Fuchs Petrolub is set to build a 40,000 tonne finished lubes plant in Russia.
The plant, according to Lube Report, will cost €20m ($29m) to build and will expand the company's current metalworking fluid production currently based in Yaroslavl. The new plant will be situated in the Rosva Industrial Park near Kaluga and will employ some 40 people.
Products emerging from the plant will include car and tractor lubes, cooling fluids and transmission oils, as well as providing storage and laboratory facilities. The build is set to be relatively rapid, with groundbreaking set to take placed on 6 July this year and production likely to start towards the end of 2012.
The site is well located, a key strategy for Fuchs, with Kaluga being a centre for the Russian automotive industry - both vehicle manufacturers and parts suppliers. Fuchs is the second foreign lubes maker to set up a blending plant on Russian soil - Shell being the first with its Torzhok plant, the largest of its kind for Shell, which has been delayed in opening until the end of this year.