Petronas opens new R&T centre for Latin America

Petronas, through its subsidiary Petronas Lubricants International, has opened its Research and Technology Centre in Latin America, the largest facility dedicated to the development of fluid technology to meet the region’s automotive and industrial sector’s growing needs.

The Research and Technology (R&T) facility located at the Petronas Lubricants Brazil’s blending plant here, focuses on development of the latest industrial fluids, lubricants and greases, while serving as a centre for technical expertise, customer assistance, product management and quality control activities.

“For PLI, this new R&T centre in Latin America symbolises our commitment and deep-rooted belief in the power of technology to help industries succeed in the future,” said PLI group managing director and chief executive officer Giuseppe D’Arrigo at the launch.

Also present were PLI’s partners and customers in the automotive and industrial business, as well as Petronas vice-president of marketing (downstream business) Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Syed Tahir and PLI head of Americas, Guilherme de Paula.

The US$8mil investment joins PLI’s network of satellite R&T centres around the world, including China, Malaysia, South Africa and North America. These facilities have their nucleus at the Petronas Global Research and Technology Centre in Turin, Italy, which was opened in March this year.

“We believe in Brazil’s growth ambitions and are committed to our goal to fulfil the market requirements of the largest economy in the region,” said De Paula.

The R & T centre, which covers an area of over 2,400 sq m and houses state-of-the-art facilities including ISO 17025 accredited laboratories for its team of chemists, engineers and technicians to perform more than 105 different ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) methodologies.

“This is not just a physical structure that houses the hardware and people who will deliver fluids to our customers. It represents our partnership with worldwide leaders in automotive and industrial sectors. It is our promise to innovate towards your winning performance and future success,” said Syed Zainal.

PLI markets Petronas Selenia, Petronas Syntium, Petronas Urania, Petronas Tutela automotive fluids, and a range of Petronas industrial lubricants and greases to its customers in the region. Over the past six years, the company had moved from seventh to fourth position of the top lubricant players in Brazil, which testifies to its capability and credibility in meeting customers’ needs.

Earlier this year, PLI announced it will be committing 75% of all future R&T projects to achieve its carbon dioxide emissions reduction agenda, through its unique approach in technology and co-engineering of specialised lubricants products.

Source: Bernama