Evonik Bulks Up
in Singapore
Evonik Industries AG has completed an expansion that nearly doubled capacity at its oil additives factory in Singapore. The new six-story building is next to its existing plant on a five-acre Jurong Island site. While the company did not disclose the cost of the two-year project, nor the total capacity, it said the expansion makes Singapore the most modern of its five oil additives plants in the world – and the largest, accounting for 40 percent of its global capacity.
Asia is one of the most important growth regions, and there is huge growth potential for oil additives in Asia, said Evonik Industries CEO Patrick Wohlhauser. This expansion will not be the last one in Asia, added Ralf Dussel, head of its oil additives business. For the mid-term, five-year plan, we are thinking of [building] another facility in Asia.
Evonik also has room to debottleneck and add capacity to the new plant in the coming years. The Singapore plant is currently producing 50 different products, and this will increase by another 15 more in 10 years, said Peter Moore, of Evonik Oil Additives Asia Pacific Pte.
Lubrizol Invests
in Ohio
Lubrizol Corp. will increase manufacturing capacity for chemicals, including those used in lubricant additives, and improve infrastructure at its Painesville Township, Ohio, plant under a five-year, $100 million expansion. Painesville makes lubricant additives used in automotive engine oils, gear drives, marine engines and tractors, and also for metalworking fluids, industrial fluids, and more. Lubrizol held a groundbreaking ceremony at the plant April 22.
The five-phase expansion will add an unspecified amount of manufacturing capacity and warehouse space, update the automated packaging capabilities, and make improvements for truck shipments. Through this important initiative, we will be better positioned to meet the changing demands of our customers, ensure the integrity and quality of our products, reinforce personal and environmental safety, and attract the workforce talent that is required to run our operations, Craig Hupp, Painesvilles plant manager, stated. The facility, which now employs more than 300, expects to add about 25 new jobs.
Takreer Eyes
3Q Launch
The U.A.Es first base oil plant has taken longer than intended to build, and has also grown in size. Takreer, the refining arm of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. plans to open its base oil plant in Ruwais by September, the ICIS Middle East Base Oils & Lubricants Conference heard last month. Adnocs Ahmed Saleh Al Hamed said the facilitys capacity is now 620,000 metric tons per year – 25 percent higher than when the project was first announced.
Al Hamed, who is manager of base oils and special products, said the plant will have capacity to make 500,000 t/y of API Group III stocks and 120,000 t/y of Group II. Around 50,000 t/y is earmarked for Adnoc Distribution, a marketer and distributor of petroleum products primarily in the U.A.E.
The plant was conceived in 2007 as a joint venture between Takreer, Finnish refiner Neste Oil and Austrian OMV Group. OMV later dropped out of the project, and the facility was expected to open in 2013. Although Takreer stopped referring to Neste as a partner in the project in 2013, Thomas Guinot, Nestes global marketing and technology manager for base oils, told Lube Report the companies still maintain a dialogue. We never stop talking, he stated on the sidelines of the ICIS conference.
BASF, Lanxess Ink PIB Deal
BASF last month purchased Lanxess intellectual property for a new process to make high molecular weight polyisobutene, which Lanxess will manufacture on exclusive behalf of BASF under a long-term toll blending agreement. The heavyweight material is used in a broad range of applications and industries, including as a viscosity modifier in lubricants. Financial terms were not disclosed.
BASF plans to market the new PIB under the name Oppanol N. The transaction will result in enhanced security of HM PIB supply, and it provides the basis for a long-term sustainable growth with high quality products for a broad range of applications, Martin Widmann, senior vice president of BASFs fuel and lubricant business, said in a news release.
The transaction covers only HM PIB. BASFs other PIB offerings, including medium weight and highly reactive PIB, are made in BASF plants in Antwerp, Belgium, and Ludwigshafen, Germany.
Sea-Land Takes to Testing
SLC Testing Services, a newly formed subsidiary of specialty chemical distributor Sea-Land Chemical Co., has acquired the assets of Tribsys LLC. The new company will offer highly sophisticated twist compression tests, which measure lubricant failure at high pressures in a variety of metalworking and industrial applications. As this business grows in the future, Sea-Land said it may seek to add further testing equipment to satisfy the needs of companies supplying the lubricants industry.
SLC Testing Services will operate as a separate entity and its own profit center, said Joe Clayton, president of Sea-Land Chemical. This will allow us to offer independent third-party testing to companies that blend finished lubricants, to those that supply components to the lubricant industry and lubricant end-users, and to academic individuals, while maintaining confidentiality with these SLC Testing Services clients. Ted McClure, who established Tribsys and its laboratory, joined Sea-Land last fall as team leader, technical resources.
Croda Building in Delaware
Specialty chemical manufacturer Croda International Plc. is set to erect a plant to produce non-ionic surfactants at its facility in New Castle, Del. The U.K.-based company, which makes chemicals mostly from plant and animal ingredients, said it is undertaking the $170 million project because of growing interest in both renewable materials and products that improve fuel efficiency.
The demand for the products that could utilize this technology is on the increase due to market drivers of improved fuel economy and sustainability, both of which are at the heart of Crodas innovation focus for lubricants, Croda Director of Sales and Marketing Christopher Donaghy said. Chemicals made by the new plant will become key building blocks in many of Crodas lubricant product offerings in addition to surfactants, including synthetic ester base oils, friction modifiers and corrosion inhibitors.
Croda held a groundbreaking ceremony for the project last month, and was working to finalize necessary government permits. Once the permitting process is complete, it plans to build the addition to the New Castle facility, known as Atlas Point, over the next two years.
Baytown Project Wraps Up
ExxonMobil last month announced completion of its Baytown, Texas, base oil refinery expansion, increasing production of its API Group II and II+ base stocks there. The company is introducing a new 6.5 centiStoke Group II base stock for blending heavy-duty engine oils, and said the project enables it to offer base stocks with low volatility and better low-temperature properties.
Since undertaking the expansion in early 2013, ExxonMobil has declined to reveal or confirm Baytowns new capacity. LubesnGreases estimates it added at least 7,000 barrels per day of Group II+ capacity, bringing Baytowns nameplate total to 28,500 b/d or more. In North America ExxonMobil also makes base oil at Baton Rouge, La., and Beaumont, Texas, and its majority-owned Imperial Oil makes base oil in Strathcona, Canada.
In addition to increasing our supply of our Group II+ EHC 45 [a 4.5 cSt oil], we are introducing Group II EHC 65 and are now able to provide our customers with even broader blend coverage while helping to improve supply chain efficiency, George W. Arndt Jr., general manager of global basestocks and specialties for ExxonMobil Fuels & Lubricants, stated.
BASF Hands Off to BTC
Effective June 1, BASF subsidiary BTC will distribute the chemical giants lubricant oil additives, base stocks and components for metalworking fluids in North and Central Europe. BTC belongs to the BASF group, and is the European sales organization for specialty chemical distribution for small and medium sized customers. With this move, BTCs portfolio of specialties for the lubricant industry now covers all lubricant- and metalworking- related areas of the value chain, BASF said.
Briefly Noted
ExxonMobil appointed TAT Petroleum Pte., of Singapore, to distribute Mobil lubricants in Vietnam.
Indias Tide Water Oil Co. selected Boss Lubricants as exclusive distributor of its Veedol brand of lubricants in Western Canada.
Indian grease and lubricant producer Balmer Lawrie said it plans to double its domestic market share in the next five years through expanded manufacturing capacity and more aggressive marketing.
Swiss metalworking fluids manufacturer Blaser Swisslube opened a research and development center in Hong Kong last month to help it grow in the Asia-Pacific region.
Faces in the News
Halocarbon Products Corp., based in River Edge, N.J., has named David Bacon as chief executive officer – the first CEO hired from outside the fluorochemicals specialties company. Bacon most recently was president of LSP Products Group. A chemical engineer by training, he began his career at Exxon Corp., and also has worked at McKinsey & Co. and Celanese Corp.
Kevin Monti joined the Palmer Holland team as a Southwest region account manager, covering California, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Utah. Previously with Andrews Electronics, Monti began his career in the coatings industry, and also worked for the green solvent manufacturer Vertec BioSolvents.
White oils and specialties manufacturer Sonneborn LLC appointed Gregg Kam as chief financial officer. A CPA and MBA, he previously
was CFO of International Specialty Products and The Newark Group; both privately held companies. Kam earlier worked at National Starch & Chemical Co. units, including its Acheson Industries graphite lubricants business.
KPI Bridge Oil, a global broker and trader in marine bunkers and lubricants, has promoted Brian Coyne to managing director at its New York office. Coyne recently completed his MBA at New York University and has been with KPI Bridge Oil for more than 10 years. Prior to that, he sailed with and worked ashore for an oil major.
CDF Corp., which makes drum, pail and IBC liners and flexible packaging such as bag-in-box liners, hired Jay Waltz as vice president of sales. Hell be responsible for creating and implementing overall sales operations strategies designed to help achieve the companys business objectives.