ZF Friedrichshafen AG announced last Thursday it will take over the large gearbox business of Bosch Rexroth AG. The acquisition provides ZF with an entry into the industrial gear business that are used in oil rigs, mine vehicles, tunnel drilling machines, or cableways, for instance. In addition, the technology company is strengthening its wind turbine gearbox business.

BASF and LANXESS have signed an agreement on BASF’s purchase of the polyisobutene business consisting mainly of intellectual property for a new, innovative technology to produce high molecular weight polyisobutene. On behalf of BASF, LANXESS will exclusively manufacture the new HM PIB for BASF in existing assets under a long term toll manufacturing agreement.

SLC Testing Services, Inc., a newly formed subsidiary of Sea-Land Chemical Co., has acquired the assets of Tribsys LLC. The new company will offer Twist Compression Tests, which measure lubricant failure at high pressures in a variety of metalworking and industrial applications.

Oxea has launched n-Pelargonic Acid HP (high purity) to alleviate the impact of tight supply of C8/C10 fatty acid. It is a special grade of its existing n-Pelargonic Acid with a very high content of linear C9 acid. It is an economical industrial alternative to the native fatty acids Caprylic Acid C8 and C10. This makes it highly suitable as an intermediate for the manufacture of high-performance synthetic lubricant esters.

Metalworking fluids manufacturer Blaser Swisslube opened its Asia-Pacific Competence Centre at Science Park last month. The new centre combines offices with a fully-equipped testing laboratory and is similar to existing facilities in Switzerland and the United States, yet advantageously positions Swiss Lube to increase its market penetration in the region, especially China.

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