ExxonMobil is set to work more closely with OEMs, while Lubrizol aims at the Brazilian surfactant market.
ExxonMobil has opened its new European Products Technology Centre in Hamburg, aimed at strengthening its collaboration with Europe's leading OEMs. The new facility will work closely with its US-based tech hub, the Products Technology Centre in Paulsboro, New Jersey, as well as third party test laboratories and European universities.
The Centre will focus on proof of performance for OEMs across a range of sectors including automotive, aviation, marine and industrial equipment. It will also help to nurture new talent in lubricant engineering.
Meanwhile, chemical giant Lubrizol has announced a new $20m expansion of its existing Rio de Janeiro operations in Belford Roxo to provide a significant increase in its surfactant production. Surfactants are additives that breaks the surface tension between two liquids or a liquid and solid and is used in emulsifiers, detergents and dispersants.
The plant is aimed at supplying Brazilian demand for personal and homecare products - one of the largest, and fastest-growing, markets in the world - and will include a range of surfactants produced using naturally occuring ingredients. This is apparently a key driver for domestic sales.