Burmah Castrol To Raise Asia Output By 25 Per Cent

Over the past five years (Asia-Pacific) capacity grew by at least 25 per cent. Growth in the next five years should be at least similar, Ian Pringle, director of Castrol Asia Pacific, told Reuters.

Castrol has 18 manufacturing plants in the Asia-Pacific region producing between 400 million and 500 million litres of lubricant products annually.

The region contributes about 30 per cent of the Castrol groups revenue, Pringle said. He said Castrols production capacity should stay in line with annual demand growth in the region of about 10 per cent. To ensure this, the company would be raising output by building two or three new plants and expanding existing ones, he said.

 

In line with the companys ambitious plan for the Asia-Pacific region, Castrol on Friday commissioned a Singapore $33 million lubricants plant that is capable of manufacturing 60 million litres of products a year in a single shift.

Output at the plant can be expanded to more than 100 million litres of products a year through extended shift operations. Next week, the company will open a 60 million litre lubricants plant in India. The U.S.$18-million plant is Castrols seventh in India, which is the companys fastest growing market.

Castrols Indian unit is the third biggest within the group, after the US and Germany, Pringle said. After mid-November, Castrol will begin construction works on its first lubricant plant in Guangdong province in China. The U.S.$25 million joint-venture plant will be capable of producing 25 million litres of lubricants. Castrol is also studying the feasibility of building a second plant in northeast Asia, either in Shanghai in China or in Japan.