Valvoline Cummins Ltd., a joint venture formed in 1998 between Ashland Inc. and Cummins India Ltd., announced last week the opening of a new manufacturing and packaging plant in the Ambernath Industrial Area, near Mumbai.
The new facility will produce Valvoline automotive lubricants for the consumer, industrial and heavy-duty markets.
Built on 10 acres, the new $30 million plant expands the Valvoline brand's in-house production capabilities.
"Western India is a manufacturing hub that has the largest consumption of industrial lubricants among all regions," said Sam Mitchell, president of Ashland Consumer Markets, a commercial unit of Ashland Inc. and the producer of Valvoline branded products. "We are excited about the growth opportunities provided by this new manufacturing and packaging facility. We believe that investing in technology and innovation helps deliver what our customers need - a competitive advantage in a growing market."
Initial production capacity of the plant is 120 million liters per year with future capacity of 150 million liters.
Current blend lines include simultaneous measuring and blending as well as automated batch blending and oil products produced include engine, gear, hydraulic, industrial and transmission.
Valvoline Cummins Ltd. recently opened the Valvoline Lube Station, a new Valvoline lubricant training center at the Cummins Sales and Service Tech Center in Pune.
Valvoline Cummins Ltd. is one of India's fastest growing lubricant marketers and producer of quality branded automotive and industrial products. The Valvoline and Cummins brands have a long history of working together including joint engine test development, specialized testing to evaluate critical component wear and corrosion, joint modeling work on future engine design, and proprietary testing methodology to demonstrate fuel economy. International joint ventures include Argentina, Brazil, China and India.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2013
