Nov 16 2004
Innovatti, a joint venture between Cargill’s Industrial Oils & Lubricants business and Hatco Corporation (a unit of Kaufman Holdings) opened its new plant yesterday, Nov. 10, in Mairinque, state of São Paulo. The plant will produce esters and vegetable-lubricants for the automotive, refrigeration, manufacturing, steel industries and oil-drilling sectors in Brazil.
Innovatti is producing three lines of vegetable oil- and fatty-acid based products: lubricants for refrigeration applications; esters for high-performance lubricants; and formulated natural (vegetable/biodegradable base) and synthetic (ester base) lubricants. The company expects to export close to a third of its production to Asia by the end of the first half of 2005.
The Innovatti plant’s initial capacity is 10 thousand metric tons per year. Built over an area of 12,000 square meters, it is the first to employ Innovatti’s leading-edge technology in Brazil.
“We provide high-quality, consistent products to address the specific needs of each customer,” said Étore Silva, Innovatti director and Brazil business manager for Cargill Industrial Oils & Lubricants. The plant will use imported raw materials, mainly from Europe, and a local supply of soybean, corn and sunflower oils. The Innovatti plant is adjacent to Cargill’s Mairinque grain-processing facilities, which will supply the new company with vegetable oils. “The fact that we reduced logistics costs in one of our raw materials will allow us to price the product at very attractive levels,” added Silva.
This is the first of two planned joint ventures between Cargill and Hatco in high performance esters and formulated synthetic lubricants. The second is being planned near Shanghai, China, to serve the Asia market.
“It is gratifying to witness the opening of Innovatti’s manufacturing facilities in Mairinque,” said Alex Kaufman, chairman and chief executive officer of Hatco Corporation. “The new plant will create significant opportunities for the global synthetic lubricants market as well as contribute to the economic development of the local community.”
Innovatti combines Cargill’s extensive expertise in the Brazilian commercial environment and its knowledge of vegetable-oil-based lubricants technology with Hatco’s expertise in developing and marketing high-performance synthetic esters. Customers will benefit from these two aspects, together with state-of-the-art technology, Kaufman said.
For more information on lubricants, click here.