Evonik celebrates expansion of its Oil Additives Technology Center Asia Pacific

SHANGHAI - Evonik Industries’ Oil Additives Technology Center employees, their customers and VIP guests celebrated the move of the Shanghai Oil Additives staff to new and expanded laboratory facilities on May 20. The festivities included inaugural ceremonies, tours, and seminars at their facilities in the Xinzhuang Industrial Park in the Minhang district of Shanghai.

Evonik is a recognized leader in oil additives technology and supports high quality lubricant marketers worldwide with its global network of regional technology centers and production facilities. Evonik produces its oil additives under the brand name VISCOPLEX® and its synthetic base fluids under the VISCOBASE brand.

“Evonik is proud to be keeping pace with China’s fast-growing lubricants market and providing additional technical service capabilities to our customers,” explained Wei Kiat Tan, Asia-Pacific regional manager for Evonik’s Oil Additives business line. “Since 2005, when we first opened our Shanghai Technology Center, the China lubricants market has grown more than 50 percent and vehicle production has increased more than three-fold,” he adds.

Dr. Hans-Josef Ritzert, president of the Evonik Greater China Region, in his speech celebrating the Oil Additives expansion, noted the importance of Evonik’s automotive industry customers in China and Evonik’s commitment to providing them with a wide variety of innovative products and solutions. “As part of Evonik’s Automotive Industry Team (AIT), our Oil Additives business offers technologies and products that improve fuel efficiency,” he states. “Other Evonik AIT businesses in China provide light structural foams, Plexiglas glazing and adhesives, making cars much lighter and more environmentally-friendly,” he stated

Energy-saving results have been demonstrated with VISCOPLEX® Viscosity Index Improvers (VIIs) in engine oils, driveline fluids and gear oils. Industrial and off-highway equipment field tests have also recorded up to double-digit improvements in fuel savings with DYNAVIS® technology for hydraulic fluids, reducing operating costs as well as CO2 emissions.

With the move from its previous location, the Oil Additives team of lab technicians and technical service specialists have gained not only more space, but have also acquired additional and sophisticated laboratory test equipment. The team’s analytical capabilities now include more than two dozen key industry tests, enabling a significant expansion in the variety and sophistication of technical analyses the group performs for its lubricant-formulating customers and major OEMs.

Notable among these tests is a lubricants industry-recognized low-temperature, aged oil performance test developed by Evonik itself. The ROBO test, as it is known in the industry, is a key measure for engine oil specifications. Lubricant formulators particularly appreciate the significant cost savings ROBO provides when compared to previous test methods. The Evonik Shanghai Technology Center has been certified to perform ROBO testing since 2012.

“Evonik’s Oil Additives team is strengthening its technical resources and capabilities in China, and is also expanding its manufacturing resources in Asia,” states Wei Kiat Tan. The company’s oil additives manufacturing plant in Singapore is presently at mid-completion of a two-year program to double its capacity through a combination of expansion and “debottlenecking” projects.