French oil giant Total Lubricants opened a grease production plant in Tianjin, China, Friday – its first in the Asia-Pacific region.
With an investment of 50 million [(U.S. $7.2 million)], this new unit, with a production capacity of 5,000 metric tons per year of lithium- and lithium-complex-based grease, is our eighth grease production unit worldwide, said Senior Vice President Francois Dehodencq, according to a news release about the plants opening ceremony. The plant sits on 7,336 square meters at the site of its largest blending plant in China, at the Tianjin Free Trade Zone.
This new production facility will accelerate our sales growth in various provinces of China, producing high-tech industrial and automotive greases as a complement to our existing lubricants products.
China is the largest market for Total lubricants sales worldwide, noted Ting-wee Liang, president of Total (China) Investment Co. In 2015, Total combined its two lube businesses in China – Total Lubricants and Elf Lubricants – to create Total Lubricants China, which is headquartered in Beijing and has blending plants in Zhenjiang, Guangzhou, and Tianjin.
This integration enabled us to have a clearer brand and marketing strategy, it also enabled us to better optimize our supply chain…, Liang continued. With the opening of Total Grease Tianjin Plant, Total will now accelerate its growth into automotive and industrial greases with better quality products and localized services. He noted that worldwide, China is the largest country market for grease.
Total said that it’s the fourth largest grease producer in the world.
Photo: Total Lubricants China Co. / Monica Ma