Page 43 - Fuels & Lubes International 2014 - Q2

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FUELS & LUBES INTERNATIONAL Volume 20 Issue 2
“The company in reality started
the business in 1929 as the chemical arm of
(at the time) the biggest European match
manufacturer," according to Gatti.
Since then, the company has evolved
and now focuses in three areas: water and
oil management, the production of flame
retardants and the production of lubricant
additives. At the heart of the technology of
course, is phosphorous and its derivatives.
Italmatch is the largest European manufac-
turer of phosphorous pentasulfide and supplies
"all of the biggest additive companies, and also
some of the small ones." More than 20,000 tons
of phosphorous pentasulfide are produced each
year, which is generally converted into lubri-
cant additives such as zinc dithiophosphate
(ZDDP). ZDDP has proven to be a valuable
additive. ZDDP is quite the versatile workhorse
as it is used to: “prevent wear between engine
surfaces, prevent lubricant oxidation in use,
serve as a coolant or heat transfer medium,
help seal at compression rings and suspend
matter, thus helping to keep engines clean,”
according to a paper from the School of
Chemistry at the University of Leeds, UK.
Gatti himself has been in the lubricant
and additive industry for more than 15 years.
He began his career in the R&D department of
a now defunct Italian company (Montedison)
before spending some time with ENI. Gatti also
worked as a lubricant additives salesman for
a number of years until he eventually joined
Italmatch as sales and marketing manager.
In 2007, the company acquired the
Ketjenlube Polymers ester product line of Akzo
Nobel. The acquisition has allowed Italmatch
to work on developing a full range of esters,
additives and oleo chemicals. The market is
constantly shifting, and as such Italmatch has
had to look for ways to innovate and keep up
with the market’s demands. One such change
was the acquisition of Akzo Nobel’s Ketjenlube
ester business, and more recently, Italmatch
acquired some of the assets of Thermphos
International after the company declared
bankruptcy in 2012. Italmatch has also sought
to improve the flexibility of its feedstock
and is capable of using both animal and
vegetable sources to make oleates in its
Spanish subsidiary Undesa.
Italmatch has also changed a lot in the last
year, acquiring three different plants: the first
plant focuses on the production of lubricants,
the second deals with phosphorus-based
chemical intermediates and the last specializes
in water treatment additives.
Despite the weakened demand for
phosphorous derivatives, Gatti explained
that the company sees continued growth
in areas such as metalworking. Currently
though, “the biggest area of downstream
use is wind turbines." One reason for the
continued demand from this area is the
specialized requirements, which include
Norberto Gatti