Japans Cosmo Oil Co. Ltd. announced in a press release dated August 5, 2014 that it plans to shut down the Cosmo Lubricants Chiba Lube Oil Blending Plant by December 2015. The plant, which is located inside the Cosmo Sekiyu Chiba refinery, has an annual production capacity of 40,000 kiloliters.
The company also announced that it has signed a contract with TonenGeneral Sekiyu K.K. subsidiary, EMG Marketing, to manufacture lubricants on behalf of Cosmo Oil at the Tsurumi Lube Oil Blending Plant in Kanagawa, which currently has an annual capacity of 110,000 kl. EMG Marketing said it will expand the capacity of its Tsurumi plant.
Although economic recovery has slowed the downturn in domestic demand for lubricants, the downward trend is likely to continue in the medium term, necessitating measures to ensure greater competitiveness. Due to these circumstances, the Cosmo Oil Group is promoting rationalization and further efficiency in all of its businesses and in all of the regions where it operates. As part of these efforts, in its lubricants business in the Chiba area, the group has been discussing the structure of the Cosmo Lubricants Chiba Plant. As the TonenGeneral Groups Tsurumi Lube Oil Blending Plant is able to increase its operating rate, it was deemed advantageous to pursue this opportunity to achieve greater efficiency," the company said in a statement.
"With the conclusion of this contract, the Cosmo Oil Group will close the Cosmo Lubricants Chiba Plant and restructure its supply system with the consignment of lubricant product manufacture. In addition, the TonenGeneral Group will expand the facilities at the Tsurumi Lube Oil Blending Plant to realize greater efficiency with the acceptance of the consignment of lubricant product manufacture, the company said.
EMG Marketing Tsurumi Lube Oil Blending Plant will commence construction for the expansion this month with expected completion of the expansion by August 2015. EMG will start shipping products to Cosmo Oil by November 2015 with the closure of Cosmo Lubricants Chiba Plant planned for December 2015.
