Located in the Azov Sea port city of Berdyansk, Azmol was one of the largest lubricant makers in the former Soviet Union. The company was created in 1937, and supplied the Soviet market with greases, automotive and industrial oils, beginning in the 1940s.

The company is now rebranded as Azmol-British Petrochemicals, and the plants technological modernization is led by Terry Dicken, owner of the British lube maker Global Lubricants.

Supported by Ukrainian investors, we succeeded in reviving the company after many years of hibernation, Dicken told Lube Report recently. He said that Global Lubricants is tasked with providing technical support for engineering, formulation of new lines of products, rebranding and marketing. He did not discuss the breakdown of company ownership.

The investors are Agrinol, another Berdnyansk-based lube maker, and West Oil Group, a company that operates the largest network of fuel stations in Ukraine, a source who asked not to be identified told Lube Report.

Dicken is also chairman of the European Lubricating Grease Institute, an independent trade group focused on lubricating greases.

During the summer it gradually increased its output to meet the increasing demand of the re-established supply channels and the new customers, he said.

In September, Azmol-BP shipped 200 tons of lubricants and greases to Azerbaijan, the company said. Since the beginning of operation in May, we already have orders to supply over 6,000 tons of products, said Mikhail Tarasenko, head of Azmol-BP.

In its heyday, Azmol employed more than a thousand workers and supplied products to almost 60 countries worldwide. The company is getting ready to extend its reach to that number of countries soon, and it plans to gradually increase the number of employees in the coming year.