Afton Chemical Corporation, a global petroleum additive manufacturer based in Richmond, Va., U.S.A., said it will invest in a new petroleum additive facility at Bayer Industrial Park, in Belford Roxo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The new facility will be operated by Afton Chemical Indústria de Aditivos Ltda, the Brazilian subsidiary of Afton Chemical Corporation.

The new plant will provide the additional infrastructure to support the company’s long-term growth plans in Brazil and the Latin America region.

“This investment reflects our commitment to this key strategic growing market,” said Pablo Blazquez, Afton’s vice president for Americas. “Since the acquisition of Texaco Additives businesses and facilities in 1996, Afton has established a significant presence in Brazil’s petroleum additives market. This new facility in Rio de Janeiro will help us to continue developing customer partnerships deploying our company’s Passion for Solutions(R) in Brazil and the Latin America region.”

The new facility will be operational by mid-2017 and is designed to provide a safe and environmentally sound operation in full compliance with applicable regulations as well as with Bayer and Afton’s policies. At the same time, the design provides cost-effective security of supply and flexibility to grow as regional demand warrants.

“Afton is pleased to set up operations at Bayer’s Industrial Park in Rio de Janeiro and we are looking forward to the synergies that this arrangement will provide, reflecting the passion for safety, quality and innovation that both companies share,” said Gina Harm, Afton’s senior vice president and chief operating officer. “In addition to expanding our capabilities to meet customer needs, the new facility will be scalable to support future market growth.”

The new facility complements and expands Afton’s current footprint in Latin America, which includes subsidiaries in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Venezuela.

Afton Chemical Corporation is part of the NewMarket Corporation (NYSE: NEU) family of companies.