Volume 7 Issue 26

Is Your Grease an Explosive Risk?

Lubricating grease isn’t often the stuff of drama or danger. But under rare conditions, it appears that certain PTFE thickened greases being applied with high-pressure pumps can actually explode, warns the research head of one of Europe’s largest specialty lubricant manufacturers. Speaking last week to the National Lubricating Grease Institute’s annual meeting in Scottsdale, Ariz., Martin Schmidt-Amelunxen said that on at least three occasions, silicone-based lubricating greas...

FTC Slaps Puerto Rican Lube Importer

A Federal Trade Commission complaint issued Thursday charged American Petroleum Co. Inc. with illegally conspiring with its competitors to restrict importation and sale of motor oils in Puerto Rico last year. The FTC said the firms goal was to force repeal of a law that charged importers and others within the distribution chain an environmental deposit of 50 cents for each quart purchased. The FTC said Toa Baja-based American Petroleum has signed a consent agreement, whose proposed 20-year term ...

Packaging Closures Business Flips to U.K. Firm

Owens-Illinois Inc. (O-I) last week announced it will sell its plastics packaging business – including closures for containers used for automotive liquids such as motor oils, fuel additives and anti-freeze solutions – to consumer packaging company Rexam PLC for $1.8 billion, to be paid in cash at closing. The sale includes all of O-I Plastics, which includes health-care containers, prescription products and the entire line of closures and specialty products as well, O-I spokeswoman ...

Pilot, BASF, Dow Raise Prices on Chemicals

BASF, Pilot Chemical Co. and Dow Chemical recently announced price increases for certain chemical products. Pilot Chemicals products are used in metalworking fluids, and BASFs products serve as a building block in synthetic lubricants. Dows products are oxygenated solvents. Cincinnati-based specialty chemical supplier Pilot announced price increases effective July 15 or as contracts allow on chemicals used in metalworking fluids, including Aristonate and Aristol alkyl aryl sulfonates of 2 to 3 ...

Mega Deal for Mega Lubricants

Martin Operation Partnership L.P. on June 13 completed acquisition of Houston-based Mega Lubricants Inc., a lubricants packaging and blending company, with total purchase price, acquired inventories and immediately scheduled capital upgrades estimated at more than $5 million total. The newly created entity will be called Martin Midstream Mega Lubricants. Martin offers lubricants, fuel and logistic support through 16 facilities along the Gulf Coast from Mobile, Ala. to Brownsville, Texas. Another...

IOC Takes Key Step in Sri Lanka

Indian Oil recently signed an agreement with the government of Sri Lanka that will enable the companys Lanka IOC subsidiary to produce, blend, market and export Servo branded lubricants in Sri Lanka. As far as the amount of lubricants Lanka IOC can manufacture within Sri Lanka, there is no volume restriction, Dhandapani Sothiselvam, Lanka IOCs senior vice president for lubes, told Lube Report. Sothiselvam said the agreement, signed May 23 in Sri Lanka, was part of Lanka IOCs preparations for op...