France's Total inaugurated the second phase of Total Tianjin Manufacturer with the opening of the Total Grease Tianjin plant, its first in the Asia-Pacific region. The new grease plant, which is strategically located in the Tianjin Free Trade Zone, covers an area of 7,336 square meters on the site of its largest lubricant blending plant in China, opened in 2013, and has a production capacity of 5,000 metric tons of lithium- and lithium-complex-based greases, which can be doubled through a capacity expansion.

"Total is the third largest international company for lubricants operating in China and Tianjin is currently our largest blending plant in China. This new facility re-affirms our long-term development in China, which is the largest market for greases in the world," said Patrice Devemy, managing director of Total Lubricants China.

TTM is one of the largest lubricants plants of Total in the world. As a second phase of the plant, the TTM Grease Tianjin Plant construction started in November 2014 and produced its first production batch in August 2016.

In 2015, Total combined its two lube businesses in China - Total Lubricants and Elf Lubricants - to create Total Lubricants China, which is headquartered in Beijing and has blending plants in Zhenjiang, Guangzhou, and Tianjin.

"China is the second largest market of lubricants in the world after the U.S. and the largest grease market in the world. Total is the fourth largest grease producer in the world, and this plant is significant as it will not only complement our global production capacity, but it will also be the very first grease production plant in the Asia-Pacific region. It will help us to better meet the requirements of our automotive and industrial customers in China and the region," said François Dehodencq, senior vice president of Total Marketing & Services- Asia Pacific and Middle East.