Ji Er Run Ke, a lube blender based in Changsha, Hunan province, plans to invest 180 million (U.S. $28.4 million) in a facility in neighboring city, Miluo.
The company said it will start construction on a 100,000 metric tons per year blending facility sometime after the Chinese New Year. The firm, founded in 2014, had previously contracted toll blenders to manufacturer its Ge Run De-branded lubricants.
We target corporate clients, but we also have a national distribution network for our retail business, a source at the company told Lube Report Asia. Clients include heavy equipment manufacturers such as Sany and Zoomlion, as well as GAC Mitsubishi Motors Co. and other automakers.
Ji Er Run Ke hopes the facility will help it eventually serve overseas markets. Export business is on our agenda. We expect to see our brand outside China.
While most Chinese lube producers seem to compete on base oil quality and mostly rely on imported API Group II, the source continued, Ji Er Run Ke takes a different approach by importing Group I base oils from Singapore.