Hinduja Group’s lubricant plant commissioned in UAE

A state-of-the-art lube blending and grease making plant, jointly set up by the Hinduja Group and the government in UAE’s Ras Al Khaimah emirate, has been commissioned with an aim to gain a regional market share of up to 8% in the next four years.
Gulf RAK Oil LLC was established in Maritime City, Ras Al Khaimah, and was commissioned by Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, the ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, in the presence of Gopichand P. Hinduja, co-chairman, Hinduja Group of Companies.
The joint venture enjoys an LLC status, being a Government of Ras Al Khaimah company.
A joint venture of the Government of Ras Al Khaimah and Gulf Oil International – the energy business of the Hinduja Group, the facility has a blending capacity of 70,000 metric tons per annum (MTPA).
The launch was also attended by M. K. Lokesh, ambassador of India to the UAE, and senior officials of the government of Ras Al Khaimah and the Hinduja Group.
Spanning across an area greater than13 acres, the production facility at Gulf RAK includes blending, filling and storage of finished products.
The plant has also been set up with a small packaging filling line, a drum decanting unit for drum and bulk filling.
The plant holds the capacity to fill small packs up to 6,000 MTPA, in addition to grease production and filling of up to 10,000 MTPA.
Strategically located by the side of Saqr Port Canal, the facility has a direct pipeline access from the ship to the company’s base oil storage tanks, leading to the reduction of transportation hassles of bulk cargoes such as tank rentals and contamination.
IDO and Gulf Oil, through another joint venture, Standard Greases and Specialties (India) Ltd., have also commissioned a grease manufacturing unit in the same facility at Ras Al Khaimah.
This will ensure decreased production costs and facilitate a higher rate of organic growth.
Standard Greases bring with them their 3 decades of technology and manufacturing experience in grease manufacturing.
“We are very pleased to launch our lubricant and grease manufacturing plant in Ras Al Khaimah. The plant is strategically located to enjoy easy accessibility as well as supportive trading policies which makes it viable for our products to be available at much more economical rates to the end user across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and MENA region,” said Frank Rutten, vice president, International of Gulf Oil.
(March 29, 2013)