Shell hosted the official unveiling of its newly expanded and upgraded lubricant blending plant site at Zhapu, Zhejiang province, China on November 12. This state-of-the-art plant will double the capacity of Zhapu site, will be top quartile for China in terms of efficiency and will play a key role in serving customers in Central China Shell said. It becomes the largest, current plant in Shells China network, with a doubled capacity of 400 million litres per annum.
Work started on this newest expansion in late 2011 and commercial operation will be fully up and running by the end of 2013.
Zhapu is a strategic location for Shell due to its proximity to the industrial heart of the country in Central China. The location also offers a mature infrastructure which gives Shell better access to key customers including Original Equipment Manufacturers based in the region. The expansion will enable delivery further inland to customers.
Mark Gainsborough, Executive Vice President of Shell Global Commercial, attended the opening and stated, This is another milestone in Shells business development in China and the latest evidence of our commitment to China, most especially in the Zhejiang province. We are grateful to all our staff and business partners along with local government that have made this expansion possible. We look forward to working together further to the benefit of the region.
Huibert Vigeveno, Executive Chairman of Shell Companies in China, also in attendance said: We are excited about our upgraded lubricants capacity in China. It enables us to serve our Chinese customers better and faster.
The new expansion is in fact an add-on plant, built on the newly acquired land adjacent to the existing plant. It is designed as a highly efficient plant, able to handle high volume of products. The existing plant will be used to manage a broader portfolio and smaller production batches. The plant has one of the fastest fully automatic filling lines of all Shell Lubricants plants globally.
This is the first Lubricants plant in Shell China where In-Line Blending technology has been incorporated into the plant design. This is a simultaneous blending technology with automated control systems. In a time where the demand in China for larger, including bulk orders, is on the rise, on-time and reliable delivery becomes crucial. This technology facilitates the fast and accurate blending of larger volumes of lubricants.
This announcement follows on the heels of a series other recent investments by Shell. In January 2013, Shell opened its 18th and largest global grease plant in Zhuhai, where the company manufactures a range of greases used in passenger cars and industrial bearing lubrication. Shell announced in August 2012 its plans to build a second lubricants blending plant in Tianjin, focused on supplying the North of the country.
Shell is present in more than 200 cities across China and currently has 6 lubricant blending plants in mainland China in: Zhapu, Wuxhi, Tianjin, Xianyang, Tsing Yi and Beijing. Shell also has blending plants in Hong Kong and Taiwan and a grease manufacturing plant in Hong Kong. In 2006, Shell acquired a 75% share in Beijing Tongyi Petrochemical Company Ltd and Xianyang Tongyi.
