Winners of Asia-Pacific Fuel and Lube Awards to be presented at F+L Week 2018 in Macao

The F&L Asia Awards provide an opportunity to recognize exceptional contributions to the fuels and lubricants industry. Each Year F&L Asia, the leading fuels and lubes media publisher in the Asian region, holds the industry awards as part of the popular F+L Week conference. It is with great pleasure we announce the recipients of the 2018 Awards.

The “F&L Asia Person of the Year” for 2018 goes to Jirong Xiao, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, of Chevron Oronite Company LLC. Jirong is acknowledged because of his considerable influence in, not only Chevron Oronite’s growth but also in shaping the overall direction of the additives industry, particularly in Asia. Jirong has been selected by F+L Week’s independent Conference Advisory Board from several exemplary nominations.

A native of Shanghai, Jirong graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the East China University of Science and Technology in Shanghai, and has a doctorate in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A.

Jirong has a superb record of achievement, such as sponsoring and advocating Oronite’s growth strategy over the past decade. This includes the major expansion work at Oronite’s Singapore manufacturing hub, the largest additive plant in the Asia Pacific region, as well as the planned addition of an Oronite plant in Ningbo, China.   He was also instrumental in the establishment of a full-service technical centre in Shanghai in 2015, to address the evolving challenge of developing products in China, for China. The Shanghai team successfully launched the first product developed specifically for the Chinese market that meets API SN, GF-5 and LSPI performance.

“Jirong’s influence within Oronite speaks for itself, but he is also recognized for his energy and passion towards developing leaders with an Asian background,” says Vicky Villena-Denton, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of F&L Asia. Jirong has worked in partnership with Stanford University and Ascend to help establish an Advanced Leadership Program for Asian Americans and Asians – benefitting leaders in Oronite’s Asia Pacific Region, Chevron and other industries. “We are thrilled to honour his outstanding work in this area,” says Villena-Denton.

The second major award, the “F&L Asia Product Development of the Year”, highlights product innovation within the fuels and lubricants industry. This year the award goes to Lubrizol for their ground-breaking Lubrizol SG9L60 product. In 2017, the Lubrizol Corporation launched an additive package specifically to control silica deposits coming from siloxanes in landfill gas – a decades-old problem. Existing solutions to the siloxane problem were expensive, had limited effectiveness, and required significant downtime.

“Lubrizol SG9L60 is the first industry marketed new additive technology to significantly reduce the negative effects of siloxanes and reduce downtime in landfill application,” says Arunratt Wuttimongkolchai, a member of the F+L Week Conference Advisory Board, and Vice President, Petroleum Products and Alternative Fuel Technology Research Department, Innovation Institute, PTT Public Company Limited, in Thailand.

Edward Ng, Lubrizol’s Business Development Manager (Asia Pacific / Middle East) for Large Engine Oil, will receive the award on behalf of Lubrizol.

Award winners will be formally recognized during a ceremony at the F+L Week Awards Dinner, to be held on March 8, 2018, at the Four Seasons Hotel Macao, on Cotai Strip. Award winners will also be featured in F+L Magazine and F+L Online.

Tickets to the F&L Asia Awards Dinner are complimentary for registered participants of F+L Week 2018. For more information on F+L Week 2018 please visit https://www.fuelsandlubes.com/flweek/