NYCO last week announced that it has expanded its European operations with the commissioning of a new production unit dedicated to the manufacture of chemicals used as additives to boost the performance of its range of synthetic lubricants. The unit is designed to be very versatile in the type of chemical reactions it can accommodate.
The additives are primarily anti-oxidants and coking inhibitors and shall be used both for internal consumption in combination with NYCOs range of special high temperature ester base-stocks, and supplied to lubricants blenders.
Eric Piveteau, General Manager of NYCO, is enthusiastic about the new operation: This commitment is part of our strategy to build NYCO as a true partner of our demanding customers in the market of synthetic lubricants. We are not competing with the well-known additive manufacturers, but are bringing to the market unique performance additives that have shown a tremendous synergy with our ester base-stocks and are not available from other manufacturers.
NYCO is an integrated company, manufacturing finished high performance lubricants and synthetic ester base-stocks. The new additives production facility bridges the gap between base-stocks and finished lubricants.
The NYCO plant in Tournai started as a state-of-the-art grass-root facility in 1997, manufacturing a line of synthetic esters and fully formulated lubricants for the aviation, defense & industrial sectors. The ester production capacity on this site has already been doubled in 2011 to meet the quickly growing demand of synthetic lubricants.
This is a new milestone for NYCO, whose roots are deeply in the Defense sector, with the development of the first jet turbine oil for the Mirage aircraft in the early 1960s, but later expanded in the manufacture and marketing of synthetic esters for the lubricants blenders to meet the increasingly tougher requirements of automotive & industrial lubricants.
The company is structured in two dedicated business units (Aeronautics & Defence and Industrial & Automotive lubricants) and is actively innovating in each of these markets: a new turbine oil for the next generation of military aircraft such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, an advanced grease for wheel bearings to match the increased tire change interval of commercial airliners, and food-grade HX-1 ester base-stocks for the formulation of lubricants for the food processing industry.
