including co-axial mixers, automated heating and cooling systems and the latest de-aerating equipment. He said products from the new plant will match the quality of European greases but will have a lower cost basis.

Pars Oil claims to be one of the largest grease producers in the Middle East. It makes a wide range of greases marketed under brand names including Pars and Mahan.

Strong First Quarter for Fuchs

Net profit for independent lubricant blender Fuchs Petrolub Group reached 51.5 million for the first quarter of 2012, up 9.3 percent from 47.1 million in the same period last year. Sales revenue amounted to 448.4 million for the quarter, up 11 percent from 403.8 million in the same period from 2011.

Each of Fuchs three regions saw revenues grow during the first quarter, compared to 2011s first quarter. In 2012s first quarter, revenue rose 6.7 percent to 263.5 million in Europe, 19.4 percent to 118.9 million in Asia-Pacific and Africa, and 15.8 percent to 79.8 million in North and South America.