Page 43 - FLI 2013 - 4th Quarter

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FUELS & LUBES INTERNATIONAL Quarter Four 2013
JeffWaite came to Singapore
two years ago to assume the position of general
manager, sales andmarketing, for the Asia-Pacific
region for Chevron Oronite, one of the world’s
leading additives manufacturers.
One of Waite’s major objectives for the move
was to ensure that the San Ramon, Calif.-based
company meets its goals for the region. A
subsidiary of Chevron Corp., Oronite employs
more than 2,000 people worldwide in a global
organization comprising three regional
operations with sales networks that extend to
local markets.
This was Waite’s first international
assignment, though he explained that he’s
taken on global roles since 2004. Previous
to this post, Waite was in charge of global
procurement. Before that, Waite, who holds
a degree in chemical engineering from the
University of Florida and an MBA from Loyola
University, held multiple positions within
Oronite across supply and manufacturing,
marketing, global product management and
commercial functional groups.
In a recent conversation with F&L Asia Editor-
in-Chief & Publisher, Vicky Villena-Denton,
Waite discussed the company’s expansion plans
in the region, which include doubling capacity
as a consequence of all the upgrading activities
that have been carried out at the plant since its
commissioning in 1999. The latest expansion
project is the company’s largest so far.
According to Waite, the global lubricant
market is approximately 44 million metric
tons. In 10 years, Asia will most likely make
up 50% of that number, he said. He added
that competition is not necessarily stiff right
now, but balanced, as the landscape within the
industry went from consolidation to a period
of growth. All the major additive players are
adding capacity, he said.
In spite of the current global economic
downturn, the company is maintaining its
course and continuing its strategic investment
plans to position itself for future growth and to
establish a strong foothold.
In the mid-‘90s, Oronite made the decision
to build a plant in Singapore, as China was
emerging as a major market for the lubricant
industry at that time. The decision was quite
controversial then because the industry was
suffering from excess capacity at that time. The
strategy proved to be a stroke of genius, as it
established Oronite as a major supplier in the
region.
In 2009, the company installed an
additional unit to produce detergents. The
current project, which includes component
manufacturing, additional tankage, blending
and shipping capacity, a new laboratory and
other supporting infrastructure, is now nearing
completion. The sum of these expansion
projects doubles the original capacity of the
plant, which rivals estimated at about 200,000
metric tons at that time (Editor’s note: Oronite
does not disclose plant capacity).
Waite explained that working out of
Singapore provides a number of logistical
benefits and it is an excellent country to do
business in. One such benefit is that Singapore’s
Multilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
provides savings of approximately 4-6% for
Oronite customers, depending on their country
of origin, a very significant number when
dealing with such large volumes.
Working out of Singapore also allows
Oronite to better serve its customers outside
China, while still maintaining reasonable
shipping lines to its largest market. Shipping
from Singapore takes between four to six days
to the south of China, and seven to 10 days to
the north.
Oronite currently supplies Asia entirely
out of Singapore, except for a few specialty or
low-volume products.
According to Waite, Oronite has focused
on three key areas: building a reliable and
efficient supply chain network, understanding
and addressing the needs of its customers and
developing cost-effective and fit-for-purpose
products. It does, however, also have plans for
the future, and it has four major capital projects
Jeff Waite两年前到任新加坡，担任世界
领先的添加剂生产商之一Chevron Oronite
亚太区销售与市场总经理一职。
Waite就任该职的目的之一是为了确保
总部位于美国加州San Ramon的公司实
现其地区目标。作为雪佛龙公司的子公司之
一，Oronite在全球有2000多名雇员，其全
球架构包括三个地区，其销售网络深入当地
市场。
这也是Waite第一次就任国际性职务，
但他称早在2004年就已担任全球性职务。此
前，Waite负责全球采购；再之前，拥有弗罗
里达大学化学工程学位和Loyola大学MBA
学位的Waite在Oronite内部的供应、制造、
市场和全球产品管理及商业职能部门担任过
多个职务。
在近期接受《亚洲燃料油和润滑油》杂
志主编Vicky Villena-Denton的采访时，他
介绍了公司地该地区的扩张计划，包括通过
对工厂自1999年开工以来进行的多次升级最
终使产能翻番。最近的扩产项目是截止目前
公司规模最大的扩产项目。
Waite说，全球的润滑油市场规模约为
4400万吨。十年后，亚洲将占其中的一半。目
前的竞争并不僵化，随着整个行业的格局从
整合转为增长，各家之间保持着一种平衡。所
有的大公司都在扩产。
虽然目前全球经济处于低谷，公司还是保
持着它的发展轨迹，继续实施既定的战略计
划为站稳脚跟和未来增长做好准备。