Omaha, Nebraska- based Warren Distribution is planting a foot in the Mid-Atlantic region. It will build its third blending plant, this time along the Ohio River in the northern West Virginia town of Glen Dale. The 250,000-square-foot facility will join Warrens two existing plants in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Guntersville, Ala. According to the West Virginia Development Office, the independent automotive lubricants and chemicals company will invest $13 million in the project. The plant will be fully operational by early 2007 and employ approximately 46 people.

Investors Sell Pitt Penn

Pitt Penn Oil Co., based in Creighton, Pa., is changing hands again. The private investment group SpinWell Holding Co., which bought Pitt Penn three years ago, will sell the compounder blender to Industrial Enterprises of America Inc., a year-old holding company with operations in automotive specialty products and refrigerant gases. The transaction is valued at $4 million, according to New York-based Industrial Enterprises, and will double the size of their company. In an interview with LubeReport.com, Industrial Enterprises CEO John Mazzuto said operational efficiencies will be created by moving some of his companys existing operations to Pitt Penns facilities, which are now being used at less than capacity.

Chevron Picks Pulsair

Pulsair Systems recently filled the biggest single order we ever received, said founder and President Richard Parks. The Bellevue, Wash., company supplied 100 new pneumatic blending systems to ChevronTexaco Global Lubricants Louisville, Ky., lubricant blending plant, converting every tank at the facility to Pulsair.

Pulsairs computer-controlled equipment is installed in tanks of all sizes at the Louisville plant, ranging from 70 feet in diameter down to 10 feet in diameter and including both horizontal and vertical vessels. Chevron used Pulsair to gain capacity at Louisville, Parks noted. The Louisville installation follows completion of a similar project at ChevronTexacos Portland, Ore., blending plant, where Pulsair supplied equipment for 48 tanks at year end, bringing to more than 80 the total number of tanks with this equipment at the Oregon facility.

The Pulsair system greatly reduces use of compressed air in the tank, said Parks, and is much more energy efficient than other blending systems. There are no moving parts in the tank. Anything you need to fix is outside the tank. Chevrons orders authenticate Pulsair as a viable alternative to other mixing methods, he said.

The pneumatic blenders also are used in manufacturing wine, chocolate and other foods (the biggest fermenter in Australia uses Pulsair, Parks said), and wastewater and chemical processing.

Calumet IPO Fuels Growth

The initial public stock offering of Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP has been a success, the companys executives say. The Indianapolis-based specialty refiner sold 6.5 million shares of common stock at $21.50 per share, and netted more than $123 million in the Jan. 26 IPO. The equity infusion, plus a new line of debt arranged last fall, will allow Calumet to expand its Shreveport, La., refinery with construction of a hydrotreating unit and additional crude through-put capacity. By late 2007, this will mean a gain of approximately 2,000 b/d of paraffinic base oil capacity, on top of Shreveports current 8,500 b/d of mostly Group II capacity.

Calumets stock is listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the symbol CLMT.

Grease Institute Invites Papers

Lubricating grease experts are invited to present technical, manufacturing or marketing papers at the NLGI annual meeting, coming Oct. 29 to 31 in Lake Buena Vista (Orlando), Fla. With hundreds of member companies worldwide, NLGI is the leading organization in the field of lubricating grease. The annual meeting, NLGIs 73rd, is a major forum for researchers to present information to their peers, and for suppliers to reach out to the industry they serve, notes Steven Donnelly of R.T. Vanderbilt Co., paper solicitation chairman.

Technical papers may cover any phase of grease chemistry, formulation or manufacturing; marketing; environmental issues; additive technology; new applications, and novel techniques in grease testing. Papers are peer-reviewed and eligible to be published in the NLGI Spokesman, the institutes prestigious technical journal.

Those interested in submitting a paper for consideration are asked to send your name, address and paper subject to Steven Donnelly, R.T. Vanderbilt Co., P. O. Box 5150, Norwalk, CT 06856-5150. Phone: (203) 853-1400. E-mail: sdonnelly@ rtvanderbilt.com

Curious About Synthetics?

Its not too late to take Another Look at Synthetic Lubricants, with a March 16 mini-seminar sponsored by the STLEs Philadelphia section. Speakers include Robert Gresham of STLE, Dave Como of Dow-Corning, Tom Schaefer of Hatco and Anderols Mike Raab. Also speaking are Tim Nadasdi of ExxonMobil, and Bob Batchelder of the American Petroleum Institute. The event will be held in Deptford, N.J., and begins at noon. Cost is $100 including lunch and materials. To register or for directions, contact George Arbocus, 205 Bergen Ave., Bellmawr, NJ 08031. Phone: (856) 931-4063.

Group I Plant to Close

Valero Energy Corp.s 11,500-barrel-per-day base oil plant in Paulsboro, N.J., is slated to exit that business, but not until 2007 at the earliest, the company has confirmed. The Group I plant will stop making base oil in order to boost the profitability of the overall refinery, a spokeswoman told LubeReport.com. Currently, much of Paulsboros base oil is sold under a long-term contract to ExxonMobil, which operates a blend plant nearby. However, Valero declined to discuss the details of that contract, citing a confidentiality agreement.

Valero Senior Vice President of Refinery Operations Rich Marcogliese announced the plan to stop making base oils at Paulsboro, during a Dec. 15 presentation at an investment conference hosted by Morgan Stanley. The company plans to continue processing naphthenic base oils at its refinery in Three Rivers, Texas; output there is sold under an agreement with Nynas Naphthenics.

Briefly Noted

GS-Caltex will soon have 17,000 b/d of capacity for making both API Group II and III base stocks at its Yosu, Korea, refinery. The refinery is adding Isocracking, Isodewaxing and Isofinishing units, all licensed from Chevron Lummus Global. Chevron Lummus says it has completed the basic engineering design for the integrated hydroprocessing complex, and startup is expected in 2007 or 2008.

Uniqema has announced the startup of new production lines for specialty surfactants at its New Castle, Del., facility, with gains in both quantity and quality, says company Vice President Sales and Marketing Rick Hanson. Among the surfactants coming from the ICI subsidiarys new production lines are Monamid-brand fatty acid alkanolamides for metalworking fluids, and Perfad friction modifiers used in automotive lubricants. Cost and size of the project were not disclosed.

The Bradford, Pa., refinery of American Refining Group – the oldest continuously operated refinery in the United States – celebrates its 125th anniversary this year. President and COO Harvey Golubock says the event will be marked Sept. 7 to 9 with a parade, oilfield and refinery memorabilia, displays of early refinery and oilfield equipment, lectures and tours. Visit www.amref.com for details.

ExxonMobils Port Allen, La., lube oil blend plant has won Star status in OSHAs Voluntary Protection Program. The OSHA award certifies that the facility has comprehensive, successful safety and health management systems, and achieved injury/illness rates below the industrys national average – including almost four years without a lost time incident.

Graham Packaging will close its container manufacturing plant in Cincinnati, Ohio, this month, as part of its efforts to integrate the assets acquired when it bought O-I Plastic Container from Owens-Illinois in October 2004. The plants production will be shifted to Graham Packaging facilities with newer, more up-to-date manufacturing technology in Illinois and Kentucky.

Phila. Chemists Pick Officers

Members of The Chemical Club of Philadelphia have elected David West of Chemcentral Corp. as their new president, and Thomas Jeanson of Chevron Phillips Chemical as first vice president. James Juliano, Ineos Melamines, was chosen as the groups new second vice president, Chevron Phillips Robert Schiesser is treasurer, and Bardon Co.s Joseph Bardon recording secretary. Doug Dickson, Chemcentral, was elected corresponding secretary.

Faces in the News

Bob Rechtin has joined Pilot Chemical Co. as manager, North American sales. He joins the Cincinnati-based company from Baerlocher USA, and previously was with Cognis Corp., where he was national sales manager.

Chevron Oronite Co. recently named Andy Tugendhat vice president, sales. The 13-year veteran at Oronite most recently was vice president, products and technology. Taking over as vice president, products and technology is Jirong Xiao, who has held numerous positions within the San Ramon, Calif., additive company, most recently in global marketing.

Kaufman Holdings has announced organizational changes at its Anderol and Hatco subsidiaries, naming John Pannucci, vice president at Kaufman, as COO and general manager for Anderol. Also, after five years at Anderol, John Rall rejoins Hatco as chief financial officer. Both executives report to Alex Kaufman, president and CEO of Kaufman Holdings.

Jay Hormann has rejoined Evans Industries, as account executive for packaging and drum sales. Hormann, a past president of the Petroleum Packaging Council, is responsible for sales in the Gulf Coast region.

Infineum is combining its global sales and marketing organizations, and Mark Struglinski, currently vice president of sales, was named vice president sales and marketing. Also, Xavier Leleux has been named sales director for Europe, Africa and Middle East. Since its startup, Leleux has managed Infineums marine and fuels businesses.

Ultrachem Inc. has named Les Rudnick as technical director. Rudnick is a well-known author and expert in petroleum, lubricants and additives, and joins the New Castle, Del., specialty lubricant company from the faculty of Pennsylvania State University.

Kenji Yano, former head of NSFs Nonfood Compounds Registration Program, has launched his own international technical and marketing business in Ann Arbor, Mich. Yanos venture will focus on supporting lubricant and chemical companies doing business in Japan and other parts of the world, and will also provide services in the area of chemical toxicity prediction and risk assessment for chemicals.

Paul Michael is now director of reliability and contamination control programs for the Fluid Power Institute, at Milwaukee School of Engineerings Applied Technology Center. The hydraulic fluid reliability expert has over 25 years of industry and teaching experience, and previously was with Benz Oil.

John Price has rejoined Rock Valley Oil & Chemical Co., as executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Rockford, Ill., based industrial lubricant company. In 1991, Price was the companys sales manager; he returns after working for Valspar Corp. and Sunnyside Corp. The company also promoted Kent Flodin to manager, sales and technical support, and Scott Niggemann to technical director