Page 44 - FLI 2013 - 4th Quarter

FUELS & LUBES INTERNATIONAL Quarter Four 2013 44
to help continue its growth. First and foremost
is the expansion of the Singapore plant, which
is expected to be complete by early 2014. Next
up is a secondary expansion of the Singapore
plant to specifically increase the plant’s
carboxylate detergent output.
Detergents are critical components of
engine oils, providing protection against
deposits, corrosive wear and oxidation.
Detergents provide a means for dissolving
otherwise insoluble metallic salts, like calcium
or magnesium carbonate, in lubricating oil.
As such, they function like an “antacid” for
the engine, neutralizing corrosive combustion
acids that would otherwise dissolve key metal
parts and eventually lead to engine failure.
There are also similar plans for
expansion at the company’s Gonfreville,
France manufacturing plant. Work is already
under way to increase detergent production
there.
Collectively, these projects represent the
company’s highest level of investment globally
since the construction of its Singapore plant in
1999 and are aimed at significantly strengthening
its supply chain and positioning Oronite for
further growth.
“These initiatives are positioning us for
growth and further enhancing our supply
reliability with increased global flexibility to
source critical components. They also will help
enable us to provide differentiated products
to our customers that leverage our expertise
in component development and formulation
innovation,” said Jirong Xiao, vice president of
sales.
As these plans come to fruition, Waite
explained that Oronite’s strategy is to avoid getting
“caught up in today’s market,” because that will
cause a loss of focus. Instead, Oronite intends to
create its own point of view of what the market
should be “and continue to plow that path.”
China has seen some very significant
growth over the past few years, he said, despite
the economic downturn in the rest of the world.
However, even China has had to deal with
the realities of growing too fast. As such, the
government has set a new goal of cooling down
its economy to a more modest 7.5% GDP growth
through 2015. Waite seemed relatively unfazed,
however, noting that GDP growth does not
necessarily dictate how the lubricant market will
perform. He added that, “Oronite is not doing
anything different around supporting the market
because the growth will be there. It’s just getting
ready for the future.”
He explained that Oronite is continuing
to establish its foothold in Asia so that it will be
ready once the market picks up, regardless of
what that growth ends up being.
Recently, Oronite signed an agreement with
上世纪九十年代中期，当时中国逐渐显
现出润滑油大市场的迹象，Oronite决定在
新加坡建厂。当时这个决定还是比较有争议
的，因为整个行业正在经历产能过剩的痛
苦。但这个战略被证明是一个天才的决定，
它为Oronite成为该地区主要供应商打下了
基础。
2009年，公司新建了清净剂生产装置。
目前的项目已接近尾声，包括组分生产、新
的贮罐、调合和运输产能、新的实验室和其
他支持性基础架构。这些扩产项目在总体上
使工厂的产能在原先的基础上翻了一番。（
据竞争对手估计，原产能为20万吨/年）（编
注：Oronite不披露工厂产能）
Waite解释到，把生产放在新加坡带来了
物流上的一些优势，而且该国的商业环境极
佳。这些优势之一便是新加坡的多边自由贸
易协议（FTA）为Oronite的客户（根据其所
在国不同）降低了4-6%的成本，这在大宗的
交易中是个不小的数字。
布局新加坡也使Oronite能更好地服务
中国以外的客户，同时又保留了对其最大市
场的合理运输线。从新加坡出发，约4-6天时
间可抵华南，到中国北部也只需7-10天。
目前，除少数特种和量小的产品以
外，Oronite对整个亚洲的供应都由新加坡
提供。
Waite 说，Oronite主要重点在三个领
域：建设一个可靠高效的供应链网络，理解并
满足其客户的需求，开发成本效益高、针对性
强的产品。公司也制定了未来的计划，通过四
个大型资本项目助力增长。首先，也是最重要
的，是新加坡工厂的扩产，预期将在2014年
初完成。其次，是对新加坡工厂的两次扩产以
提高公司羧基清净剂的产能。
清净剂量是发动机油的关键组分，提供
沉积、腐蚀磨损和氧化保护。清净剂可以溶解
润滑油中一些其他方式无法溶解的金属盐，
如碳酸钙或碳酸镁。因此，他们对发动机的作
用相当于“解酸剂”，可以中和燃烧过程中生成
的有腐蚀性的酸；否则这些酸就会腐蚀发动
机中的金属部件，最终导致发动机故障。
公司对位于法国Gonfreville的生产厂也
有类似的扩产计划。并且已经开始着手增加
那里的清净剂产量。
自1999年在新加坡建厂以来，这些项
目合计是公司在全球范围内最大的投资，
其目的是为了极大地提升供应链能力，并使
Oronite为未来的增长做好准备。
“这些项目使我们为增长和进一步强化我
们的供应可靠性，增加在全球获取关键组分
做好了准备。他们也帮助我们利用我们的专
业经验为客户开发创新配方提供了差异化的
产品。”销售副总裁Jirong Xiao说。
Waite说，这些计划完成后， Oronite的
战略是避免“局限于今天的市场”，因为这样为
迷失重点。Oronite期望能够对市场的前景
形成自己的观点，并“不断进行耕耘”。
他说，在过去的几年中，虽然世界其他地
方出现了经济下行，但中国市场呈现出快速
的增长。但中国也要面对过快增长的现实。
China has seen some
very significant
growth over the
past few years, he
said, despite the
economic downturn
in the rest of the
world. However, even
China has had to deal
with the realities of
growing too fast.
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